Chapter 1 4 Family Systems Therapy Flashcards
An approach that is
based on the premise that parents and children
often become locked in repetitive, negative interactions
based on mistaken goals that motivate
all parties involved.
Adlerian family therapy
In structural family therapy, an
emotional barrier that protects individuals
within a system.
Boundary
Bowen’s and Whitaker’s view of the
role of the therapist in assisting clients in the
process of differentiating the self.
Coaching
An alliance between two people
against a third.
Coalition
An early human validation
process model developed by Virginia Satir
that emphasizes communication and emotional
experiencing.
Conjoint family therapy
Bowen’s concept of psychological
separation of intellect and emotions
and of independence of the self from others. The
greater one’s differentiation, the better one’s ability
to keep from being drawn into dysfunctional
patterns with other family members.
Differentiation of self
Minuchin’s term for a family
organization characterized by psychological isolation
that results from rigid boundaries.
Disengagement
In structural family therapy, an intervention
consisting of a family playing out its
relationship patterns during a therapy session so
that the therapist can observe and then change
transactions that make up the family structure.
Enactment
Minuchin’s term referring to
a family structure in which there is a blurring
of psychological boundaries, making autonomy
very diffi cult to achieve.
Enmeshment
A therapeutic approach
that emphasizes the value of the therapist’s realness
in interacting with a family.
Experiential therapy
The inability of a family
to attain harmonious relationships and to
achieve interdependence.
Family dysfunction
The series of events that
marks an individual’s life within a family, from
separation from one’s parents to marriage to
growing old and dying.
Family life cycle
Satir’s experiential
technique in which clients retrace their family
history for the purpose of gaining insight into
current family functioning.
Family life-fact chronology
The original nuclear family
into which one was born or adopted.
Family of origin
The implicit agreements that prescribe
the rights, duties, and range of appropriate
behaviors within the family.
Family rules
A nonverbal experiential
technique that consists of physically arranging
members of a family in space, which revealssignifi cant aspects of their perceptions and feelings
about one another.
Family sculpting
The functional organization
of a family, which determines interactional patterns
among members.
Family structure
A family in which the needs
of the individual members are met and there
is a balance of interdependence and autonomy
among members.
Functional family
A schematic diagram of the family
system, usually including at least three generations;
employed by many family therapists to identify
recurring behavior patterns within the family.
Genogram
Family functioning
based on generational boundaries that involve
parental control and authority.
Hierarchical structure
An experiential
and humanistic approach developed by
Virginia Satir, which viewed techniques as being
secondary to the relationship a therapist develops
with the family.
Human validation process model
A family member who carries
the symptom for a family and who is identifi
ed by the family as the person with the problem.
In genograms this person is the index person.
Joining In structural family therapy, accommodating
to a family’s system to help the members
change dysfunctional patterns.
Identifi ed patient
An approach
that operates on the premise that a predictable
pattern of interpersonal relationships
connects the functioning of family members
across generations.
Multigenerational family therapy
The way in which dysfunctional patterns are passed
from one generation to the next.
Multigenerational transmission process
This perspective serves as a basic structure for assessment both of the family members and the system.
Multilayered process of family therapy
A technique in strategic
family therapy whereby the therapist directs family
members to continue their symptomatic behavior.
Change occurs through defying the directive.
Paradoxical directive
These models seek to reduce or eliminate
the power and impact of the family therapist.
They include solution-focused and solution-oriented
therapies as well as narrative therapy.
Postmodern approaches to family therapy
Relabeling a family’s description of
behavior by putting it into a new and more positive
perspective.
Reframing
A therapeutic approach
whereby the therapist develops a specific plan
and designs interventions geared toward solving
a family’s presenting problems.
Strategic therapy
A therapeutic approach directed
at changing or realigning the organization
of a family to modify dysfunctional patterns and
clarify boundaries.
Structural therapy
By the late
1970s, these complimentary approaches were
the most used models in family systems therapy. Interventions generated in these models became
synonymous with a systems approach; they included
joining, boundary setting, unbalancing,
reframing, ordeals, paradoxical interventions,
and enactments.
Structural-strategic approaches
A three-person system; the smallest
stable emotional unit of human relations.
Triangle
A pattern of interaction consisting
of detouring confl ict between two people by
involving a third person.
Triangulation
- The trend today is toward reliance
on a single theory of family therapy
rather than using an integrative approach.
f
T F 2. The emergence of feminist and postmodern
perspectives has moved the
fi eld of family therapy toward more
egalitarian, collaborative, and coconstructing
relationships.
t
T F 3. Experiential family therapy relies
on the expert use of directives
aimed at changing dysfunctional
patterns.
f
T F 4. A multilayered process of family therapy is best supported by a collaborative therapist–client relationship in which mutual respect, caring, empathy, and a genuine interest in others is primary.
t
T F 5. Conducting an assessment is one of
the phases of the mutilayered perspective
in family therapy.
t
T F 6. Understanding family process is
almost always facilitated by “how”
questions.
t
T F 7. In terms of assessment, it is useful to
inquire about family perspectives on
issues inherent in each of the lenses.
t
T F 8. The family therapist’s skill in communicating understanding and empathy through active listening lays the foundation for an effective working relationship.
t
T F 9. All change in human systems starts
with understanding and accepting
things as they are.
t
T F 10. Reframing is the art of putting what
is known in a new, more useful perspective.
t
11. Which of the following family therapy models makes the most use of genograms, dealing with family-oforigin issues, and detriangulating relationships? a. Adlerian family therapy b. Bowenian multigenerational family therapy c. structural family therapy d. strategic therapy e. experiential family therapy
b
12. Which of the following approaches most often employs a co-therapist model, makes use of self-disclosure, uses the therapist’s self as change agent, and frequently uses confrontation? a. Bowenian family therapy b. Adlerian family therapy c. structural family therapy d. strategic therapy e. experiential family therapy
e
13. Which of the following is not a key general movement of the multilayered approach to family systems therapy? a. forming a relationship b. conducting an assessment c. hypothesizing and sharing meaning d. conducting empirical research to evaluate outcomes e. facilitating change
d
14. Differentiation of the self is the cornerstone of which theory? a. Bowenian family therapy b. Adlerian family therapy c. social constructionism d. strategic therapy e. experiential family therapy
a
15. Virginia Satir outlined four communication stances that people tend to adopt under stress. They include all of the following stances except for a. blaming. b. placating. c. super reasonable. d. irrelevant. e. sabotaging.
e
16. The antidote to stress communications, according to Satir, is , in which family members are emotionally honest, speak for themselves, stay grounded (or centered), and are able to share their feelings and ask for what is needed. a. congruence b. unconditional positive regard c. detriangulation d. emotional decompression e. differentiation of self
a
17. In assessing families, what question(s) might a structural-strategic therapist ask? a. “What were the routines that made up your early life, and what rules governed these routines?” b. “Who was aligned with whom— and what did they use that alignment to achieve?” c. “What rules and boundaries were set around each sub-system?” d. “What were common interactional sequences in your family?” e. All of the above.
e
18. views the counselor and therapist as an observer who is outside of the system, can assess what is going on, and can promote change—all without ever becoming part of the system. a. First-order cybernetics b. Second-order cybernetics c. Third-order cybernetics d. Fourth-order cybernetics e. None of the above.
a
19. What best defi nes the focus of family therapy? a. Most of the family therapies tend to be brief. b. Family therapy tends to be solution- focused. c. The focus is on here-and-now interactions in the family system. d. Family therapy is generally action- oriented. e. all of the above
e
20. Within the field of family therapy, has been the most influential leader in the development of both gender and cultural perspectives and frameworks in family practice. a. Monica McGoldrick b. Jay Haley c. Michele Weiner-Davis d. John Gottman e. Carl Whitaker
a
21. Which of the following roles and functions would be most atypical for a structural family therapist? a. joining the family in a position of leadership b. giving voice to the therapist’s own impulses and fantasies c. mapping the underlying structure of a family d. intervening in ways designed to transform an ineffective structure of a family e. being a stage director
b
- A family therapist poses the following
question: “Who seems to be
most upset when mom comes home
late from work?” She is asking
question.
a. an intrusive
b. a thought-provoking
c. a circular or relational
d. an exception
e. a scaling
c
23. Directives and paradoxical procedures are most likely to be used in which approach to family therapy? a. strategic family therapy b. Adlerian family therapy c. multigenerational family therapy d. experiential family therapy e. structural family therapy
a
24. Which approach to family therapy stresses the importance of returning to one’s family of origin to extricate oneself from triangular relationships? a. Bowenian family therapy b. Adlerian family therapy c. structural family therapy d. strategic family therapy e. experiential family therapy
a
25. Which approach to family therapy stresses unlocking mistaken goals, investigating birth order and family constellation, and reeducation? a. Bowenian family therapy b. structural family therapy c. Adlerian family therapy d. strategic family therapy e. experiential family therapy
c
