Whitaker's Experiential Family Theory (Midterm)

Role of the therapist

• Authentic 

• Growth-Oriented

• Present (here & now)

• Win the battle for structure

• Provide experiences to inform family constructs

• Give permission for clients to be themselves

• Believe that families have a natural tendency for growth that needs to be nurtured.

Goals

• Symptom relief: The initial goals focus on the presenting problem

• Cohesion: Increases the sense of belonging within the nuclear family and encourages connection with the extended family and the family of origin.

• Creating Transgenerational Boundary: Sex, passion, and playfulness are acknowledged within and/or between generations.

• Growth: The overall goal of experiential therapy is growth and the completion of developmental tasks. This includes consideration of existential and emotional issues.

How symptoms develop

• Overly rigid or overly fused boundaries

• Role rigidity (especially gender roles)

• Conflict is seen as dangerous/something that needs to be avoided

• Presence of unchanging “scapegoats” or “white knights”

• Tetrad: both members each turn to another person to “fix” the system

How change happens

• Insight or education 

• Therapist has to challenge the emotional defenses present 

• Family’s risk being more separate, different, or expressive in their feelings 

Culturally sensitive application

• Asian cultures - power imbalance (respecting the elderly)

• Recognizing that some cultures have different norms for emotional expression

Battle for structure

Refers to the therapist’s responsibility to establish the rules and working atmosphere at the beginning of treatment. A battle the therapist must “win.”

Battle for initiative

• Family taking initiative for change after structure is established. The battle must be “won” by the family. 

• Motivation must come from clients

Absurdity

• There appears to be a “craziness” to the approach. This craziness can be a reflection of the spontaneity of the therapist, or it may be the therapist’s way of reflecting back to the family members their own absurdity. 

• This “absurdity” may be expressed in many forms—playfulness, mimicking, challenging remarks, and so on.

Rigidity vs Flexibility

• Flexibility 

  • Role flexibility allows individuals to express differences and to change behavior or beliefs without disqualification, making use of their own life experiences, familial legacies, and developing preferences.

    • This accounts for the “rotating scapegoat” phenomena in which each member experiences problems and success.

    • In addition, healthy family members demonstrate gender-role flexibility.

  • Flexible Coalitions: In well-functioning systems, coalitions are available for support when problems arise.

• Rigidity

  • Role rigidity restricts the family members’ behaviors and potential solutions to difficulties; a common example of this is sex role stereotyping.

Stages of therapy

• Early-stage: Therapists must convey that they are in charge of the therapy’s structure.

• Middle-stage: In the middle phase, there is “reorganization around the interpersonally expanded symptom.

• Late-stage: the family operates as a mobile milieu therapy unit within the family-co-therapist suprasystem

Entering the symbolic world

• Integrating two aspects of human existence:

• The world of experience (known through our senses)

• And the world of symbol (world of symbol evolves from our experience, anything experienced can become symbolic)