Exploring Relational Dynamics in the Family: A Talk with Family Therapist Amy Begel (S6 E13)

In the episode, "Exploring Relational Dynamics in the Family: A Talk with Family Therapist Amy Begel (S6 E13)," Amy Begel, reviews the history of family therapy in psychology and emphasizes how many problems, or symptoms, treated as individual issues are in fact embedded in interpersonal dynamics. This interactive and engaging type of therapy is often eclipsed by the focus on brain chemistry, which reduces the focus of human suffering to a person's "wiring." The biomedical framework offers a name diagnosis for the distress, but family therapy looks at the problem as the family’s problem in a relational, holistic way. In the episode, Amy reviews ways families can develop dynamic strategies to move through times when their relationships get stuck. Amy mentions that often families that appear healthy and normal exhibit interpersonal symptoms that are hidden but lead to poor mental health. Frequently, the family member identified by the family as the problem is often the healthiest one. Amy also brings her talent of music into the therapeutic session, sharing a unique approach called “jazz consultations.” A refreshing take on getting to the bottom of mental distress, Amy practices a form of humane therapeutic intervention that has a much more empathic people-centered focus. To learn more about Amy, got to: Mosthuman.net or Amybegel.com. BIO:Amy Begel is the coauthor of the book Diagnosis Human: How Unlocking Hidden Relationship Patterns Can Transform and Heal Our Partners, Our Children, Ourselves, which is a book of family therapy case stories. She is a family therapist who trained with one of the creators of family therapy, Dr. Salvador Minuchin. Amy is on the teaching faculty of the Department of Family Practice, the Institute for Family Health at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. She maintains a private practice in New York and New Jersey and specializes in family systems medicine, which refers to the interplay between relational dynamics, health and illness.As Senior Faculty at the Minuchin Center for over fifteen years, she developed and conducted family therapy training for The Brooklyn Bureau of Community Services, a non-profit organization serving marginalized families in New York. She has also conducted extensive training with various Child Guidance and mental health agencies nationally and internationally. She has contributed numerous articles to HuffPost.com and Madinamerica.com.Don't forget to subscribe to the Not As Crazy As You Think YouTube channel @SicilianoJenAnd please visit my website at: www.jengaitasiciliano.comConnect: LinkedIn: @jensicilianoBluesky:  https://bsky.app/profile/jengaita.bsky.socialSend us Fan MailSupport the show