# Hierarchy ## Short definition Hierarchy refers to the organisation of authority, responsibility and decision-making within a family or system. In systemic therapy, hierarchy helps practitioners understand whether leadership, care and responsibility are held in ways that support safety, development and relational balance. ## Level [[LEVEL 2 — CONCEPTS]] ## Expanded definition Hierarchy is a key concept in structural and systemic family therapy. It refers to how power, authority and responsibility are organised between family members and across generations. In many family contexts, adults are expected to hold responsibility for safety, care, boundaries and decision-making, while children are supported to have voice, agency and age-appropriate responsibility. Hierarchy does not mean domination or authoritarian control. A helpful hierarchy can be warm, responsive, flexible and protective. Difficulties may arise when hierarchy becomes too rigid, unclear, reversed or collapsed. For example, a child may hold too much decision-making power, one parent may be excluded, or professionals may unintentionally undermine parental confidence. Hierarchy must always be understood in cultural, social and relational context. ## Why this concept matters Hierarchy matters because unclear or inappropriate authority can place pressure on children, parents and wider systems. A child may become anxious if they feel they have too much power or responsibility. A parent may become overwhelmed if they feel unsupported in leadership. A family may become stuck if authority is held through fear, silence or control. This concept helps therapists ask: - Who holds responsibility? - Who makes decisions? - Who carries authority? - Who is protected by the current hierarchy? - Who is burdened by it? ## Non-clinical example In a workplace, no one is clear who has responsibility for final decisions. Some people take over, others withdraw, and conflict increases because accountability is unclear. The organisation needs a clearer hierarchy so that responsibility is held appropriately. ## Clinical example A young person is described as “controlling” because they decide whether the family can go out, what others can talk about, and when routines change. A structural view may ask whether the family hierarchy has become unclear, with the child carrying too much power and responsibility. Therapy may involve supporting the parental subsystem to provide calm, consistent leadership while still listening to the young person’s needs. ## Core insight Hierarchy is about the organisation of responsibility, not simply control. A helpful hierarchy protects children, supports adults, and allows family members to have voice without losing appropriate roles. ## Questions before a session - Who holds authority in this family? - Who makes decisions? - Is responsibility held by adults, children, professionals or wider family members? - Is the hierarchy too rigid, too unclear or reversed? - Are children carrying inappropriate responsibility? - How might culture and context shape the family’s view of hierarchy? ## Questions during a session - Who usually decides what happens next? - Who does the family look to when there is uncertainty? - Who carries responsibility when things go wrong? - What happens when parents or carers try to take leadership? - How are children’s voices heard? - Is anyone expected to hold too much authority or responsibility? - What would supportive leadership look like in this family? ## Questions after a session - What hierarchy became visible? - Did I support parental or caregiving leadership without silencing children? - Did I impose my own assumptions about authority? - Did I notice power differences linked to culture, gender, class, age or professional systems? - What hierarchy might need strengthening, softening or clarifying? - How did my professional role affect the family hierarchy? ## Related epistemologies [[Structural epistemology]] [[Systemic epistemology]] [[Systems epistemology]] [[Relational epistemology]] [[Contextual epistemology]] [[Developmental epistemology]] ## Related schools and models [[Structural]] [[Strategic]] [[Bowen]] [[Contextual]] [[Systemic Therapy]] ## Related concepts [[Family structure]] [[Family organisation]] [[Boundaries]] [[Subsystem]] [[Parental subsystem]] [[Parent-child boundary]] [[Roles]] [[Parentification]] [[Role reversal]] [[Coalitions]] [[Power]] [[Rules of the system]] ## Related methods [[Structural mapping]] [[Boundary mapping]] [[Subsystem mapping]] [[Parenting subsystem strengthening]] [[Family pattern exploration]] [[Relational pattern assessment]] [[Systemic formulation]] ## Related techniques [[Hierarchy questions]] [[Boundary questions]] [[Role questions]] [[Family structure questions]] [[Circular questioning]] [[Power questions]] [[Parenting questions]] ## Related pathways [[Structural pathway]] [[Family and relational dynamics pathway]] [[Bowen pathway]] [[Strategic pathway]] [[Power and culture pathway]] ## Key theorists / contributors [[Salvador Minuchin]] [[Charles Fishman]] [[Jay Haley]] [[Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy]] [[Murray Bowen]] [[Lynn Hoffman]] ## Key texts / references - Minuchin, S. (1974). *Families and Family Therapy*. Harvard University Press. - Minuchin, S., & Fishman, H. C. (1981). *Family Therapy Techniques*. Harvard University Press. - Haley, J. (1976). *Problem-Solving Therapy*. Jossey-Bass. - Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Spark, G. M. (1973). *Invisible Loyalties: Reciprocity in Intergenerational Family Therapy*. Harper & Row. - Bowen, M. (1978). *Family Therapy in Clinical Practice*. Jason Aronson. - Dallos, R., & Draper, R. (2015). *An Introduction to Family Therapy: Systemic Theory and Practice*. Open University Press. ## Notes / source material Hierarchy should be explored carefully. It should not be used to justify domination, coercion or silencing. In contemporary systemic practice, hierarchy is best understood as the ethical organisation of responsibility, care, protection and decision-making.