In a family system, scapegoating is the practice of piling the "sins" of the family onto one person. If the "identified patient" is a child or a teenager, they may be dropped off at the therapist to be fixed while the rest of the family denies any wrong-doing. They have no problems, there is nothing wrong with them, they don't need treatment, they don't need to change.
People who can't, or won't, change are locked into their behaviors. Because they cannot change, they cannot heal. If they are raging narcissists, raging narcissists they will remain till the very end. Likewise, liver disease may consume unchanging alcoholics. Behavior not taken responsibility for by the individual is repeated over and over again.
Scapegoats on the other hand, led to believe there is something wrong with them, are constantly fighting to change - and this may be what saves them. They can heal. They can move past it and learn a healthier way of being. For that reason alone, being the scapegoat may make one stronger. Because the scapegoat is willing and able to admit there is room for change, they have the power and the freedom to grow.
Category(s):Adult psychological development, Blended Family Issues
Source material from Kellevision
