Satir Experiential

Question 1

Satire Experiential:

Audio file: 17

Answer 1

Historical Overview

Satir’s Communications Approach (Human Validation Process Model) is categorized under the Classical Schools of Family Therapy.

~ believed in goodness of individuals
~ people are all desiring to be genuine and caring towards others but they had to overcome fear barriers.
~ self esteem was considered biggest measure of happiness and she called it a full or empty ‘pot’.
~ 4assumptions of people
~ people naturally want to change for the positive
~ people have the ability to change to positivw
~ therapist and client are responsible for him or her self
~ everything affects everything
~ individuals find themselves in relationships that mirror the primary triangle pattern (i.e.. How dad treated mom is how she will expect to be treated)
~ primary goal of therapy = raising self esteem
~non-pathologIzing approach

Primary Contributors

Virginia Satir

Key Terms & Primary Interventions

Blamers: 
Body, Mind, and Feelings:
Communication:  
Computers:  
Distractors:  
Dysfunctional Communication Styles (or, Survival Stances):  
Family Reconstruction:  
Family Sculpting:  
Levelers (congruence): 
Metaphors: 
Model Integration Analysis:  
Modeling Communication:  
Parts Party:  
Placaters:  
Primary Survival Triad: 
Role of Therapist: 
Role-Function Discrepancy:  
Self-Mandala:  
Self-Worth:  
Temperature Reading: 
Vehicles of Change:

Question 2

Blamers:

Answer 2

Satire Experiential:
One of Satir’s 4 dysfunctional communication styles. Often disagree with others and hold others responsible for things not going their way. Blamers often feel insecure and powerless, and feel that they must go to extreme measures—verbal and/or physical aggression—for anyone to really listen to them. Here, the self and the context are acknowledged, while the other is not.

Question 3

Placaters:

Answer 3

Satire Experiential:
One of Satir’s 4 dysfunctional communication styles. Disregarding one’s own feelings of worth and handing power over to another individual (e.g. pleasing everyone in the family except one’s self). Here, the context and the other is acknowledged, but the self is not.

Question 4

Self-Worth:

Answer 4

Satire Experiential:
The degree to which an individual feels as if their existence has value, influenced both internally and interrelatedly. Satir believed that developing an individual’s self-worth should always be a primary goal of growth-oriented therapy.

Question 5

Parts Party:

Answer 5

Satire Experiential:
An intervention where individuals will explore their various parts, both good and bad, to promote wholeness and integration in individual therapy. In family or group therapy, individuals will have others act out their various parts under their guidance and instruction.

Question 6

Modeling Communication:

Answer 6

Satire Experiential:
A key component to Satir’s approach to working with family’s was the therapist’s capacity to effectively model functional, healthy communication.

Question 7

Primary Survival Triad:

Answer 7

Satire Experiential:
The triad consists of the child and both parents. These dynamics serve as the primary source of the infant’s social interaction and only opportunity for a gratifying relationship—as so, it sets the stage for the developed internal sense of being within oneself and in relation to others. For example, a child will internalize how a woman treats a man based upon her perceptions of how her father treated her mother, and vise-versa with her mother toward her dad.

Question 8

Model Integration Analysis:

Answer 8

Satire Experiential:
The process in which a developing child begins to make sense of his parents’ differences, internalizing various perceptions of their behavior toward one another which will ultimately serve as a road map for his or her relational behaviors toward others.

Question 9

Levelers (congruence):

Answer 9

Satire Experiential:
Satir considered levelers to be those demonstrating functional and effective communication styles. They can be open and honest in their communication and display genuine receptiveness as they listen to others. Levels are able to acknowledge the self, the other, and the context throughout communicative interactions.

Question 10

Metaphors:

Answer 10

Satire Experiential:
Satir considered metaphors as powerful tools for promoting change, often using them to communicate ideas that language cannot directly describe—this is particularly useful when introducing threatening material.

Question 11

Role of Therapist:

Answer 11

Satire Experiential:
Satire viewed the role of the therapist to be one of an equal; a unique individual serving to facilitate change through genuineness, empathy, curiosity, and transparency.

Question 12

Role-Function Discrepancy:

Answer 12

Satire Experiential:

The concept used to identify relationships comprised of inappropriate roles.

Question 13

Family Sculpting:

Answer 13

Satire Experiential:
An in-session intervention where family members are asked to place other family members in positions symbolic of their role in the family from the perceptive of the sculptor. Family members will take turns going about this process while reflecting on the experiences and interpretations throughout.

Question 14

Family Reconstruction:

Answer 14

Satire Experiential:

A process in which an individual re-experiences the development of their primary triad across several generations.

Question 15

Self-Mandala:

Answer 15

Satire Experiential:
This was an exercise where individuals would create a circle in the center of a page with the identifier “I am” along with 8 other concentric circles labeled in the following order: physical, intellectual, emotional, sensual, interactional, nutritional, contextual, and spiritual. This illuminated upon an individual’s strengths, resources, and interrelated nature of experience.

Question 16

Temperature Reading:

Answer 16

Satire Experiential:
An intervention that explores thoughts and feelings while improving communication and self-worth. Clients are encouraged to share particular experiences of their appreciations and excitements, complaints and possible solutions, hopes and wishes, etc..

Question 17

Vehicles of Change:

Answer 17

Satire Experiential:
Instead of relying on predetermined techniques, Satir endorsed a model of using vehicles of change with clients that were more adaptable.

Question 18

Dysfunctional Communication Styles (or, Survival Stances):

Answer 18

Satire Experiential:
Satire identified four primary dysfunctional communication styles within families: Placaters, Blamers, Computers, and Distractors. Levelers referred to the functional communication style.

Question 19

Distractors:

Answer 19

Satire Experiential:
One of Satir’s 4 dysfunctional communication styles. Distractors desperately avoid conflict and will often change the topic of focus or conversation in the midst of escalation. Distracters may also avoid conflict by taking on the role of a placater, blamer, or computer, but quickly shift out of the stance prior to another’s reaction. Distracters often feel insignificant and scared inside. Here, the self, other, and context go unacknowledged.

Question 20

Computers:

Answer 20

Satire Experiential:
Computers: One of Satir’s 4 dysfunctional communication styles. Computers are often overly-rational, level-headed, analytical, and speak in a matter-of-fact manner. Computers often fear the vulnerability associated with expressing their true feelings. Here, the context is acknowledged, but the self and other are not.

Question 21

Communication:

Answer 21

Satire Experiential:
In Satir’s approach, all forms of behavior are considered communication and need to be tended to by the individual communicating as well as the recipient.

Question 22

Body, Mind, and Feelings:

Answer 22

Satire Experiential:
Satir’s belief that the mind, body, and feelings interact and influence communication processes at both the verbal and nonverbal level.