Family & Group Therapies Flashcards
Roots of family therapy
- general systems and cybernetic theory
General systems theory
- originally used by biologists
- used to describe the functioning of living & non-living systems
- All systems consist of interacting components, our governed by the same general rules and have homeostatic mechanisms that help maintain equilibrium and stability
Cybernetic theory
- concerned with mechanisms that regulate a system’s functioning
- distinguishes between negative and positive feedback loops
Negative feedback loops
- cybernetics
- resist change and help a system maintain the status quo
Positive feedback loops
- cybernetics
- amplify change and disrupt the status quo
Double blind communication
- linked to the development of schizophrenia
- when you receive two contradictory messages from a family member and are not allowed to comment on the contradiction
Symmetrical interactions
-bateson
- equality
- behavior one person elicited to similar type of behavior from the other person
- can escalate in intensity or become one-upmanship
Complementary interactions
Bateson
- inequality
- behavior one person compliments behavior of another
- one dominant role, one subordinate role
Recent approaches to family therapy
- influenced by postmodernism and challenge were the basic premises of general systems theory
-have a constructurist/ social constructivist perspective
- assume there are multiple view points and realities
- It’s a shared process, therapist worms are collaborative relationship with family and helps family members identify alternative ways to interpreting and solving problems
APA guidelines for classifying evidence-based treatment in couple and family therapy
- best treatments are based on both science and the accumulative knowledge of experienced practitioners in order to accurately identify both the efficacy and utility of clinical procedure
Three levels of evidence
Level 1 couple and family therapies
- evidence informed interventions that are supported by a pre-existing research or linked to evidence-based treatment models
- have not been empirically evaluated themselves or have not been evaluated for specific populations or problems
- gottman’s marital therapy
- structural family therapy
Level 2 couple and family therapies
- promising interventions that have preliminary evidence for their effectiveness but have not been replicated for specific populations or problems
- inside oriented marital therapy
- attachment-based family therapy
Level 3 couples and family therapies
- evidence-based interventions that are supported by systematic high quality research
- shown to be effective but have not been replicated for specific populations or problems
Divided into four categories
Category 1 (couple & family therapies)
- level three
- there is evidence of an intervention’s efficacy and effectiveness when compared to no treatment (absolute efficacy)
- all interventions and level 3 must at minimum meet this criteria
- brief structural family therapy
- integrative behavioral couple therapy
Category 2 (couple & family therapies)
- level three
- there’s evidence of the interventions, efficacy and effectiveness compared to alternative treatments (relative efficacy)
- behavioral marital therapy
- parent management training
Category 3 (couple & family therapies)
- level three
- there’s evidence of efficacy and effectiveness of an interventions model specific change mechanism (verified mechanism of action)
- behavioral couples therapy
- family psycho psycho education interventions for schizophrenia
Category 4 (couples and families)
- level three
- evidence that intervention has beneficial outcomes for specific client populations, for specific clinical problems, and for different service delivery systems (contextual efficacy)
- multi-systemic therapy for adolescent problem behaviors
- behavioral couples therapy for alcohol and substance use disorders
Extended family systems therapy
- Bowen
- aka intergenerational or transgenerational family therapy
- derived from his work with children with schizophrenia and their families
- transmission of certain emotional processes from one generation to the next is responsible for the development of schizophrenia and a family member
Differentiation (Bowen)
- intra and interpersonal
- intrapersonal= person’s ability to distinguish between their own feelings and thoughts
- interpersonal=makes it possible for a person to separate their own emotional and intellectual functioning from that others
Emotionally fused
- Bowen
- caused by low level of differentiation
Emotional triangles (Bowen)
- when a family dyad experiences tension , it may recruit a third family member in order to help alleviate tension and increase stability
Ex. Husband and wife may reduce conflict by becoming over involved with one of their kids
- likely hit an emotional triangle with develop increases as a levels of differentiation and family members decrease
Family projection process (Bowen)
- parents projection of their emotional immaturity onto their children which results in children having lower levels of differentiation
Multi-generational transmission process
- Bowen
- transmission of emotional maturity from one generation to the next
- occurs. When the child most involved in the family’s emotional system becomes the least differentiated family member and as an adult chooses a partner who has similar levels of differentiation.
- This leads to the transmission of a lower level of differentiation tooth, one of their children and eventually results in the development of severe symptoms in a child
Increasing differentiation
- Bowen
-increased differentiation and one family member will facilitate greater differentiation in other family members
Extended family systems therapy therapists
- often only see two family members in therapy
- usually the parents or individual family members most capable of increasing their level of differentiation
Primary goal of EFST
- increase each family members differentiation
Strategies for increasing differentiation (EFST)
- therapy begins with the assessment, which includes a genogram to depict family relationships and important life events for at least three generations and is used to help family members understand intergenerational patterns of functioning
- therapist will then ask questions that are designed to diffuse emotions and help family members identify how they contribute to family problems
- family members are taught how to interact with families of origin and ways that alter triangulated relationships
Role of therapist in EFST
- coach
- stay connected with family members but remain neutral and avoid becoming involved in families emotional processes
- family members talk directly to therapist rather than each other to reduce emotional reactivity
Structural family therapy
Minuchin
- based on the assumptions that family members symptoms are related to problems in the family structure
- identifies subsystems and boundaries as important aspects of family structure
Subsystems (structural family therapy)
- smaller units of the entire family system that are responsible for carrying out specific tasks
- example, parental subsystem: family members responsible for caring for children
Boundaries (sft)
- different degrees of permeability
- exist on a continuum
Overly diffuse boundaries (SFT)
- lead to and meshed relationships
Overly rigid boundaries (SFT)
- lead to disengaged relationships
Clear boundaries (SFT)
- allow family members to have close relationships while maintaining a sense of personal identity
4 rigid family triads (SFT)
- family problems which help parents obscure or deny conflicts
- stable coalition
unstable coalition - detouring – attack coalition
- detering – support coalition
Stable coalition( SFT )
- one parent and a child form a flexible alliance against the other parent
Unstable coalition (SFT)
- triangulation
- each parent demands the child side with them
Detouring – attack coalition. (SFT)
- parents avoid the conflict between them by blaming the child for their problems