Virginia Satir (Psychotherapist) Bio

By:  Kimberly Swanson, MS-Psy, CNA

Virginia Satir was a psychotherapist who developed and pioneered family therapy. She was born, on June 26, 1916 in Neillsville, Wisconsin.  Satir was the youngest sibling out of thirteen siblings.   She grew up with an alcoholic father (Suarez, 1999).  Suarez (1999) mentions that  that Satir disliked her father’s problems with  alcoholism.

Once Satir graduated from high, she attended Milwaukee State Teachers College and earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1936.  Satir had the opportunity to work at an African American community center called Abraham Lincoln House; she wanted to learn and understand different cultures and ethnicities.  Satir shared her experiences and voiced her views about the racial disparities (King 1990).

After Satir finished her master’s thesis, she earned her master’s degree in 1948.  She then went into  private practice and later accepted a position  with the Illinois Psychiatric Institute.  While at the institute, she taught other therapists the essential need of  focusing in whole family during therapy sessions,  not only for the individual (Good Therapy, 2015).  She identified that the issues of  the clients often times stems from the family.

Satir created a new approach to counseling.  She felt that the client’s dilemma and circumstances were seldom the root of the problem, instead she believed that it was much deeper.  Virginia suggested that mental health issues stemmed from negative family dysfunction and believed that the whole family needs treatment and not just the individual.  Satir developed Transformational Systemic Therapy,  also called Satir Growth Model, which focus on the inner-self, and  examining personal choices and decisions (Good Therapy, 2015).

In 1964, Satir wrote the book Conjoint Family Therapy which focused on  personal self-worth.  With her work, Satir tried to assist individuals in accepting life and having peace and prosperity.  She  inspired clients to incorporate meditation, breath work, positive visualization with their  daily life.  She also recommended affirmations in improving ones self-esteem  (Good Therapy, 2015)

References

Good Therapy.  (2015).  Virginia Satir (1916-1988).  Retrieved from http://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/virginia-satir.html

King, L. (1990). Woman Power. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts.

Suarez, M. M. (1999). A Brief Biography of Virginia Satir. [On-line]. Available http://www.avanta.net/BIOGRAPHY/biography.htm