Dr. Brad Reedy discuses the concept of the Identified Patient. When a family focuses its efforts on saving, fixing, or helping one specific family member, that person becomes the Identified Patient. Once this person has been identified, it can absolve or in some way prevent the family from looking at their family system as a whole and each of themselves as individuals. This set-up can prevent or impede anyone in the family from doing the true growth work they need/want to do. Dr. Reedy talks about the history of this concept and how this dynamic can play out in families.
