Treatment 2 Flashcards
general systems theory
system is an interaction of component parts, which seeks to attain homeostasis
2 theoretical models that have influenced family therapists
general systems theory
cybernetics
cybrenetics
focuses on the circular nature of feedback loops
feedback loops can be positive or negative
negative feedback loops
Cybernetics
tends to decrease deviation in a system
e.g. thermostat - fx to minimize changes in temperature; when temp rises, cooling systems bring it down and vice versa; thus maintaining homeostasis
positive feedback loops
cybernetics
increases deviation or change
e.g. lasting change in a family’s dynamics as a result of psychotherapy
psychodynamic family therapy
facilitating individual maturation in the context of the family system
freeing family members from unconscious patterns of anxiety and projection rooted in the past
major emphasis: helping family members clarify communication and admit honest feelings
Lidz two deviant types of marital relationships
marital schism and marital skew
lead to impaired parenting and disrupted sex-role learning for the child
Marital schism
Lidz
severe, chronic discord and disequilibrium
threats of separation common and recurrent
communication centers on power struggles and efforts to avoid facing the schism between the spouses
parents tend to seek support from their children and attempt to diminish the worth of the parent to the childrne
Marital skew
Lidz
relationship skewed toward meeting the needs of one member at the expense of the needs of others
family sculpting
technique that can be used to address marital schism or marital skew
therapist interprets the sculpture and modifies it in ways to suggest new relationships
object relations family therapy
Framo
focuses on transferences and projections between couples or family members
problems caused when members unconsciously project unwanted elements of themselves onto others in the family
members experience dissatisfaction and try to change one another
therapy focuses on helping each family member become aware of what is being projected and address unwanted elements within each person
healthy family according to structural family therapy
healthy family - hierarchy with strong parental coalition on topmost level
boundaries clear and firm, yet there is flexibility in the system that allows for autonomy and interdependence, individual growth, and adaptive restructuring in response to developmental and environmental demands
StrUctural Family Therapy (U!)
MinUchin (U!)
family viewed as single, interrelated system
system assessed along variety of dimensions: hierarchy of power, clarify and firmness of boundaries, significant alliances and splits (subsystems)
pathological family according to structural family therapy
results from structural imbalances e.g. malfunctioning hierarchical arrangement or poor boundaries that are too rigid or too diffuse
three chronic boundary problems (Minuchin)
triangulation
detouring
stable coalition
triangulation
Minuchin
child caught in middle of parents’ conflict
each parent demands that child side with him/her
when child sides with one parent, viewed as attacking other
child ultimately becomes paralyzed
detouring
Minuchin
parents express their distress through one child, who becomes identified patient
creates false sense of harmony between parents, with parents blaming the child as source of family’s problems or united to protect sick, weak child
stable coalition
Minuchin
one parent unites with child against other parent in rigid cross-generational coalition
goal of Structural Family Therapy
unbalance or reorganize the family’s structure in such a way that dysfunctional elements are removed
therapist takes role as expert - diagnoses dysfunctional elements and develops interventions to correct them
therapist in structural family therapy
at outset - joins with family and attempts to understand family’s dynamics by adopting its style of interaction
therapy then focuses on shifting members’ positions in order to disrupt malfunctioning patterns and strengthen parental hierarchy, with goal of creating clear and flexible boundaries
Structural Family Therapy strategies for unbalancing family’s homeostasis
therapist taking sides, blaming, and forming coalitions
effectiveness of Structural Family Therapy
highly effective in treatment of asthma, diabetes, and anorexia in childhood and adolescence as well as treatment of adults with drug addictions
Communications Family Therapy
focuses on communication and its impact on family functioning
coined term “double bind”
double bind
Family Communications THerapy
maladaptive communication that typically involves at least three elements
1) injunction telling person if they do/don’t do something they will be punished
2) secondary injunction which is generally nonverbal, conflicting with the first at a more abstract level, also enforced by punishment
3) tertiary injunction prohibiting victim from escaping the field (e.g. by not allowing the victim to point out the inconsistency)
double bind theory of schizophrenia
saw double binds as contributing to etiology of schizophrenia
not empirically supported
Communications Family Therapy techniques
direct - teaching, pointing out problematic communication patterns
indirect - paradoxical interventions that prescribe the symptom (e.g. telling couple with marital problems to fight at least three hours a day)
Strategic Family Therapy
Haley
combines structural approach (hierarchies) and communications approach (communications and interactions)
normal family functioning according to Haley
involves flexibility, large behavioral repertoire for problem-solving, clear rules governing family’s hierarchy
pathology according to Haley
results from malfunctioning hierarchy, or triangles and coalitions across the hierarchy
treatment using strategic family therapy
focuses on resolving presenting problem only, defined by behavioral objectives and criteria
underlying pathology or conflicts not addressed
focus on interrupting rigid feedback cycle and defining clearer hierarchy
Systematic Family Therapy
Milan group
circular questioning and prescription of rituals
circular questions
Systemic Family Therapy
e.g. asks each family member to express his/her views on the relationships and differences between other family members
transforms families’ ways of thinking from linear and causal to reciprocal and interdependent
prescription of rituals
Systemic Family Therapy
typically include some component of secrecy, isolation, recording in notebooks, or parental outings framed as disappearances
Family Systems Therapy
Bowen
healthy families have clearly differentiated family members and there is an overall balance of intellectual and emotional forces
pathological families function as single organism and identified patient is that part of the organism through which overt symptoms are expressed
family emotional system (undifferentiated family ego mass) - central concept
family emotional system
undifferentiated family ego mass
refers to emotional oneness that exists and shifts about within family in definite patterns of emotional reciprocity
multigenerational transmission of pathology
Bowen Family Systems Therapy
pathology in family repeated throughout generations
assessment of family - Bowen’s Family Systems Therapy
evaluates family on degree of fusion vs. ability to differentiate and analysis of emotional triangles in presenting problem (3 party system arranged so that closeness of two members tends to exclude third
goal of treatment - Bowen’s Family Systems Therapy
shift “hot triangle” that relates to presenting problem
work with most most psychologically available family members to achieve enough personal differentiation so that hot triangle does reoccur
personal differentiation from family of origin - ability to become one’s true self in face of familial or other pressures that threaten loss of love or social position
genogram
originated with Bowen
survey of family going back several generations
Solution-Focused Therapy
Steve de Shazer
aims to set up positive expectations in both therapist and client
typically very brief (as little as 3-4 sessions)
encourages clients to focus on strengths and identify solutions, either ones that have worked in past or might work in future
Solution-Focused Therapy - three types of questions
miracle question
exception question
scaling question
miracle question
Solution-Focused Therapy
“Suppose one night, while you were asleep, there was a miracle and this problem was solved. How would you know? What would be different?”
exception question
Solution-Focused Therapy
asks clients to think about times when they didn’t have the problem so they can discover what they were doing that was effective at that time
helps to foster more positive outlook in which problem is controllable
scaling question
Solution-Focused Therapy
asks patients to rate their problem on a scale of 1-10 (10 being how they would feel the day after the miracle)
Narrative Therapy
Michael White
symptoms thought to result from clients developing stories that are “problem-saturated” descriptions filled with a sense of powerlessness