Chapter 1 4 Family Systems Therapy

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

Adlerian family therapy

Question 2

In structural family therapy, an
emotional barrier that protects individuals
within a system.

Answer 2

Boundary

Question 3

Bowen’s and Whitaker’s view of the
role of the therapist in assisting clients in the
process of differentiating the self.

Answer 3

Coaching

Question 4

An alliance between two people

against a third.

Answer 4

Coalition

Question 5

An early human validation
process model developed by Virginia Satir
that emphasizes communication and emotional
experiencing.

Answer 5

Conjoint family therapy

Question 6

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.

Answer 6

Differentiation of self

Question 7

Minuchin’s term for a family
organization characterized by psychological isolation
that results from rigid boundaries.

Answer 7

Disengagement

Question 8

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.

Answer 8

Enactment

Question 9

Minuchin’s term referring to
a family structure in which there is a blurring
of psychological boundaries, making autonomy
very diffi cult to achieve.

Answer 9

Enmeshment

Question 10

A therapeutic approach
that emphasizes the value of the therapist’s realness
in interacting with a family.

Answer 10

Experiential therapy

Question 11

The inability of a family
to attain harmonious relationships and to
achieve interdependence.

Answer 11

Family dysfunction

Question 12

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.

Answer 12

Family life cycle

Question 13

Satir’s experiential
technique in which clients retrace their family
history for the purpose of gaining insight into
current family functioning.

Answer 13

Family life-fact chronology

Question 14

The original nuclear family

into which one was born or adopted.

Answer 14

Family of origin

Question 15

The implicit agreements that prescribe
the rights, duties, and range of appropriate
behaviors within the family.

Answer 15

Family rules

Question 16

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.

Answer 16

Family sculpting

Question 17

The functional organization
of a family, which determines interactional patterns
among members.

Answer 17

Family structure

Question 18

A family in which the needs
of the individual members are met and there
is a balance of interdependence and autonomy
among members.

Answer 18

Functional family

Question 19

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.

Answer 19

Genogram

Question 20

Family functioning
based on generational boundaries that involve
parental control and authority.

Answer 20

Hierarchical structure

Question 21

An experiential
and humanistic approach developed by
Virginia Satir, which viewed techniques as being
secondary to the relationship a therapist develops
with the family.

Answer 21

Human validation process model

Question 22

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.

Answer 22

Identifi ed patient

Question 23

An approach
that operates on the premise that a predictable
pattern of interpersonal relationships
connects the functioning of family members
across generations.

Answer 23

Multigenerational family therapy

Question 24

The way in which dysfunctional patterns are passed

from one generation to the next.

Answer 24

Multigenerational transmission process

Question 25

This perspective serves as a basic structure for assessment both of the family members and the system.

Answer 25

Multilayered process of family therapy

Question 26

A technique in strategic
family therapy whereby the therapist directs family
members to continue their symptomatic behavior.
Change occurs through defying the directive.

Answer 26

Paradoxical directive

Question 27

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.

Answer 27

Postmodern approaches to family therapy

Question 28

Relabeling a family’s description of
behavior by putting it into a new and more positive
perspective.

Answer 28

Reframing

Question 29

A therapeutic approach
whereby the therapist develops a specific plan
and designs interventions geared toward solving
a family’s presenting problems.

Answer 29

Strategic therapy

Question 30

A therapeutic approach directed
at changing or realigning the organization
of a family to modify dysfunctional patterns and
clarify boundaries.

Answer 30

Structural therapy

Question 31

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.

Answer 31

Structural-strategic approaches

Question 32

A three-person system; the smallest

stable emotional unit of human relations.

Answer 32

Triangle

Question 33

A pattern of interaction consisting
of detouring confl ict between two people by
involving a third person.

Answer 33

Triangulation

Question 34

1. The trend today is toward reliance
   on a single theory of family therapy
   rather than using an integrative approach.

Answer 34

f

Question 35

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.

Answer 35

t

Question 36

T F 3. Experiential family therapy relies
on the expert use of directives
aimed at changing dysfunctional
patterns.

Answer 36

f

Question 37

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.

Answer 37

t

Question 38

T F 5. Conducting an assessment is one of
the phases of the mutilayered perspective
in family therapy.

Answer 38

t

Question 39

T F 6. Understanding family process is
almost always facilitated by “how”
questions.

Answer 39

t

Question 40

T F 7. In terms of assessment, it is useful to
inquire about family perspectives on
issues inherent in each of the lenses.

Answer 40

t

Question 41

T F 8. The family therapist’s skill in communicating
understanding and
empathy through active listening
lays the foundation for an effective
working relationship.

Answer 41

t

Question 42

T F 9. All change in human systems starts
with understanding and accepting
things as they are.

Answer 42

t

Question 43

T F 10. Reframing is the art of putting what

is known in a new, more useful perspective.

Answer 43

t

Question 44

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

Answer 44

b

Question 45

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

Answer 45

e

Question 46

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

Answer 46

d

Question 47

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

Answer 47

a

Question 48

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.

Answer 48

e

Question 49

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

Answer 49

a

Question 50

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.

Answer 50

e

Question 51

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.

Answer 51

a

Question 52

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

Answer 52

e

Question 53

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

Answer 53

a

Question 54

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

Answer 54

b

Question 55

22. 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

Answer 55

c

Question 56

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

Answer 56

a

Question 57

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

Answer 57

a

Question 58

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

Answer 58

c