Challenges of family therapy: an integrative literature review

Family therapy is an intervention that focuses on changing interactions between family members and tries to improve the functioning of the family as a unit consisting of individual family members. Therefore, the challenges of family therapy can exist in various cases, including relationships within the family, mental health of people, financial problems, and issues caused by lifestyle and family order. The aim of the current research is to analyze and summarize the studies that we have done in the field of dealing with various challenges of family therapy. The method of the present research was conducted as an integrated background review method, in this way, the library method and systematic review plan were used. The statistical population of this research was all scientific sources and articles in the following domestic and foreign databases with keywords related to the challenges of family therapy, 86 cases were identified as the statistical population, of which 28 documents were based on the sampling method. They were selected based on the purpose of entry and exit criteria. The search was carried out in Normagz, Mag Iran, Ensani, Jihad University Scientific Center, Science Direct, PubMed and Scopus databases in the period of 1378-1400 (2000-2022) and the keywords included family therapy. family-oriented, Iranian family and challenges. A total of 28 studies that met the necessary criteria were included in the analysis. According to the studied samples, the results were classified and analyzed in four categories: 1. Cultural challenges 2. The challenge of family-therapist identity: an identity beyond from the framework of the treatment room, 3. educational challenges and 4. the challenge of forming a therapeutic alliance. The most noteworthy point from the surveys inside and outside of Iran was mostly in the choice of research topic and method. The focus of research in Iran was on the cultural-religious concerns and mainly by analyzing the content of existing texts. While the subject range and methodology in researches outside Iran were wider and directly in the context of family meetings. It is recommended that researchers conduct similar studies relying on the opinions and direct experiences of experts.