Family Therapy Flashcards
What is general systems theory?
General systems theory defines a system as an entity that is maintained by the mutual interactions of its components and assumes that the actions of interacting components are best understood by studying them in their context.
General systems theory views the family as a(n) _____ system that continuously receives input and discharges output to the environment and is adaptable to change
open
The influence of general systems theory on family therapy is evident in the concept of _______, which is the tendency for a family to act in ways that maintain the family’s equilibrium or status quo.
homeostasis
(Cybernetics) A ______ reduces deviation and helps a system maintain the status quo, while a _____ amplifies deviation or change and thereby disrupts the system
negative feedback loop; positive feedback loop
child psychiatrist eventually known as the “grandfather of family therapy”; integrated psychoanalysis with a systems approach, and saw families together in therapy
Nathan Ackerman
What is double-bind communication?
As originally defined by Bateson, Jackson, Haley, and Weakland (1956), double-bind communication is an etiological factor for schizophrenia and involves conflicting negative injunctions - e.g., “do that and you’ll be punished” and “don’t do that and you’ll be punished” - with one injunction often being expressed verbally and the other nonverbally. In addition, the recipient of the contradictory injunctions is not allowed to comment on them or seek help from someone else.
(Communication/Interaction Family Therapy) A _____ function is the content (informational) aspect of the communication, while a ____ function is conveyed nonverbally and makes a statement about the relationship between communicators
report; command
(Communication/Interaction Family Therapy) In a _____ interaction, two people mirror each other’s behavior; reflects equality between communicators but may escalate into a competitive “one-upsmanship” game in which each participant tries to outdo the other. In a _____ interaction, one person’s behavior complements the other person’s behavior; reflects inequality and maximizes differences between communicators (e.g., one participant assumes a dominant role while the other is submissive)
symmetrical; complimentary
What is the goal of Communication/Interaction family therapy?
to modify dysfunctional interactions that are maintaining the family’s current problems
(Bowen) ____ refers to a person’s ability to separate his/her intellectual and emotional functioning, which helps keep the person from becoming “fused” with the emotions that dominate the family.
differentiation
(Bowen) A(n) ______ develops when a two-person system attempts to reduce instability or stress by recruiting a third person into the system
emotional triangle
What is the process and goal of Bowenian family therapy?
The therapist often sees two members of the family (spouses) and forms a therapeutic triangle in which the therapist comes into emotional contact with the family members but avoids becoming emotionally triangled. The goal is to increase the differentiation of all family members.
(Bowen) occurs when increasingly lower levels of differentiation are passed down from one generation to the next
family projection process
What type of family therapy emphasizes altering the family’s structure in order to change the behavior patterns of family members?
Minuchin’s structural family therapy
(Minuchin) occurs when a parent and child consistently “gang up” against the other parent
stable coalition
(Minuchin) occurs when each parent demands that the child side with them against the other parent
triangulation
(Minuchin) occurs when both parents focus on a child either by overprotecting or blaming them for the family’s problems
detouring
Haley’s strategic family therapy focuses on ____ (rather than insight)
symptom relief
Haley’s strategic family therapy uses specific strategies, especially _______ (e.g., ordeals, prescribing the symptom, reframing) that are designed to alter the behavior of family members by helping them see a symptom in an alternative way or recognize they have control over their behaviors or by using their resistance in a constructive way.
paradoxical
What type of family therapy focuses on transactional patterns and views symptoms as interpersonal events that serve to control relationships?
Haley’s strategic family therapy
What family therapy prioritizes the first session of therapy and has four stages: the social stage, the problem stage, the interaction stage, and the goal-setting stage?
Haley’s strategic family therapy
What type of therapy uses a therapeutic team in which 1-2 members of the team meet with the family during sessions, while the remaining team members observe sessions behind a one-way mirror, and team members will have strategy conferences?
Milan Systemic Family Therapy
What are the 2 goals of Milan’s Systemic Family Therapy?
to help family members see their choices and to assist them in exercising their prerogative of choosing
Help family members to understand their relationships and problems in alternative ways, which paves the way to seeing new solutions and making new choices
Object Relations: A primary source of dysfunction is _____, which occurs when a family member projects old introjects onto another family member and then reacts to that person as though he/she actually has the projected characteristics or provokes the person to act in ways consistent with those characteristics.
projective identification
What is the primary goal of object relations family therapy?
The primary goal of therapy is to resolve each family member’s attachment to family introjects and involves addressing multiple transferences (i.e., transferences of one family member to another, transferences of each member to the therapist, and transferences of the family as a whole to the therapist).
According to Ridley, when working with an African American client exhibiting “healthy cultural paranoia”, an Anglo therapist would be best advised to:
help the client bring feelings of suspiciousness, frustration, and antipathy toward whites into conscious awareness
