Virginia Satir Introduction Chapter

In this chapter, the author Virginia Satir introduces the book. She began by sharing her personal experiences since childhood. According to Saitr, family life is like an iceberg. Most people are only aware of what they can see and hear, which is only one-tenth of what is actually going on in their family. However, the survival of a family often depends on understanding those that are hidden, such as feelings and needs that lie beneath all the family events. In this part Satir also introduces the first purpose of the book she wrote which was to help people looking at the underside of the iceberg.

Based on her experiences as a family therapist, Satir introduces four additional aspects of family life she believes are important. Self worth, communication, family system and a link to society. Based on these four aspects, Satir then draws a comparison between the troubled and healthy family contrast. These four aspects will always be at work in all families regardless of of their forms and troubles they are facing every day. In this part, the second purpose of the book is stated, to discover how these elements work in a family and point readers in a different direction. Satir also encourages readers to take part in her experiments and exercises as shown in the chapter no matter how simple or foolish it may seem. Satir acknowledges that reading this book may bring back memories which sometimes depending on the situation may be painful. However, those feelings are exactly a problem to be worried about. On the contrary, being willing to learn how to take responsibility and facing oneself is always difficult.