chapter 3 - The Fundamental Concepts of Family Therapy A Whole New Way of Thinking about Human Behavior Flashcards
define cybernetics
study of feedback systems in self-regulating systems.
how is cybernetcis seen in family systems
cybernetics applies to family systems due to the fact that family systems find stability by monitoring performance data.
define feedback loop
how the system gets info to review and refine itself. similar to a bug report.
define negative feedback
aspect that needs correcting and demonstrates that something is amiss.d
define positive feedback
reinforces current standing of the system
what is a runaway process
when an aspect of the system runs amok and is overused.
what 4 things does the cybernetics of family therapy focus on
family rules
negative feedback
sequences of interaction (Feedback loops)
when a negative feedback triggers a positive feedback loop
define self fulfilling prophecy
positive feedback loop example. when one’s concerns give rise to apprehension, thus causing a detrimental occurcen (proving itself by creating itself)
define bandwagon effect
tendency of something to be suppported because it is gathering supports from other sources.
how can you stop escalation of a feedback loop
disarmament (refusing to engage or continue in reciprocal reactive system)
what does cybernetic thougth of family systems normally see th source of dysfunction
communication (causes inaccurate feedback loops)
what creates the traits of a system
the relationships of the parts of the system (gestalt - the whole is graeter than the sum of its parts)
what is the black box metaphor for systems theroy
focus uniquely on the input and output fo the system (cause and effect) and not the innner workings of the members of the system. Only looking at communication and behavior (observable functions of a system)
define general systems theroy of BERTALANFFY
the famliy system is a part of other systems (exo and macrosystems) aka an OPEN system that is always interacting with other systems.
what 2 things did systems theory not aaddress
family belief structure and cultural forces shaping those beliefs.
what does constructivism say thur the personal construct theroy of Kelly
we construct our own environment and interpret things in such a way that guide our interactions.
what technique does social constructivism find itself working in family therapy
reframing
define reframing
relabeling a behavior to change how we respond to it.
define social constructivism
our interpretation sof reality are based on our context at large
define deconstruction
changing entrenched beliefs
what is the core belief of solution focused therapy
look at what people are doing when they don’t have the issue (looks at exceptoins)
what is the main tool of narrative therapy
externalization
define externalization
reconstruction of seeing issues as detached parts of the person (not internalized)
what are the 3 stages of separation from a child and a mother
protest, despair, detachment
define secure attachment according to BOWLBY
basic security (doesn’t feel helpless or abandoned or alone) - confident in caregivers ability to care for them allows them to foster confidence in themselves.
define insecure attachment according to BOWLBY
if parents are unavailble or unresponsive then child develops a shame of having needs (invalidate experience of wanting) and do not trust others to be able to validate or meet their needs.
what are the 2 types of insecure attachment
anxious and avoidant
what typically causes anxious insecure attachment
overly protective and intrustive parents
how does insecure anxious attachment present
seek validation from others (hard time identifying their own emotions), cling to caregivers (see overprotection as the world is dangerous - simmilar to how the parent might see the world), become people pleasers. express fear of abandonment.
what causes a person to become avoidance insecure attachment
unavailable parents.
how does avoidant insecure attachment present
fear rejection so they cut self off from needs that continue to go unmet. Will become distant from others to not feel hurt by rejection.
what pattern is seen with a couple that has one person that is anxious attachment and the other is avoidant
pursue/withdraw pattern
define complementary
the fact that each half of a couple influnece one another’s behavior (e.g. ying to yang)
define circular causality
issue ar ecaused by ongoing series of interactions and reactions therein. it is not just simple cause and effect, but a networking of potential responses.
define process vs. content
how they say something vs. what htey say (why vs. what)
define family structure
organization whereas interactions take place
do interactions define structue or vice versa?
interactions initially design structure, but soon structure designs interactions.
define subystems
gender, genderation, and function of a family system that help to organize it
define boundaries
invisible barriers that limit how different subsystems interact (i.e. the subsystem of gender between parents is bound by having only the men take out the garbage)
define disengagement
when boundaries are too strict. it creates for autonomy but no connectivity.
define enmeshment
boundary issue. parents are loving but creates children that are too dependent (overly connective). trouble relating to othrs outside the system.
are boundaries in systems reciprocal and interdepenent?
yes.
define family life cycle patterns
ordered periods but not continuous.w family life cycles go through stages of calm and then stages of challenge that demand that we change to move through to the next stage and then return to calmness to consolidate the change.
what 2 things does family life cycle allow us to see
systems must adapt to accommodate the growth of members, change for one means change for all.
what are the 6 family life cycle stages
1- leaving home (Single young adults)
2- joining of families through marraige
3- families with young kids
4- kids become adolescents
5- lauching children and moving on
6- families in later life.
d
describe the leaving home (Single young adult stage) x 4
accept personal responsbilities, see self as different from family of origin, develop intimate relations, establish identiy in relation to work and personal finances.
describe the joing of families through marriage stage x3
create and commit to new system, make marital system, realign relations with extended families
describe families with young kid stage x 4
accept new members, adjust marriage for kids, join in raising kids, realign extended familiy for child rearing
describe the family with adolescents stage x 4
flex in bondaries to allow for kids growth and fraility of grandparents, more freedom for the kids, focus midlife marital issues, begin caring for older generation
describe launching children and moving on stage x5
accept exits and entries into systems, renegotiate marriage as a dyad, build adult to adult relations with kids, rebuild relations to include in laws and grandkids, handle disabilities and deaths of grandparents
describe families in later life stage x 5
accept new generational role, maintain marriage with changes in biology, support kids with own families, make room for wisdom of the elderly, deal with death of others
what is the core concept of narrative family theray
we build a family narriatve that reinfroces certain points of the plot line and removes elements tha tdon’t fit.
define neutrality
all parts of the system contrinbue equally to the problems that are present
