You’ll wish you had Virginia Satir as your own teacher after witnessing this charismatic pioneer in front of her students. Nancy, Deacon, Sid, and Jana have come for an intimate lecture in which Satir outlines “the essence of change,” a primer on the four stages of therapeutic change. Addressing coping, going into the unknown, the “status quo,” safety, and experimentation with new ways of being, Satir offers her students—and all of us—a delightful presentation complete with examples from her own practice and experiential exercises that illustrate her ideas.

In Of Rocks and Flowers, you’ll be impressed with how deeply Virginia Satir engages Bob, Betty, Aaron, and Robbie in a session structured to include the family all together as well as in separate dyads. Bob, a recovering alcoholic, holds custody of Aaron (age 4) and Robbie (age 3), his sons from a previous marriage to a woman who abuses them even as he fights for a restraining order. Bob’s current wife, Betty, would rather leave the family than risk abuse to her coming child with Bob. Satir reflects on the “undercurrent of fear” the family is enduring, and proceeds with a session designed to uncover each family member’s concerns, align their goals, and get them relating in a safe, honest way.

In Blended Family with a Troubled Boy, Satir meets with a family of four seeking help for 16-year-old Tim’s chronic school refusal and a sullen attitude. Through Satir’s deft exploration of Jerry and Elaine’s relationship—as opposed to pathologizing Tim, the family’s “identified patient”—the family gains a new awareness of the parenting issues influencing Tim’s withdrawal. As she gradually uncovers Elaine’s need for relief as a key to restoring everyone’s connection, you’ll get a visceral feeling for the style of work Satir is known for.

In A Step Along the Way: Family with a Drug Problem, Satir briefly introduces her “universal family map”—her didactic method of understanding the various relational configurations within families. Next, she conducts a moving session with a family struggling with the repercussions of 29-year-old son Michael’s longstanding drug addiction. You’ll observe Satir’s natural skill at building authentic rapport with the five members, and you’ll get to witness the various creative, experiential methods she employs to shed light on their complex family dynamics.

In A Family at the Point of Growth, Satir builds a quick, easy rapport with a family of six in the aftermath of a teenage brother’s assault of his sister. She then works to understand how each family member learns best—while normalizing each of their different styles—with the goal of assessing how they can support one another in their future growth. Satir guides Linda and Jack in a dyad exercise in communicating their support of each other, using physical touch as a ground during times of stress, and supports Linda in understanding how her views of Jack can be clouded by her projected feelings toward her father.

Nurturing, directive, experiential, and engaged, Satir exhibits a charismatic style across the entire series that’s simultaneously unique and accessible. Additional commentary by Dr. Ramon Corrales, an early student of Satir’s, adds thoughtful context to one of family therapy’s most esteemed clinicians.

By watching these videos, you will:

• Learn the principles of Satir’s approach to family assessment.
• Understand how a systems therapist can conduct guided sessions with parts of the family unit as well as the whole.
• Identify creative interventions to support healthy physical touch.
• Learn the principles of Satir’s approach to transformational therapy, including change, coping, and the unknown.
• Understand the Satir’s four stages of therapy, and how to work within them.
• Identify ways to support clients exhibiting various types of resistance.
• Learn the principles of Satir’s approach to therapy with blended families.
• Discover creative interventions to support cross-communication and connection.