They have before them a physical manifestation of what is possible. For most of us if we can envision something we can place it in the realm of the possible. Most persons desire a close family with members within physical, emotional and psychological reach of one another. It is the author's experience that when asked how they would like the family to be constituted the identified client will construct a circular shaped family. That is fairly normal.
Older clients tend to be less egocentric in the way they construct their ideal.
For the clinician the family sculpture is a powerful tool for assessment and intervention. A picture is worth a thousand words. That is certainly true here. To actually physically see the emotional structure of the family as it exists for the identified client and how the identified client perceives the ideal provides an incredible amount of valuable information. Information about how things are and the way the client wants them to be.