Structural Family Therapy

Question 1

Affective Intensity

Answer 1

Increasing the emotional intensity of the system to encourage structural change

Question 2

Boundaries

Answer 2

Individuals, subsystems, and families are separated from one another by boundaries. a boundary is a hypothetical line of demarcation that serves to protect a family and its subsystems.

Question 3

Boundary Making

Answer 3

Any intervention in which therapists reinforce appropriate boundaries and diffuse inappropriate boundaries by adapting the interactional patterns of the family’s structure

Question 4

Disengaged Systems

Answer 4

May be independent or isolated

Question 5

Coalitions

Answer 5

When two family members join to create a coalition against one or several other family members

Question 6

Complementarity

Answer 6

A balanced relationship between two individuals that often results in effective teamwork. The relationship may not be symmetrical or equal- but nonetheless balanced.

Question 7

Conflict Management

Answer 7

The family’s capacity to resolve conflict and negotiate effective and balanced solutions.

Question 8

Challenging Family Assumptions

Answer 8

Offers the family alternative perspectives and views on how they interact with one another.

Question 9

Challenging the Symptoms

Answer 9

Offers the family alternative ways of perceiving the role of the symptom in relation to the family’s structure

Question 10

Enmeshed Systems

Answer 10

Receive affection and nurturance within the family system but may risk autonomy and outside relationships.

Question 11

Hierarchy

Answer 11

The physical structure of the family as determined by the systems rules, boundaries and interactional patterns

Question 12

Intensity

Answer 12

The therapist can achieve intensity by increasing the affective component of an interaction by increasing the length of a dialogue or by repeating the same message in different interactions through the use of tone, volume, and pacing

Question 13

Joining and accommodating

Answer 13

An intentional maneuver by the therapist to establish a therapeutic relationship with the family system. Ther therapist will adapt to the family’s communication pattern and other mannerisms to create a comfortable therapeutic space.

Question 14

mimesis

Answer 14

An intentional maneuver by the therapist to join and accomodate with the family by replicating their body language, use of expressive language, mannerisms, and other observable behaviors to create a comfortable, trusting therapeutic space.

Question 15

Intervening

Answer 15

Therapists continually stepping in and out of the family, raising intensity, and unbalancing the system through swift and strategic interventions.

Question 16

Diffuse Boundary

Answer 16

Boundaries that are permeable and permit fluid contact with other subsystems, may be prone to enmeshment

Question 17

Enactments

Answer 17

Having the family experiment with news ways of behaving and interacting as instructed by the therapist, in the here-and-now of the therapeutic encounter

Question 18

Planning

Answer 18

The period of assessment in Structural Family Therapy when the therapist hypothesizes about the structure of the family while remaining curious about its actual structure

Question 19

Clear Boundary

Answer 19

A clear boundary between the parental subsystem and the children establishes the parents in leadership positions. It allows the parents and children to interact, but supports the couple in a separate relationship, with time to enjoy the mature activities of recreation and pleasure. Healthy families have clear generational, hierarchical boundaries that allow parents to maintain parental roles and children to maintain child roles.

Question 20

Rigid Boundary

Answer 20

Overly restrictive boundaries that permit little contact with outside subsystems, often resulting in disengagement,

Question 21

Shaping competence

Answer 21

Therapists avoid telling families what they’re doing wrong, rather they point out what they are doing right and express confidence in the family’s competence.

Question 22

Punctuation

Answer 22

Intentional emphasizing of an individual’s reactions (body language) or statement, allowing them to become aware of their responses and reflect upon their meanings.

Question 23

Spontaneous Behavioral Sequences

Answer 23

Similar to enactments, except these behaviors are spontaneous as opposed to being directed by the therapist

Question 24

Structural Family Mapping

Answer 24

As a means of assessment, a therapist will create a Structural Family Map of the hypothesized family structure.

Question 25

Subsystems

Answer 25

Individuals, dyads, triads, and groups form subsystems or units within the family that perform certain functions

Question 26

Structural Family Therapy Main concepts

Answer 26

Classical Schools of Family Therapy
~ Joining is highly intentional, looks for family maps, may require all family being present because assessment is dependent on in session directives and observing interaction in session, strong hierarchy, (parents being first to focus on).
~Parents in leader subsystem.
~ clear generational boundaries such as parental roles and children roles are separate and hierarchical.
~short term 10-20 sessions, not brief. Terminate once some growth has been achieved
~ healthy family subsystems- successful counseling termination (healthy spousal subsystem & clear boundaries between each subsystem )
Primary Contributors

Salvador Minuchin