Virginia Satir is considered to be one of the pioneers of family therapy. One of her earliest contributions was the idea and practice of seeing more than one member of the same family at the same time. What a daring challenge that she and others – such as John Elderkin Bell, Nathan Ackerman, and Murray Bowen – made to the existing practice of the day. And that was only the beginning of her contributions to family therapy and personal growth. Now, most therapists, and especially family therapists, consider such a practice not only normal, but essential in their work.
Satir was an innovator at the practical level. She put little effort on recording or even explaining her theoretical base. Nevertheless, over the years, her practice, her training programme, and her recorded demonstrations have indicated a deep, consistent psychological and therapeutic theoretical base.
(Extracted from The Satir Model: Yesterday and Today, essay by John Banmen .)
In her book, The New Peoplemaking (1988), she invites us to wonder;
“What would happen if suddenly during one night, all the billions of persons in the world learned the essentials of congruent living:
– To communicate clearly
– To cooperate rather than compete
– To empower rather than subjugate
– To enhance individual uniqueness rather than to categorise
– To use authority to guide and accomplish “what fits” rather than to force compliance through the tyranny of power
– To love, value and respect themselves fully
– To be personally and socially responsible
– To use problems as challenges and opportunities for creative solutions
I think we would wake up in a very different world, a world in which peace is possible. It is only a matter of change in consciousness. What will cause each of us to change our minds? I believe it will be when we love and value ourselves enough and recognise that we are spiritual beings.”
Books written by Virginia Satir:
 The New Peoplemaking (1989) |
 The Satir Model - Family Therapy and Beyond (1991) |
 Conjoint Family Therapy (1993) |
 Satir Step By Step (with Michelle Baldwin) |
 Your Many Faces |