When fearful, members seek closeness and support rather than control. Control is only occasionally authoritarian. Intimacy, the sharing of one's true self, is supported by the presence of trust and empathy. Members of these families show both a capacity and respect for autonomy and people can make mistakes and change their minds without blame. Flexibility is the norm.
Family members relate with openness, warmth, and empathy.
Unlike midrange families, people are often accepted in their differences, and understood to be struggling to do right rather than as inherently hostile or destructive. In other words, what is important is how people treat each other within families rather than who they are or how they appear. For couples, being respectful and supportive of each other, sharing equitable power and responsibilities. Each of these processes reinforces the others and all of these may be organized and expressed in very different ways dependent on the configuration of the family. In our work as therapists we are always trying to help individuals, couples or families change toward more optimal functioning.