Virginia Satir was an American therapist who revolutionized family therapy; in fact, she is now considered one of the most important figures in the history of systemic therapy.
She was the creator of Virgina Satir’s ‘Change Process Model’, which is still used today, both in the care of families and in the organizational plan.
- This great therapist co-founded the famous Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto.
- California.
- USA.
- U.
- S.
- It has become the Mecca of family therapy in the United States.
- Much of the contributions of the twentieth century in this field were born and raised in this famous institute.
It is obvious that Virginia Satir had a strong influence on humanist psychology, so in her postulates there is a strong presence of concepts of self-esteem, values and self-improvement, however, she knew how to use these concepts in a specific therapeutic practice.
“I think the greatest gift I can receive from others is to be seen by them, heard by them, understood and touched by them. “Virginia Satir
Virginia Satir was born in Neillsville, Wisconsin, USA. But it’s not the first time She was the eldest of four siblings. She was a curious and attentive girl who learned to read alone at age 3. By the age of 9, he had already devoured all the books in his school’s small library.
During her childhood, she had an experience that will leave her a lasting mark: when he was 5 years old, she had appendicitis. Her mother refused to take him to the hospital because of her religious beliefs, then Virginia nearly died, the father eventually won and she was cared for in an emergency, spent more than three months in the hospital.
Since then, she has become a great observer of family life, perhaps because of this disagreement among her parents that had endangered her life. The family later moved to Milwaukee, where Virginia began high school.
Then came the Great Depression and had to work as a nanny to help her family and graduate from teacher school, which she joined at the end of high school.
Virginia Satir took a pedagogy course and distinguished he he hed as a teacher in all the places where she worked, then graduated as a social worker, becoming a kind of traveling teacher.
He began practicing as a therapist in 1950, in 1951, he had his first family as a patient and, in 1955, joined the Illinois Psychiatric Institute.
His training and practice enabled him to shape a growth model that pursued four objectives:
These growth model goals were the same as those aspired to by the families consulted, Virginia Satir believed that if each family member achieved these goals, the family would be strengthened and could resolve their conflicts.
Virginia Satir shaped systemic therapy applied to the family and also became a high-profile figure with the publication of many books. He summed up his goal in a phrase he often repeated: “Become more fully human. “
Virginia Satir family therapy is governed by five basic therapeutic principles, which are:
There are several Virginia Satir books that have become true classics. Among them, family therapy step by step? And? Intimate contact: how to identify ?.
Over time, organizational psychology has been collecting many of his reflections. This prolific therapist died on September 10, 1988 in California, United States.