The therapist tries to establish a new pattern of behavior based upon the key elements of the healthy model, encouraging the family to approach all situations similarly.

A therapist with a diverse repertoire of strategies is more likely to find an appropriate solution to a family’s problems than is a therapist with a single approach. Family life is too complex to establish a simple causal chain in coming to terms with a particular series of problems, so the broad approach taken by most family therapists is most helpful.