PCFTTC

Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center

Jennifer Benjamin

How Do You Show Up to Supervision?

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Supervision is a crucial part of professional development in systemic family therapy. It’s more than just a place to discuss cases; it’s a space for reflection, growth, and transformation. How you show up—both mentally and emotionally—can shape the experience and impact your clinical work.

What to Do:

✅ Come Prepared – Review your cases beforehand. Identify specific challenges, themes, or questions to discuss. Supervisors appreciate when you take ownership of your learning by bringing relevant material to the conversation.

✅ Be Open to Feedback – Supervision is an opportunity to learn, not to prove yourself. Approach it with a growth mindset. Acknowledge areas where you need support and be receptive to constructive criticism.

✅ Engage in Self-Reflection – Systemic family therapy requires an awareness of your own patterns and biases. Use supervision to explore how your personal experiences may be influencing your work with families.

✅ Participate Actively – Don’t just passively receive feedback—ask questions, challenge ideas, and explore different perspectives. Engaged participation leads to richer discussions and deeper learning.

✅ Integrate Theory and Practice – Link your clinical work to systemic principles. Discuss how concepts like boundaries, hierarchy, and enactments show up in your sessions and how you are applying them in real time.

What Not to Do:

🚫 Arrive Unprepared – Coming to supervision without specific cases or questions limits the potential for meaningful discussion. Supervision is most effective when you contribute actively.

🚫 Be Defensive – If you resist feedback or justify every decision, you close yourself off from growth. Instead, embrace supervision as a place to challenge your thinking and refine your approach.

🚫 View It as a Formality – Supervision is not a box to check; it’s an integral part of becoming a stronger therapist. Show up engaged and ready to learn.

🚫 Ignore Your Own Emotional Responses – Your reactions to families offer valuable insight. If you dismiss or suppress them, you miss an opportunity to deepen your self-awareness and clinical intuition.

Final Thoughts:

How you show up to supervision matters. When you engage with curiosity, openness, and intentionality, you maximize your growth as a systemic family therapist. Supervision is a powerful space—use it wisely!

Super Bowl….Systemic Family Therapy

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The Super Bowl is more than just a football game—it’s a cultural event that brings people together, sparks emotions, and showcases teamwork at its finest. If we take a step back and look at the game through a systemic lens, we can see how football and family therapy have more in common than we might think. Like a great football team, families function best when they have strong leadership, clear communication, and the ability to adapt to challenges.

Strong Leadership Matters

Just like a football team needs a strong coach to provide guidance and direction, families rely on caregivers to create structure and provide leadership. In systemic family therapy, we focus on the role of parental leadership in setting boundaries, fostering emotional security, and ensuring each family member feels supported. Without clear leadership, both football teams and families struggle to stay aligned and work toward common goals.

Effective Communication Prevents Fumbles

On the field, players must communicate effectively to execute plays and avoid costly mistakes. In families, communication is just as critical. Systemic family therapy highlights how patterns of miscommunication can lead to frustration, misunderstandings, and conflict. By improving how family members listen, express their needs, and respond to each other, they can function more like a well-coordinated team rather than a group of individuals working against each other.

Trust and Support Make a Difference

Winning teams build trust between players, knowing that each person has a role to play. Families thrive when members feel safe, valued, and supported in their roles. In systemic therapy, we help families recognize and reinforce these connections so that each member knows they are a valuable part of the system.

Flexibility and Adaptability Are Key

A team that refuses to adjust its game plan won’t win many championships. Similarly, families that struggle with rigid expectations and resistance to change often experience more stress and conflict. Systemic therapy helps families develop the flexibility needed to navigate life’s unexpected challenges with resilience and cooperation.

So, as you watch the Super Bowl this year, think about your own family system. Is your “team” functioning at its best? If not, small shifts in leadership, communication, trust, and adaptability can make all the difference.

#SuperBowl #FamilyTherapy #SystemicThinking #Teamwork #StrongerTogether

200 Linkedin Followers for PCFTTC! Let’s Celebrate Folks :)

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Check out our store and boost your professional growth by engaging in innovative systemic family therapy training, education, supervision, and consultation at PCFTTC. Immerse yourself in the rich tradition of systemic thinking passed on from the original Family Therapy Training Center, founded by Dr. Salvador Minuchin. Develop into a lifetime member of the alliance and become well-equipped to commit to a strength-based approach that is relational, contextual, developmental, and trauma informed when working with suffering children, youth, adults, and families served across the continuum of care.

The Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center, Inc. became a corporation in July, 1999, as an outgrowth of the as an outgrowth of the Training Center at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic founded by Salvador Minuchin, M.D. in 1975 for systemic family therapy and training. The Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Training Center offers Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) training, education, consultation, and research in family and couples therapy, and developmentally based approaches to child, adolescent and adult behavioral health issues. The Center has trained thousands of mental health and other human service professionals in the practice of family therapy, examining the social ecology of the home, school, and community environments.

Pizza Night: Friday Nights

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Strengthening Family Bonds with Systemic Family Therapy

In today’s fast-paced world, families often struggle to stay connected. Between work, school, and countless responsibilities, meaningful family time can slip away. Systemic Family Therapy (SFT) provides a powerful framework for helping families strengthen their relationships by addressing patterns of interaction, improving communication, and fostering connection.

What is Systemic Family Therapy?

SFT views family dynamics as an interconnected system rather than a collection of individuals with separate problems. Instead of focusing solely on one person’s challenges, this approach looks at how relationships, communication styles, and emotional responses influence family interactions. The goal is to create lasting change by shifting these dynamics in a way that benefits everyone.

The Power of Family Rituals: A Pizza Night Example

One of the most effective strategies in SFT is reinforcing positive patterns through rituals and traditions. Consider the Johnson family, who have made Friday nights their sacred “Pizza Night.” Every week, no matter how hectic their schedules, they gather around the table to make homemade pizzas together. For them, this tradition is more than just a meal—it’s a space for connection, laughter, and problem-solving.

Recently, tension had been growing between the teenage siblings, Emma and Jake. Their constant bickering was causing stress for the entire family. During a session, their therapist helped them recognize how their unresolved frustrations were spilling over into family interactions. Rather than focusing on who was “right” or “wrong,” the therapist encouraged the family to use Pizza Night as a space to practice active listening and mutual appreciation.

The next Friday, they introduced a new tradition: each family member had to share one thing they appreciated about someone else at the table before eating. Over time, this small shift helped Emma and Jake see each other in a new light, reducing their conflicts and strengthening their bond.

Creating Lasting Change

Systemic Family Therapy helps families recognize the power of their interactions. By using everyday moments—like Pizza Night—to foster deeper understanding, families can break negative cycles and build stronger, more supportive relationships.

Want to learn more about how to create positive changes in your family? Consider exploring SFT techniques and incorporating small, meaningful rituals into your routine!

#FamilyTherapy #SystemicTherapy #StrengtheningFamilies #ParentingTips

Using Caregiver Strengths as Resources in Family Therapy Enactments

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Caregivers bring a wealth of skills to their work, whether they are teachers, nurses, or professionals in other fields. These same skills can be powerful assets in family therapy, particularly in enactments—therapeutic exercises that bring healing relational patterns to life in session. By recognizing and harnessing their professional strengths, caregivers can actively participate in therapeutic interventions that foster connection, communication, and problem-solving within their families.

Translating Workplace Strengths to Family Interactions

Family therapy enactments are most effective when caregivers feel confident using the skills they already have. Consider the following:

  • Active Listening & Emotional Intelligence – Many caregivers, such as therapists and teachers, are skilled at listening and responding thoughtfully to others’ emotions. These skills can help them stay attuned to their child’s needs, validate feelings, and model healthy emotional expression.
  • Crisis Management & Conflict Resolution – Nurses and police officers excel at staying calm under pressure and de-escalating tense situations. These same skills can be applied to navigating family conflicts with a steady presence and thoughtful problem-solving.
  • Time Management & Structure – Professionals like software engineers and electricians rely on organization and structure to be successful. Bringing this structured approach into family routines can help establish predictability and stability at home.

Below are some examples of how caregivers can use their work strengths in family therapy enactments:

Vignette 1: The Therapist Parent
A mother who is a therapist struggles with her child’s tantrums. In therapy, she practices using her professional skills—active listening and emotional validation—to reflect her child’s emotions and guide them toward calming strategies.

Vignette 2: The Nurse Parent
A father, a nurse, frequently de-escalates emergencies at work but feels overwhelmed at home. In an enactment, he practices using his calm, reassuring presence to regulate his child’s anxiety rather than reacting with frustration.

Vignette 3: The Teacher Parent
A teacher-parent finds herself lecturing her children rather than engaging them. In therapy, she applies her classroom skills by using positive reinforcement and interactive learning strategies to encourage cooperation at home.

Vignette 4: The Architect Parent
An architect struggles with chaos at home. In session, they practice applying their expertise in structured design to develop a predictable family routine that reduces stress.

By integrating their strengths into family interactions, caregivers can approach therapy with confidence and purpose. Family therapists can empower them by helping them see these strengths as invaluable tools, allowing them to create meaningful and lasting change within their households.

The Chocolate Cake Connection: Exploring Family Culture in Systemic Family Therapy

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Every family has a story, a rhythm, and a set of traditions that make them unique. For one particular family, that story centered around a simple yet profound ritual—a homemade chocolate cake. Every time the family gathered, regardless of how busy or far apart they were, the chocolate cake made its appearance. It wasn’t just a dessert; it was a symbol of their bond, their shared history, and the love that held them together. It was a constant amid life’s changes, representing connection and comfort.

In systemic family therapy, understanding these cultural touchstones—the “chocolate cakes” of a family’s life—is vital. Family culture encompasses the traditions, rituals, and values that shape how family members interact, communicate, and navigate challenges. These elements provide a lens through which therapists can understand a family’s dynamics and identify opportunities for growth and healing.

When families seek therapy, they often focus on the fractures: conflicts, communication breakdowns, or behavioral concerns. However, systemic family therapists know that the solutions often lie in the strengths and traditions already embedded within the family. By exploring and honoring these cultural elements, therapists can help families reconnect with their roots and rebuild their connections.

For instance, a therapist might ask:

  • What are your family’s cherished traditions or rituals?
  • Are there symbols or objects that hold special meaning within your family?
  • How do these traditions reflect your family’s values and strengths?

In the case of the chocolate cake, a therapist might explore how the ritual of baking and sharing the cake brought the family together. Did it encourage communication? Was it a way of celebrating milestones or offering comfort during difficult times? Understanding the deeper meaning behind such rituals can provide valuable insights into a family’s dynamics and areas of resilience.

As therapists, our role is to help families rediscover these cultural anchors and use them as a foundation for healing. By tapping into their existing strengths, we can guide them toward creating new traditions and fostering deeper connections.

So, the next time you sit with a family, ask yourself: What’s their “chocolate cake”? By identifying and celebrating these cultural elements, you’re not just addressing problems—you’re helping families reconnect with the heart of who they are.