What is Satirian Modelling?

Known as the "Columbus of Family Therapy".Virginia Satir was born in Wisconsin on 26^th June 1916 and became Americas greatest family therapist.

Although she did not like the term hypnotherapy because she felt it to be manipulative, she used techniques that blended Eastern meditations and spirituality and incorporated meditations and affirmations in her work. She helped people redesign their lives using a variety of techniques such as deep breathing and visualization. She said that "dreams and wishes go together" and encouraged students to use affirmations such as "I own me. I can engineer me." She showed how feelings of low self esteem are covered up with the use of different ways of communicating such as blaming and intellectualizing.

Satir taught her students that people learn beliefs from their family but that as adults these beliefs may no longer be useful to the individual. Being afraid to take a risk or letting fear stifle a person are ways of thinking and feeling that no longer serve that person's best interests. She set up seminars for helping people create more fulfilling experiences for themselves.

Much of Satir's early work in the 1940's was based on techniques used in psychiatry. She went on to use her innate abilities to develop new strategies for people to be able to grow and help themselves to new levels of understanding for their relationships. Her beliefs are wonderfully expressed through what she called her "Five Freedoms."