Week 4: Psychological Approaches: Beyond the Individual to Couple, Family, and Group Work Pt. 2

Question 1

Similar to Structural/Systemic Family Therapy but emphasizes interactional dynamics and power struggles resulting from a family’s need to change and reorganize at transitional stages.

Answer 1

Strategic Family Therapy

Question 2

The idea that problems can serve a purpose within the family system, such as reducing stress.

However, it also emphasizes the importance of addressing those problems in a healthy and constructive way.

Answer 2

Functionalist Viewpoint

Question 3

This is a process where a third person is drawn into a conflict between two other people, often to relieve tension or maintain balance.

Answer 3

Triangulation

Question 4

Are individuals within a family who exhibit or display symptoms of a problem or dysfunction. These symptoms can be physical, emotional, or behavioral.

Answer 4

Symptomatic Members of the Family

Question 5

One of the main proponents of Strategic Family Therapy.

He said that:
- difficulties arise in a family when there are incongruent and confused hierarchies
- symptomatic members get triangulated in cross-generational interactions that actually reinforce and contribute to the confusing hierarchies.

Answer 5

Jay Haley (1923 - 2007)

Question 6

The family member who is seen as the “problem” or the focus of attention.

Answer 6

Identified Patient

Question 7

The process of deflecting attention from underlying family conflicts onto a particular individual.

Answer 7

Conflict Detouring

Question 8

When a family member, often the identified patient, gains power or control that contradicts the expected hierarchy.

Answer 8

Incongruence Hierarchy

Question 9

Therapists view problems as attempts by the family to cope with underlying issues.

Instead of focusing solely on the problem itself, therapists aim to help the family change their dysfunctional patterns and develop healthier ways of coping.

Answer 9

Strategic Family Therapy

Question 10

Highlights the importance of understanding mental health issues within a broader social context and emphasizes the role of family dynamics in shaping individual well-being.

Answer 10

The Milan Approach

Question 11

Characteristics of the Milan Approach

Answer 11

• emphasized the role of language, beliefs, and family stories in shaping family dynamics
• argues that family relationships are defined through communication
• Families as the makers of meaning
• the function of a symptom was not to be discovered, and that a functional view existed only in the eye of the observer

Question 12

Used to understand how families function as complex systems, with each member influencing the others.

Answer 12

Cybernetics

Question 13

The idea that language can limit our thinking and understanding.

Answer 13

Tyranny of Linguistics

Question 14

Belief: Therapy is a collaborative process between the therapist and the family.

Focus: Help families develop new ways of understanding themselves and their problems by using language in new and creative ways.

Goal: Help families break free from old patterns of thinking that were holding them back.

Answer 14

The Milan Group

Question 15

Who are some of the proponents of the Milan Approach?

Answer 15

Luigi Boscolo
Gianfranco Cecchin
Isabella Giannotti
Gianfranco Prata

Question 16

A technique where therapists observe the family from behind a one-way mirror and provide input.

Goals: To support, confuse, challenge, and confront the family.

Maintaining Objectivity: Remain distant from the family to maintain an objective perspective.

Answer 16

Greek Chorus

Question 17

Refer to family stories or beliefs that have become so deeply ingrained within the family system that they are difficult to change or challenge.

These narratives can limit the family’s perspective and prevent them from seeing alternative ways of understanding and resolving problems.

Answer 17

Saturated Narratives

Question 18

Key Ideas of the Third Order SFT

Answer 18

• Problems are shaped by culture and language - defines power
• Social constructionist: Meanings are co-constructed in interactions shaped by language
• Problems are viewed as stretched across social context (doctors/politicians may use jargon to keep power and boost status)
• Our own inner dialogue is made of verbal dialogues and images from our culture
• Problem is not in family dynamics or structure, but in the way discussions become saturated

Question 19

A therapeutic approach that focuses on the stories that individuals and families tell themselves.

Addresses issues like stigma, gender, sexuality, and racism.

Considers multiple perspectives, including individual, family, and community.

Answer 19

Narrative Therapy

Question 20

Focuses on individual factors and can make people feel like they are powerless to change their circumstances.

It suggests that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by our physical bodies and biological processes.

Answer 20

Psychobiological Paradigm

Question 21

Intrapsychic VS Narrative

Answer 21

The intrapsychic perspective emphasizes the individual’s internal state, while the narrative perspective emphasizes the role of the individual’s beliefs and stories in shaping their experiences.

Example:
Intrapsychic Problem: Depression as a disorder
Narrative Problem: Individuals viewing themselves as depressed and helpless in changing their situation

Question 22

Refers to the capacity of individuals to make choices and take actions that affect their own lives and the lives of others.

It implies a sense of autonomy, self-determination, and the ability to influence one’s circumstances.

Answer 22

Agency

Question 23

Steps in Narrative Therapy

Answer 23

1) Explore the dominant story the person has about their life and problems
2) Externalization of the problem
3)

Question 24

Creating a detailed picture of the problem, including its impact on the individual’s life.

Answer 24

Mapping the Problem

Question 25

Recognizing that the narrative may not be the only perspective and encouraging the individual to consider alternatives.

Answer 25

Challenging the Narrative

Question 26

Crucial component in narrative therapy.

Pay attention to the client as it poses dangers to how they feel.

Answer 26

Validate the Client or their Experience

Question 27

Are stories or beliefs that individuals tell themselves about their problems that are so pervasive and limiting that they can prevent them from seeing alternative perspectives or possibilities.

These narratives can become self-fulfilling prophecies, reinforcing the individual’s negative beliefs and making it difficult for them to overcome their challenges.

Answer 27

Problem-Saturated Narratives

Question 28

Viewing the problem as something separate from the individual.

People are encouraged to resist the problem by seeing it as “an unwelcome visitor”.

Answer 28

Externalization

Question 29

Example of Externalization

Answer 29

Having a problem, rather than being the problem.

Presenting with depression rather than being depress.

Question 30

A case example by Michael White where a child’s encopresis was personified as an external entity.

Answer 30

Sneaky Poo

Question 31

Viewing the problem (i.e., panic attacks) as something external that is “tricking” the individual.

This approach would enable the client to reframe the problem from a linguistic point of view

Answer 31

Reframing the problem (Language as a vehicle)

Question 32

Refers to a small-scale system that reflects or represents a larger system.

Examples: family to society, classroom to school

Answer 32

Microcosm

Question 33

Combines attachment theory, narrative therapy, and systemic therapy.

It focuses on understanding how attachment styles can contribute to family problems and how these problems are reflected in the stories that family members tell themselves.

Answer 33

Attachment Narrative Therapy

Question 34

What are the key elements of attachment narrative therapy?

Answer 34

1) Attachment Theory: secure-insecure attachment styles
2) Narrative Theory: stories that individuals tell themselves
3) Systemic Theory: family dynamics and interactions

Question 35

Is a holistic approach that addresses both individual and family dynamics, and helps individuals develop healthier attachment styles and more positive narratives about their lives.

Answer 35

Attachment Narrative Therapy

Question 36

What are some of the things that ANT therapists look at?

Answer 36

1) Difficulties discussing or expressing emotional states
2) Lack of coherence in narratives
3) Difficulty adopting alternative narratives
4) Difficulty considering the possibility others may see things differently