Homeostasis
Artwork Interpretation
This image uses a baby mobile to symbolize homeostasis. Each suspended piece represents a member or role in the family system. When one piece is disturbed, the entire structure subtly shifts to maintain balance. The mobile metaphor captures how systems naturally resist change while constantly adjusting to preserve stability—even when that stability is dysfunctional.
Core Meaning
Homeostasis is the tendency of systems to maintain internal stability by resisting change. In family therapy, this concept explains how families unconsciously strive to preserve equilibrium—even when that balance supports unhealthy roles or behaviors. Recognizing homeostasis allows therapists to work with, not against, the system’s resistance to change.
Concept Origins
Borrowed from biology, homeostasis was adopted into systems theory by early pioneers like Ludwig von Bertalanffy and later applied to family systems by theorists such as Salvador Minuchin and Murray Bowen. It remains central to understanding feedback loops and family resistance in therapy.
Therapeutic Purpose
Understanding homeostasis helps therapists anticipate resistance and locate stabilizing forces in the family system. Interventions are designed not just to create change, but to prepare the system to tolerate and reorganize around new, healthier patterns of interaction.
Common Interventions
- Pattern interruption techniques
- Reframing systemic roles
- Gradual introduction of systemic change
- Tracking feedback loops
Ideal Client Use
Clients or families stuck in rigid roles, experiencing repeated relational loops, or resisting change despite expressed desires for growth. Particularly useful in structural, strategic, and Bowenian family therapy contexts.
Cultural Considerations
Homeostasis may be reinforced differently across cultures. In collectivist cultures, maintaining family harmony may strengthen resistance to change. Therapists must explore which dynamics are rooted in cultural values versus reactive survival strategies.
