Clinical Psychology: Structural Family Therapy

Question 1

Structural Family therapy was developed by _____________.

Answer 1

Salvador Minuchin.

Question 2

According to Minuchin, all families have an _____________ that determines how family members relate to one another.

Answer 2

Implicit structure.

Question 3

______________ determine how members combine forces during times of conflict.

Answer 3

Power hierarchies.

Question 4

______________ are barriers or rules that determine the amount of contact that is allowed between family members.

Answer 4

Boundaries.

Question 5

When boundaries are _________, family members are disengaged from each other; when boundaries are too ________, family members are enmeshed.

Answer 5

• Rigid
• Permeable/diffuse

Question 6

Minuchin distinguished between 3 chronic boundary problems, or ___________.

Answer 6

Rigid triads.

Question 7

_____________ occurs when the parents focus on a child, either by overprotecting or blaming the child for the family’s problems.

Answer 7

Detouring.

Question 8

A ______________ occurs when a parent and child form a cross-generational coalition and “gang up” against the other parent.

Answer 8

Stable coalition.

Question 9

______________ occurs when each parent demands that the child side with him/her against the other parent.

Answer 9

Triangulation.

Question 10

Family dysfunction is viewed as the result of an ______________ that prohibits the family from adapting to maturational and situational stressors in a healthy way.

Answer 10

Inflexible family structure.

Question 11

____________ the family is the primary long-term goal of therapy.

Answer 11

Restructuring.

Question 12

Therapy techniques emphasize ____________ rather than fostering insight.

Answer 12

Changing behaviors.

Question 13

Structural Family Therapy Technique 1: ___________ involves blending with the family, tracking the family’s values, life themes, and significant life events in conversation, and ___________ (adopting the family’s affective and communication style).

Answer 13

• Joining
• Mimesis

Question 14

Structural Family Therapy Technique 2: The therapist then _________________, including its transactional patterns, power hierarchies, and boundaries. This may include construction of a ___________ that helps clarify family interaction patterns.

Answer 14

• Evaluates the family structure
• Family (structural) map

Question 15

Structural Family Therapy Technique 3: ____________, in which family members are asked to role-play their relationship patterns so they can be identified/altered, and ___________, which involves relabeling behaviors so they can be viewed in more positive ways, are used to _______________.

Answer 15

• Enactment
• Reframing
• Restructure the family