Theories Flashcards
What theory involves prescribing the symptom is what type of therapy?
Strategic family therapy
What theory has the intervention of honoring the pain?
Existential
What type of family therapy involves enactments?
Structural family therapy
What is an enactment?
Clients enact a typical fight in a session
Prescribing the symptom is an intervention in what theory?
Strategic family therapy
What is Prescribing the Symptom and how does it work?
In prescribing the symptom, the therapist asks the client to deliberately engage in or exaggerate the very behavior or symptom that is problematic.
This paradoxical directive is used to disrupt unhelpful patterns, create insight, or reduce resistance to change.
Deconstructing problem-saturated stories is what type of therapy?
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy was developed by:
Michael White and David Epston
Narrative therapy is
A collaborative, non-blaming form of psychotherapy that helps people identify their values and skills, and use them to address problems
Differentiation is..
the ability of an individual to maintain their sense of self while remaining emotionally connected to others, particularly in the context of relationships and family dynamics. It is a concept rooted in family systems theory, developed by Murray Bowen.
What are the key aspects of differentiation?
Emotional Regulation: Differentiation involves managing one’s emotions without becoming overwhelmed by the emotional states of others.
Sense of Self: A well-differentiated person can hold onto their own values, beliefs, and goals, even in the face of pressure or conflict with others.
Balance of Connection and Autonomy: Differentiation allows individuals to engage in close relationships without losing their identity or becoming overly enmeshed.
What is the difference between High vs. Low Differentiation?
High Differentiation: Individuals can stay calm and thoughtful in emotionally intense situations, make decisions based on personal values, and maintain healthy boundaries while staying connected to others.
Low Differentiation: People are more likely to react emotionally, struggle with independence, and may become overly fused or disconnected in relationships.
What is Bowenian family therapy ?
Bowenian family therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on understanding family relationships and dynamics. It was developed by psychiatrist Dr. Murray Bowen, who believed that family patterns can persist across generations
The goal of Bowenian family therapy is to:
Identify patterns: Recognize how family history has shaped current dynamics
Improve communication: Promote healthy communication and boundaries
Develop autonomy: Help family members develop healthy differentiation and autonomy
Break toxic patterns: Help families break harmful patterns and create healthier relationships
Handle stress: Help families learn to handle stressful situations in a more clear-headed way
What are the two core concepts that Bowenian family therapy focuses on?
Triangulation: The tendency to divert conflict or anxiety by involving a third party
Differentiation: Learning to be less emotionally reactive in relationships with family members
What is Solution-focused therapy (SFT)?
Solution-focused therapy (SFT) is a collaborative, goal-oriented approach to therapy that focuses on the present and building solutions rather than analyzing problems.
What are the key points about Solution-focused therapy?
Client-centered: The therapist views the client as the expert on their own life and encourages them to take ownership of their goals and solutions.
Future-focused: Instead of dwelling on the past, the focus is on what the client wants to achieve and how they can move towards their desired future.
Positive orientation: The therapist actively seeks out and highlights the client’s strengths and positive aspects of their life to build on existing resources.
Brief interventions: Solution-focused therapy is typically short-term, aiming to achieve significant change in a limited number of sessions.
Focus on exceptions: The therapist asks questions to identify times when the problem is less severe or not present, called “exceptions,” to help the client build on positive experiences.
What therapy are scaling questions most commonly used?
Solution-Focused Therapy
“Ordeals” are considered a therapeutic technique primarily associated with which therapy model?
Strategic Family Therapy model
In Strategic Family Therapy model, Ordeals focus on…
quickly changing behavioral patterns within a family system by using sometimes challenging or paradoxical interventions like ordeals to disrupt dysfunctional interaction patterns.
To create a deliberate, sometimes uncomfortable situation that motivates a family member to change their behavior by making the problematic behavior more difficult than changing
Who developed Strategic Family Therapy model?
Jay Haley
What interventions are used in Strategic Family Therapy?
Ordeals, reframing, paradoxical directives, and joining
Coping questions are commonly used in which therapy model?
Solutions-focused
Family sculpting was developed as part of what family therapy model?
Satir’s Transformational Systemic Therapy (STST)
What is family sculpting?
Family sculpting is a technique that reveals family dynamics through non-verbal expression. One family member is chosen to be the “sculptor” and directs the other family members to pose in a way that represents a specific event. The sculptor may consider aspects like body language, physical proximity, and eye gaze.
For example, a therapist might ask a child to position their family as they remember it after a loss. The child’s positioning might show that they felt emotionally distant from their parents and siblings after the loss.
Establishing a “holding environment” is primarily associated with therapy model?
Psychoanalytic / Psychodynamic / object relations theory
Who developed object relations theory?
Donald Winnicott
What is establishing a holding environment?
any therapeutic space that allows an emotionally fragile or insecure person to deal with affects that might potentially be overwhelming. In therapy, the “holding environment” is created through the therapist’s consistent presence, empathy, and ability to tolerate a client’s difficult emotions without judgment.
Structural family therapy (SFT) is
a type of therapy that focuses on how family members interact with each other to improve relationships and mental health. SFT is based on the idea that families are capable of solving their own issues, and that rigid boundaries can prevent growth.
Structural family therapy (SFT) interventions include:
Circular questioning: A technique that helps family members understand their relationships and interactions from different perspectives.
Family mapping: a visual representation of a family and its relationships, which is used in therapy to help improve communication and decision making.
Unbalancing the family: Therapists may have family members change seats, or tell someone who talks a lot that they can’t talk during the session.
Family diagrams: Therapists may ask family members to create a diagram to show the relationships between family members.
Educating family members: If a family member has a mental illness, the therapist may educate the family about the condition and how to support each other.
Structural family therapy (SFT) was developed by:
Salvador Minuchin
Gestalt therapy is
Gestalt therapy is a type of psychotherapy that helps people become more aware of themselves and their present experiences. It focuses on the whole person, rather than a specific part of their personality.
Gestalt therapy focuses on process (what is actually happening) over content (what is being talked about). The emphasis is on what is being done, thought, and felt at the present moment (the phenomenality of both client and therapist), rather than on what was, might be, could be, or should have been.
The goal is to help people accept and trust their feelings and experiences, and learn to deal with life’s challenges in healthier ways.
Key aspects of Gestalt therapy:
Focus on the present: Gestalt therapy focuses on the present moment, encouraging people to be fully engaged with their immediate experiences.
Personal responsibility: Gestalt therapy emphasizes personal responsibility, empowering people to take ownership of their thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Therapeutic relationship: Gestalt therapy sessions are fluid and organic, and the therapeutic relationship is an important part of the process.
Techniques: Gestalt therapists use techniques like the empty chair technique to help people explore and express their feelings. In this technique, the client imagines that an empty chair is occupied by someone else or another part of themselves, and has a conversation with it.
Holistic: Gestalt therapy is a holistic process that views the individual as a totality of mind, body, emotions, and spirit.
Empty chair technique is common with what therapy model?
Gestalt
Some interventions in Gestalt therapy include:
Empty chair technique: The client imagines a person or part of themselves they need to explore, then sits in a chair and addresses an empty chair as if the person were present.
Exaggeration: The client repeatedly exaggerates a specific movement or gesture to intensify the feelings attached to the behavior.
Dream work: The therapist works with what the dream reveals to help the client become more aware of themselves.
Body awareness: The client practices activities like mindful breathing and body scanning to increase awareness of their emotions, actions, and current environment.
Experimentation: The therapist encourages the client to experiment with different perspectives, behaviors, and roles to foster flexibility and spontaneity.
Some interventions used in solution-focused therapy (SFT) include:
Scaling
Miracle questions
Exception questions
Reframing
Focus on strengths
Presupposing change questions
Develop a plan
Focus on problem-solving
The solution-focused intervention of scaling involves:
Clients rating their problem on a scale, such as 1 to 10, to help visualize and measure their progress.
The solution-focused intervention of Miracle questions involves:
Therapists ask questions like, “If a miracle occurred while you were asleep tonight, what changes would you notice in your life?” to help clients set goals.
The solution-focused intervention of Exception questions involves:
Therapists ask questions to help clients identify when they were able to overcome their problems.
The solution-focused intervention of Reframing involves:
Therapists help clients see their situation from a different perspective by highlighting positives and challenging negative interpretations.
The solution-focused intervention of Focus on strengths involves:
Therapists help clients build on their strengths and resiliencies to create solutions.
The solution-focused intervention of Presupposing change questions involves:
Therapists ask questions to encourage clients to think about positive changes, no matter how small.
The solution-focused intervention of Developing a plan involves:
Therapists help clients develop a plan to maintain their gains.
The solution-focused intervention of Focusing on problem-solving involves:
Therapists focus on helping clients find solutions rather than dwelling on problems.
