Group Therapy Flashcards
group therapy strongly emphasizes
interpersonal interaction
What does Yalom think the client’s problem stems from?
flawed interpersonal relationship skills
what is universality?
o Clients realize that others share the same struggles (i.e., “we’re all in the same boat)
♣ Especially powerful in homogenous groups
what is group cohesiveness?
o Feelings of interconnectedness among group members
o Trust, acceptance, belongingness
o Analogous to therapeutic alliance in individual therapy
What is interpersonal learning?
The group becomes a social microcosm for each client. client will enact their own relationship pathology (without knowing) onto the group
Interpersonal learning focuses on the
here and now.
♣ Discourage discussion of lives outside therapy
♣ Encourage discussion of relationships between group members in the current moment
♣ Clients talk directly with each other about the way they behave towards each other (feedback)
what is a practical issue in group therapy with open and closed enrolment groups?
o Open-enrollment groups – individuals leave or join at any time (might not feel safe)
o Closed-enrollment groups – members start and finish together
how does preparing a client for group therapy help avoid practical issues?
o Correct misconceptions
o Provide realistic and encouraging data about outcome
o Encourage helpful ways of participating
what are the developmental stages of therapy groups?
o Initially, cautious and concerned about acceptance
o Next, some jockeying for position in the social “pecking order”
o Finally, cohesiveness emerges
why is cotherapy good?
o Often, group therapy is conducted by a team of two therapists (rather than one)
o Second set of eyes and ears can attend to client behaviors
o Also, therapists can model healthy interaction
why could cotherapy be bad?
o can be problematic when therapists are competitive, distrustful, or have incompatible therapy orientations
what is a major issue outside of group therapy?
o Extra-group socializing between clients (romantic or platonic) is a significant problem
o Even when prohibited at the outset, it happens at times
o Loyalty to friendship may exceed loyalty to group
o Other group members can feel excluded
what is the idea surrounding pathology with family therapy?
o Psychological symptoms as a by-product of dysfunctional families
o One individual may exhibit symptoms, but the problem belongs to the entire system
What is the idea of reciprocal causality with family therapy?
events influence each other reciprocally
o As opposed to linear causality, which is endorsed by individual therapists
What is focussed on in family therapy?
communication patterns
what is the idea of functionalism?
that although the psychological symptoms seem maladaptive, within the family they are functional
T or F? family therapists have pointed to unhealthy communication patterns among family members as the type of interaction that most significantly contributes to psychological problems.
True
What is homeostasis in families?
Families regulate themselves by returning themselves to an emotional set point
♣ Like a thermostat
what is feedback in response to homeostasis?
A family member may sense that the family is reaching an uncomfortable state, and take action (feedback) to return it to comfort zone.
Genograms
A pencil-and-paper method of creating a family tree that incorporates detailed information about the relationships between family members for at least three generations
o Process and result can both be beneficial
What do these represent?:
♣ Leaving home
♣ Joining of families through marriage or union
♣ Families with young children
♣ Families with adolescents
♣ Launching children and moving on in midlife
♣ Families in late middle age
♣ Families nearing the end of life
THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE. A developmental theory for families, including seven important stages in family’s life:
What is the Conflict Tactics Scale?
Objective questionnaire used to assess violence and abuse in couples
Measures how individuals react when family conflicts arise
♣ Speaking calmly, using insults, throwing objects, hitting others, etc.
♣ These are different levels and requires different interventions
What is the identified patient
the person who the family thinks really has the problem when in actuality its the whole family, often difficult to persuade the family that the problem is systematic rather than individual
family structures are unwritten rules by which the family
operates
when flawed there is problems in relationship for ex:
in-laws
How can family structure be improved?
by focusing on the subsystems within families and the boundaries between them
family structures should neither be
enmeshed or disengaged
emeshed
• don’t know where one person begins and the other ends. Problematic for kids and parents, the child might not know what they like or dislike.
Disengaged
• withdrawn from the relationship
differentiation of self is essential to allow a family member to become their own person, when this doesn’t happen they are emotionally …. and called …
o emotionally fused, or an undifferentiated ego mass
when there is a triangle, what is the goal of therapy?
o encourage detriangulation and direct communication between two people at odds with each other
What is solution focused therapy?
Emphasis on solving problems
Emphasis on the use of solution-talk rather than problem-talk
♣ Make clients think about positive outcomes rather than unpleasant present situations
Emphasis on exceptions to current problems (times when better) and how they created these exceptions (to encourage them to create more exceptions)
What is narrative therapy?
o Highlights client’s tendencies to create meanings about themselves and the events in their lives in particular ways
o Stories we construct about our own lives are powerful influences on the way we experience new events
♣ We “edit” our experiences to fit the story line
♣ Kind of like CBT
♣ Ex: goes through a traumatic experience and added meaning to it
o Revise stories and recast selves in more positive, heroic way; new events can be interpreted more positively
what is multi systemic family therapy designed for?
adolescents with long-term behavioral and emotional problems that involve legal offenses
What is multi systemic family therapy ?
It utilizes elements of cognitive, behavioral, parent-training, solution-focused, and other kinds of therapy. Multisystemic therapists meet with various members of the family in various combinations (and in various locations, including home, the school, and community settings). They also meet with school personnel such as teachers and principals. They steer teens toward peers that will be good influences and activities that will be beneficial to their futures. They train the adults around the teens to support and encourage such behaviors
what is cultural competency?
o Family therapists should appreciate the cultural background of the families
♣ Ethnicity
♣ Religion
♣ Other variables
o Often, one family includes a blend of cultural influences
♣ Members from different cultures
♣ Varying levels of acculturation
How can confidentiality be difficult in family therapy?
o Can be difficult when own family member tells therapist something in private
how can diagnosing be difficult?
o DSM disorder apply to individuals, not families
o If diagnosis is required, therapist who thinks system is flawed has a dilemma
♣ Labeling identified patient with disorder can perpetuate the family’s tendency to blame one member
why is outcome research for family therapy hard to get?
- the issue of which family members’ opinions should be solicited
is the research positive?
Not as much outcome research as individual therapy, but existing research is very positive
o Family therapy appears to work about as well as other modes of therapy
o Empirical studies demonstrate that a strong therapeutic relationship is key
