Family nexus is a set of values and beliefs perpetuated within a family system to keep the family’s identity alive, but it can come at the expense of individual family members, leading to psychological disorders. While modern medicine recognizes physiological factors, the focus of therapy is finding solutions that fit the needs of families and individuals.
Family nexus is a concept developed by RD Laing, a psychiatrist active in the mid-20th century. According to Laing, the family nexus is a set of values and beliefs that is perpetuated within a family system. It exists to help keep the identity of the family alive. The problem with this nexus, according to Laing, is that the perpetuation of the family often comes at the expense of individual family members. Laing believed that psychiatric disorders were often the result of a family singling out an individual in the family as inadequate in some way.
Most of Laing’s work on family nexus came from families with at least one schizophrenic family member. Her research assumes that there is very little difference between a healthy family and one that produces members with severe psychological disorders. According to Laing’s theories, schizophrenia and other psychological disorders do not arise from the biology of the individual but rather from the relationships that exist within the family.
In its effort to protect both its identity and the status quo, a family will often strive to marginalize individuals who go against the norms established by the family. This tendency is clearly visible in the dynamics of many families. The concept of family nexus, however, claims that the social order of the family has so much power that individual family members suffer to the point of developing psychological disorders under the unwavering and often reactionary family regime. Family members who don’t fit the norms or who push the envelope can be made to feel that they have no value in the family’s society and, by extension, no value in the larger society.
While the familial idea has some merit, modern medicine recognizes many physiological factors that may explain mental illness. In the early 21st century, science focuses on how both biology and the environment affect an individual’s development and mental health. While family nexus may play a role in the social interaction of many individuals, the focus of modern therapy is not so much on apportioning blame, both on the individual and on the family, and more on finding solutions that fit the needs of families and individuals. Modern psychologists often accept the existence of a familial nexus but disagree that the influence of this nexus is always negative or all-powerful.
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