Ch 13 Structural Family Therapy Flashcards
11 Disequilibrium Techniques of Structural Family Therapy
Reframing Punctuation Unbalancing Enactment Working with spontaneous interaction Boundary making Intensity Restructuring Shaping competence Diagnosing Adding cognitive constructions
accommodation
a process of joining in which the therapist makes personal adjustments to achieve a therapeutic alliance with a family.
adding cognitive constructions
the verbal component of structural family therapy, which consists of advice, information, pragmatic fictions, and paradox.
alignments
the ways in which family members join together or oppose one another in carrying out a family activity.
clear boundaries
rules and habits that allow and encourage dialogue and thus help family members to enhance their communication and relationships with one another.
coalition
an alliance between specific family members against a third member.
complementarity
the degree of harmony or reciprocity in the meshing of family roles
confirmation of a family member
a process that uses a feeling word to reflect an expressed or unexpressed feeling of that family member or a nonjudgmental description of the behavior of the individual.
cross-generational alliance (coalition)
an inappropriate family alliance that contains members of two different generations within it—for example, a parent and child.
detouring coalition
a coalition in which a pair holds a third family member responsible for their difficulties or conflicts with one another.
diffuse boundaries
arrangements that do not allow enough separation between family members, resulting in some members becoming fused and dependent on other members.
dysfunctional sets
the family reactions, developed in response to stress, that are repeated without modification whenever there is family conflict.
family structure
“the invisible set of functional demands that organizes the ways in which family members interact” (Minuchin, 1974, p. 51).
Institute for Family Counseling
an early intervention program at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Center for community paraprofessionals that proved to be highly effective in providing mental health services to the poor.
intensity
the structural method of changing maladaptive transactions by having the therapist use strong affect, repeated intervention, or prolonged pressure with a family.
mimesis
a way of joining in which the therapist becomes like the family in the manner or content of their communications—for example, when a therapist jokes with a jovial family.
parental subsystem
the subsystem made up of those responsible for the care, protection, and socialization of children.
pragmatic fictions
pronouncements that help families and family members change, such as when a therapist tells children that they are acting younger than their years.
punctuation
the way a person describes a situation, that is, beginning and ending a sentence, due to a selective per-ception or emotional involvement in an event.
restructuring
changing the structure of the family. The rationale behind restructuring is to make the family more functional by altering the existing hierarchy and interaction patterns.
rigid boundaries
inflexible rules and habits that keep family members separated from each other.
shaping competence
the procedure in which structural family therapists help families and family members become more functional by highlighting positive behaviors.
sibling subsystem
the unit within the family whose members are of the same generation, for example, brothers and sisters. The concept of sibling position is important in both Adlerian and Bowen family therapy.
spousal subsystem
the subsystem composed of marriage partners.
stable coalition
a fixed and inflexible union (such as that of a mother and son) that becomes a dominant part of a family’s everyday functioning.
subsystems
smaller units of the system as a whole, usually composed of members in a family who because of age or function are logically grouped together, such as parents. They exist to carry out various family tasks.
triangulation
projection of interpersonal dyadic difficulties onto a third person or object (i.e., a scapegoat).
unbalancing
therapeutically allying with a subsystem. In this procedure, the therapist supports an individual or sub-system against the rest of the family.
working with spontaneous interaction
the spotlighting by a therapist of attention on some particular disruptive or dysfunctional behavior. On such occasions, therapists can point out the dynamics and sequencing of behaviors and focus on the process. Such occasions are used to help families recognize patterns of interaction and what changes they might make to bring about modification.
