Virginia Satir

The Following is excerpt is taken from Virginia Satir: Foundational Ideas by Yetta M. Bernhard. 

    A Family System, Satir states, is a process made up of action, reaction and interaction. A closed system upholds the status quo; an open system is one that integrates change. “Open” means choice to be open or closed at times. 
    Satir teaches that mental health or mental illness is determined by how we look at what is human, how we look at issues, and how we cope.
    The purpose of the Satir System of Therapy is to make understood and incorporate as process her five freedoms:  

1.      The freedom to see and hear what is there instead of what should be, was, or will be.
2.      The freedom to say what one feels and thinks, instead of what one should.
3.      The freedom to feel what one feels, instead of what one ought.
4.      The freedom to ask for what one wants, instead of always waiting for permission.
5.      The freedom to take risks in one’s behalf, instead of choosing to be only ‘secure’ and not rocking the boat.

This becomes an ongoing procedure for life. 

    To implement the five freedoms, Virginia Satir emphasizes, that a new communication is necessary—a communication that clearly discloses how I feel about me, how I feel about you and me, how I feel about my physical being, and how I feel about my ability to cope. The ability to communicate freely starts with knowing oneself and becoming aware of another—an ongoing process of self and other knowing.
    All Satir’s emphasis is on teaching and learning how to cope with life’s experiences more effectively and less destructively. She calls this a process of making people more human.  

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