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Virginia Satir Biography -

In 1964 Virginia published her first book, Conjoint Family Therapy, with her second book, Peoplemaking, following in 1972. Her notoriety grew through her books, the training she did, and her teaching methods. She was called a pioneer of family therapy and was increasingly in demand all over the United States and abroad. She became a Diplomat of the Academy of Certified Social Workers and received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. In 1973 she was granted an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin.

Her workshops and presentations had the power to keep people spellbound, as they learned practical things about themselves, communication, families, and communities. She used humor and made pictures by asking people to stand or sit in a certain way to demonstrate feelings externally. Using these tools of sculpting and role playing, she was able to create a safe place so that people could open themselves to new experiences.

Virginia went on traveling all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Central and South America, and Asia. In the late 1980’s she was finally able to go to the USSR, where she had wanted to go for a long time.

The importance of networking and support was a central message in Virginia’s teaching. She started two groups with this in mind. In 1970 the International Human Learning Resources Network (IHLRN) was established under the name Beautiful People. In 1977 Virginia founded The Avanta Network, later called Avanta, The Virginia Satir Network. She used these networks to develop various opportunities for reaching out to individuals, families, and other mental health workers.

One such project enabled Virginia to unite her love of families with her love of nature in one- and two-week family camps. Today the Satir Family Camps continue Virginia’s project of helping families in a wilderness setting. During the 1980s Avanta, with Virginia as the primary presenter, developed and offered Process Communities I and II. These residential, month-long training events held in Crested Butte, Colorado, became the Satir International Summer Institute and continued for several years.

In 1986 Virginia was invited to be a member of the Council of Elders, a select group of world citizens who meet with Nobel Laureates for World Peace. In 1988 Virginia accepted a position on the Steering Committee of the International Family Therapy Association and was appointed to the Advisory Board for the National Council for Self-Esteem.

In closing this chapter on Virginia’s career, it seems appropriate to quote from the unedited pages of her last book, The Third Birth.

I have been traveling the world now for about forty years. The time has given me the possibility of being in contact with about 30,000 people from different walks of life. Many of these people came because they wanted help with their problems in living, or because they wanted to learn how to better help the people who had these problems.

 

I have often heard, "Virginia, you have helped me to find so many good things for myself. Won’t you write down how you made that happen." I have now heard it so often that I no longer feel that I can continue to ignore the request. I feel a deep humility for the expression of appreciation. I also felt tremendously awed by the immensity of such a task.

 

Memory flooded me of the hours and hours during days and nights that I had spent with people, preparing them for the many little steps they had to make in order to take the risks that would result in the change they wanted. I remembered the carefulness and patience with which I needed to proceed so that while they were facing the pain and uncertainty that often goes along with making change, there would be no injury to their self-esteem along the way. (3)

The following passage is also from The Third Birth, which Virginia was unable to finish. The text is available through Avanta as a desktop publication.

I have chosen this title to focus attention on probably what has been taken for granted. Like all other things taken for granted, attention is not focused on them and their usefulness fades.

 

Like people take good behavior for granted, and then focus attention on bad behavior which then gets recognition that is out of proportion. People soon forget that there is good behavior, and believe there is only bad behavior.

 

So it is with this title.

 

The first birth comes when an ovum and sperm find each other and unite. The second birth is when we came out of the womb, probably one of the most startling changes we will ever undergo. Coming from a place where it is dark, where there are sounds of the internal organs working, where the temperature is even, and where the context is water, to a place where it is light and sounds are completely different, the temperature is most uneven, and the water is found only in the bath, once a day.

 

The third birth is when we become our own decision-makers. Some people call this being mature. It occurs when we take charge of our life, stand on our own feet. Taking charge of this process of developing our uniqueness and becoming a responsible and responsive human, among our other human beings on this planet, is a vital stage of growth. Everyone who has lived has made the first two births, but relatively few have made the third. (17-18)

Snap Shots of Virginia

Family of Origin

Education

Teaching Career

Marriage & Children

Graduate School

Virginia's Career in Therapy

Virginia's Philosophy

The Pioneer

Illness & Death

The Legacy

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