Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy pp 1–3Cite as

Identified Patient in Family Systems Theory

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

Name of Concept

Identified patient in family systems theory

Synonyms

Identified problem; IP; Scapegoat; Symptom-bearer

Introduction

The term identified patient, or IP, is used to describe the person in a family who has brought the family into therapy. While this individual is often unconsciously selected as the cause of family conflict or the one about whom others are most concerned or focus their attention, his or her problems frequently disguise larger issues within the family. Rather than working solely with the IP, a family systems approach maintains that the “identified” problem or person is a manifestation of “systems” issues and all family members should participate in treatment together.

Theoretical Context for Concept

The term “identified person” first emerged from the work of Gregory Bateson on family homeostasis (Bateson 1972). Bateson and his colleagues Don Jackson, Jay Haley, John Weakland, and Bill Fry produced groundbreaking work on communication and psychotherapy in...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Anderson, C. M., Hogarty, G., & Reiss, D. J. (1981). The psychoeducational family treatment of schizophrenia. New Directions for Mental Health Services, 1981(12), 79–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aponte, H. A., & VanDeusen, J. M. (1981). Structural family therapy. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), Handbook of family therapy. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind. San Francisco: Chandler Pub. Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. Lantham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minuchin, S., & Fishman, H. C. (1981). Family therapy techniques. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papero, D. V. (1990). Bowen family systems theory. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Erin Ferenchick & David Rosenthal

Authors
  1. Erin Ferenchick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David Rosenthal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Rosenthal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Jay Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Anthony Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. Iowa City, IA, USA

    David Kearns Ph.D.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Ferenchick, E., Rosenthal, D. (2017). Identified Patient in Family Systems Theory. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_282-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_282-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation