History of MFT Conceptual Foundations, CFT Theory History, Transgenerational Models: Bowen & Contextual Flashcards
Systems Theory
◦ Model and language for understanding all systems
◦ Everything is interconnected
◦ Everything has context
◦ Systems are interdependent w/in themselves and
form and maintain relationship w/ surrounding
environment
Systems Perspective
◦ Developmental
◦ Multicultural
◦ Interactional
◦ The difference between a theory and a model
System
Unit bounded by a set of interrelated elements that exhibits coherent behaviors.
Subsystems
Grouping of family members that come together to perform various family functions (ex. siblings, parent-child…)
Suprasystem
Society in which system operates.
Open System
Flexible, adaptable, open to input in order to survive.
Closed System
Less likely to adapt, firmer boundaries, can go into disorder, changes are denied/not allowed.
Boundaries
Line of demarcation in a family that define a system as an entity.
- Separates subsystems from one another
- Separates system from the environment
- The degree of emotional connection, dependence,
support, and influence between different
subsystems w/ the family, and between these sub
and social systems
What created the Family Therapy Models
General Systems Theory and Cybernetics
Cybernetics
◦ The theory that systems are self-regulating
◦ Self-correcting systems through feedback
◦ Communication is the means through which
systems maintain themselves
Father of Cybernetics
Gregory Bateson
General Systems Theory
◦ System is more than a sum of its parts
◦ Systems behave in patterns
◦ Systems function like other systems
(isomorphism)
Father of General Systems Theory
Ludwig Von Bertalanffy
Bowen created…?
Natural Systems
Carl Whitaker created…?
Symbolic Experiential Therapy
Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy created…?
Contextual Therapy
W.D. Fairbair, Donald Winnicott, and Melanie Klein created…?
Object Relations Therapy
Isomorphism
Similarity in organisms of different ancestry resulting from evolutionary convergence.
Entropy
◦ System’s tendency to break down
◦ Over time, threatens the survival of the system