Contextual Family Therapy Flashcards
Debts or Filial Responsibility
As an account for the child’s experience of the degrees of fairness and ethical consideration from their parents towards them, parents will either earn debts (resulting in destructive entitlement) or filial responsibility (resulting in loyalty)
Deparentification Process
This is a two part process
1. The therapist becomes temporarily parentified to relieve the parentified child and then 2. addresses the larger spectrum of family dynamics to work toward systemic change
Destructive Entitlement
This results when individuals experience the denial of entitlement from their family of origin, and in turn, seek what they believe to be owed to them through a different relationship- typically their family of creation.
Key concepts
-First to make sure basal needs are being met before beginning therapy like Maslow
-Trustworthiness and reliability is what healthy families function on
-Not brief therapy
Goal of Contextual Therapy
Focused on working through problems and individuals taking responsibility for actions and a family separated from undue guilt from legacy and taking good responsibility for actions
Primary Contributor
Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagi
Contextual
Contextual refers to the systemic nature of all that are impacted by the therapeutic effort. Also refers to the social and political context within a family
Entitlement
What individuals are inherently due from others in their family as well as what is earned from others based upon behavior toward them
Equitable Asymmetry
Refers to the concept that children are not able to care for themselves and are entirely dependent upon their parents- making them both incredibly vulnerable or delightfully entitled based upon the circumstances of their upbringing
Legacy
Certain attributes or qualities that are attributed to an individual as an account of being born to his or her parents. (Things that we learn about relationships and then pass down
Loyalty
Central to the theory of contextual family therapy, loyalty refers to an individual’s internalized expectations of and obligations to his or her family of origin. This concept is assumed to exert a powerful influence over the individual’s functioning
Ledger
The manner in which individuals within a family keep track of and balance debts and entitlements
Merit
Merit is earned when parents are responsible and ethical with the equitable asymmetry within the parent-child relationship. If they are ethical and fair, they earn merit, which rewards them with loyalty from their childhood as they mature into adults.
Parentification
This term is different from parentified child in Structural family therapy. Here, it refers to a process where a child attempts to earn love from their parent by acting as their caretaker, The child takes on the role of parent for the parent.
Psychology
One of the 4 dimensions of individual and relational psychology that interact with one another in Contextual Family Therapy. Psychology refers to the person’s internal experience of the world, including thoughts, desires, emotions, and meaning. As facts occur externally to the individual, psychology develops internally within the individual.
4 primary dimensions in Contextual Family Therapy
Facts
Psychology
Transactions
Relational Ethics
Multidirectional Partiality
This concept is similar to neutrality while expounding upon the importance that they therapist remains accountable for everyone whose well-being is potentially impacted by a therapeutic intervention. This concept elaborates that every intervention must serve the best interests of everyone involved. (Takes everyone’s perspective in the room)
Exoneration
The process in which an individual restores balance within his or her ledger.
Facts
one of the 4 dimensions of individual and relational psychology that interact with one another in Contextual Family Therapy. Facts refer to the stable and physical attributes that an individual are born with (Ex. gender, ethnicity, race, disabilities, cognitive functioning) and the contextual circumstances of their upbringing (ex. divorce, moving, trauma, etc.)
Filial Loyalty
This concept suggests that children are inherently loyal to their family of origin
Relational Ethics
One of the 4 dimensions of individual and relational psychology that interact with one another in Contextual family therapy. Relational ethics are the most significant component to contextual family therapy, and refer to the responsibility each individual has for the impact that their behaviors have on others. Contextual Family Therapy endorses a consideration for the best interests of the other in your family.
Revolving Slate of Injustice
The multigenerational transmission of destructive entitlement in which one generation harms the next generation despite the fact that there was no wrong doing.
Split Filial Loyalty
This concept arises when a child finds him or herself in a position where they have to choose loyalty toward one parent at the expense of being loyal to the other
Transactions
One of the 4 dimensions of individual and relational psychology that interact with one another in Contextual Family Therapy. Transactions refer to the patterns of organization and dynamics within the individual’s family system.
Empathy
Understand each family member’s pain, and their perspectives
Crediting
Validate each family member’s experience
Acknowledgment of Effort
Trying to make positive interactions in family and acknowledging individual efforts. This helps with motivation in therapy
Accountability
Having each member recognize their role in another family member’s hurt or pain.
Lending Weight
When a family member is having a hard time articulating their experience and the therapist weighs in and asks if they are getting their point right
