family, group, and behavioral concepts Flashcards
blended family
separates families united by marriage; step-families
circular causality
the idea that events are related through a series of interacting loops of repeating cycles
communications theory
the study of relationships in terms of the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages
complementary
relationships based on differences which fit together, where qualities of one make up for lacks in the other; one is one-up while the other is one-down
concurrent therapy
treatment of two or more persons, seen separately, usually by different therapists
conjoint therapy
treatment of tow or more persons in a session together
contingency contracting
a behavior technique whereby agreements are made between family members to exchange rewards for desired behavior
counter-transference
a behavior technique whereby agreements are made between family members to exchange rewards for desired behavior
cross-generational coalition
an inappropriate alliance between a parent and a child who side together against a third member of the family
differentiation
psychological separation of intellect and emotions and independent of self from others; opposite of effusion
disengagement
the psychological isolation that results from overly rigid boundaries around individuals and subsystems in a famiyl
double-bind
a conflict created when a person receives contradictory message on different levels of abstraction in an important relationship and cannot leave or comment
emotional cutoff
bowen’s term for flight from an unresolved emotional attachment
enactment
an interaction stimulated in structural family therapy in order to observe and then change transactions which make up family structure
enmeshment
is a description of a relationship between two or more people in which personal boundaries are permeable and unclear. This often happens on an emotional level in which two people “feel” each other’s emotions, or when one person becomes emotionally escalated and the other family member does as well.
extended family
all the descendants of a set of grandparents
extinction
eliminating a behavior by not reinforcing it
family drawing
an experiential therapy technique where family members are asked to draw their ideas about how the family is organized
family group therapy
family treatment based on the group therapy model
family homeostasis
tendency of families to resist change in order to maintain a steady state
family life cycle
stages of family life– separation from one’s parents, marriage, having children, growing older, retirement, and death
family stucture
the functional organization of families that determines how family members interact
family myths
a set of beliefs based on a distortion of historical reality and shared by all family members that help shape the rules governing family functioning
family of origin
a person’s parents and siblings; usually refers to the original nuclear family of an adult
family projection process
In Bowenian theory the mechanism by which parental conflicts are projected onto the children or spouse
family rules
a descriptive term for redundant behavioral patterns in a family based on expectations of how family members are expected to behave.
feedback
the return of a portion of the output of a system, especially when used to maintain the output withing predetermined limits (negative feedback) or to signal a need to modify the system (positive feedback)
functional analysis of behavior
in operant behavior therapy a study of a particular behavior, which elicits it, and what reinforces it (contemporary term: behavior analysis)
fusion
a blurring of psychological boundaries between self and others, and a contamination of emotional and intellectual functioning; opposite of differentiation
genogram
a schematic diagram of the family system using squares to represent men, circles to indicate women, horizontal lines for marriages, and vertical lines to indicate children
group dynamics
interactions among group members that emerge as a result of properties of the group rather than merely their individual personalities
hierarchical structure
family functioning based on clear generational boundaries where the parents maintain control and authority
identified patient
the symptom bearer or official patient as identified by the family
joining
a structural family therapy term for accepting and accommodating to families in order to win their confidence and circumvent resistance
linear casuality
the idea that one event is the cause and another is the effect; in behavior the idea that one behavior is a stimulus, the other is a response
live supervision
technique of teaching therapy whereby the supervisor observes sessions in progress
modeling
observational learning
multiple family therapy
treatment of several families at once in a group therapy
nuclear family
parents and their children
object relations
internalized images of self and others based on early parent-child interactions which determine a person’s mode of relationship to other people
object relations theory
theory which emphasizes the object-seeking propensity of the infant instead of the focusing exclusively on libidinal and aggressive drives
paradox
a self-contradictory statement based on a valid deduction from acceptable premises?
a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
paradoxical directive
a technique used in therapy whereby the therapist directs family members to continue their symptomatic behavior– if they conform, they admit control and expose secondary gain; if they rebel, they give up their symptoms
parental (parentified) child
a child who has been allocated power to take care of younger siblings
prescribing the symptom (paradox)
a paradoxical technique which forces a patient to either give up a symptom or admit that is is under voluntary responsibility
positive connotation
technique of ascribing positive motives to family behavior in order to promote family cohesion and avoid resistance to therapy
process/content
distinction between how members of a family or group relate and what they talk about
projective identification
a defense mechanism that operates unconsciously whereby unwanted aspects of the self are attributed to another person and that person is induced to behave in accordance with these projected attitudes and feelings
reframing
relabeling a family’s description of behavior to make it more amenable to therapeutic change (e.g., describing someone lazy rather than depressed)
regression
return to a less mature level of functioning in the face of stress
reinforcement
an event, behavior, or object that increases the rate of a particular response
relabeling
altering the meaning of behavior of redefining the situation so the perceived meaning of the behavior is less negative
resistance
anything that patient or families do to oppose or retard the progress of therapy
restraining
a strategic technique for overcoming resistance by suggesting that a family not change
roleplaying
acting out the parts of important characters to dramatize feelings and practice new ways of relating
scapegoat
a member of the family, usually the identified patient, who is the object of displaced conflict of criticism
undifferentiated family ego mass
the emotional fusion or enmeshment of a family
