Strategic Family Therapy: Part II

Question 1

In regard to Strategic Family Therapy what did Jay Haley content concerning interpersonal relationships?

Answer 1

Every interpersonal relationship either overtly or covertly struggles with power and control issues.
Class 8 notes P. 1

Question 2

How did Haley view symptoms?

Answer 2

Symptoms are strategies for controlling a relationship when all other strategies have failed.
Class 8 notes P. 2

Question 3

The jockeying back and forth for control only becomes pathological when?

Answer 3

People resort to subtle, indirect methods of controlling others.
Class 8 notes P. 2

Question 4

When does control become dysfunctional?

Answer 4

When people resort to subtle, indirect methods of controlling others.
Class 8 notes P. 2

Question 5

When does maneuvers to control become pathological?

Answer 5

If one or both partners denies trying to control the other’s behavior and/or exhibits symptomatic behavior while doing so.
Class 8 notes P. 2

Question 6

According to Haley, what is the goal of the therapist?

Answer 6

To maneuver the client system into developing other ways of defining relationships so that symptomatic methods will be abandoned.
Class 8 notes P. 3

Question 7

As opposed to offering insight and interpretation Haley sought to?

Answer 7

Change aspects of the family system that are maintaining homeostasis.
Class 8 notes P. 3

Question 8

What will family members do to maintain homeostasis?

Answer 8

Manipulate, deceive, exclude or subdue a therapist.

Class 8 notes P. 3

Question 9

Family problems are often the result of what?

Answer 9

Inadequate parental hierarchies?

Class 8 notes P. 4

Question 10

Cloe Madanes (Haley’s wife), rather than emphasizing power and control placed emphasizes on what?

Answer 10

Th family’s ability to love and nurture, therefore focusing on a families successful attempts to show love.
Class 8 notes P. 4-5

Question 11

What techniques did Madanes develop that are less confrontational than other Strategic techniques?

Answer 11

Pretend Techniques.

Class 8 notes P. 5

Question 12

What are the five approaches (stages) that Haley takes in the initial session?

Answer 12

1. The social Stage
2. The problem stage
3. The interaction stage
4. The goal setting
5. Offering directives stage
   Class 8 notes P. 5-6

Question 13

How do directives enhance the strategic therapeutic process?

Answer 13

They get people to behave differently
They involve the therapist in teh family’s actions outside of therapy
They provide teh therapist with important information based on the family’s reactions.
Class 8 notes P. 6

Question 14

Describe a paradoxical Directive and why are they effective?

Answer 14

Advising a domineering wife to take control of everything from A-Z in the family. They make the ordeal more unpleasant than the presenting probem.
Class 8 notes P. 8

Question 15

What types of symptoms is an ordeal gear towards addressing?

Answer 15

Those that clients feel helpless in controlling such as overeating, smoking, nail-biting and drinking.
Class 8 notes P. 9

Question 16

Describe Milan Systemic Approach to therapy.

Answer 16

• team approach
• spaced out therapy sessions (maybe 2 months apart
• pre-meeting to develop hypothesis
• conductor interviews family, team observed behind a one-way mirror.
• break during session to consult with team
  to make recommendations/directives
• conductor returns to family presents directives and instructs family to return in a month
  Class 8 notes P. 10-11

Question 17

How did the Milan Group view therapy?

Answer 17

As a learning process

Class 8 notes P. 12

Question 18

What is the purpose of Circular Questions?

Answer 18

They focus on family interactions ad behavioral changes
They seek to highlight systemic interaction patterns.
In fuse new information into the system from multiple perspectives
Class 8 notes P. 12, 13

Question 19

What is a positive connection?

Answer 19

an intervention in which the symptomatic behavior is reframed and given a positive connotation.
Class 8 notes P. 13

Question 20

What is the purpose in assigning a ritual to a family?

Answer 20

They are highly structured interventions (time, place, duration. frequency, who is to say what) given by the team that prescribed to provide clarity and consistency in family relationships.
Class 8 notes P. 14

Question 21

Describe a Counter-paradox.

Answer 21

A therapeutic treatment that is designs so that no matter what you do, you do something that moves you in a new/right direction.
Class 8 notes P. 14

Question 22

What does an Invariant Prescription do?

Answer 22

It seeks to break up dysfunctional family patterns and assists in aligning the parent unit as a couple and allows them to separate from dysfunctional, interfering, cross-generational alliances.
Class 8 notes P. 14-15

Question 23

Strategic Family Therapy is (long term/short term focused and focuses on what?

Answer 23

Short term/problems.

Class 8 notes P. 3

Question 24

What did the Interaction stage (3 Stage) of the initial session allow Haley to do?

Answer 24

Observe dysfunctional communication patterns, coalitions, and power hierarchies.
Class 8 notes P. 6

Question 25

According to Haley directives are likely only to work when?

Answer 25

If the family is highly motivated to change.

Class 8 notes P. 7

Question 26

How did the Milan Group use hypothesizing?

Answer 26

To develop hypothesis abut family interaction and patterns and games and modifies them as teh family presents new information.
Class 8 notes P. 12

Question 27

How did the Milan Group view Neutrality?

Answer 27

They maintained a strict position on non-partially, avoided blaming and honored all perspectives.
Class 8 notes P. 13

Question 28

Positive Connotation is another word for what and how is this intervention used?

Answer 28

Reframing. Symptomatic behavior is reframed and given a positive connotation.
Class 8 notes P. 13

Question 29

Studies claimed that Strategic Therapy was effective with what populations and presenting problems?

Answer 29

It reduced hospitalization
Delinquency
Heroin addicts
Anorexia nervosa
Class 8 notes P.15