Family Therapies and Group Therapies

A comprehensive set of flashcards based on key concepts in family therapy and group therapy derived from the lecture notes.

What are the roots of most approaches to family therapy?

General systems theory and cybernetic theory.

What does general systems theory predict about systems?

All systems consist of interacting components, governed by the same rules, and have homeostatic mechanisms.

What is cybernetic theory concerned with?

The mechanisms that regulate a system’s functioning, including negative and positive feedback loops.

What do negative feedback loops do in a system?

Resist change and help a system maintain the status quo.

What do positive feedback loops do?

Amplify change and disrupt the status quo.

Who were the first to recognize the usefulness of general systems theory and cybernetics in understanding family functioning?

Bateson and his colleagues.

What is double-bind communication?

A communication pattern where a person receives two contradictory messages and is not allowed to comment on the contradiction.

What are symmetrical interactions?

Interactions that reflect equality where the behavior of one person elicits a similar type of behavior from the other.

What are complementary interactions?

Interactions that reflect inequality where one person's behavior complements the other’s, often with one being dominant.

What problems occur in families with exclusively symmetrical or complementary interactions?

Problems arise when all interactions fit only one of these types.

What perspective do recent approaches to family therapy influenced by postmodernism adopt?

Constructivist or social constructionist perspective.

What assumption do postmodern approaches to family therapy make about realities?

There are multiple viewpoints and realities.

What is Bowen’s extended family systems therapy also known as?

Intergenerational and transgenerational family therapy.

From whom did Bowen derive his approach?

Work with children with schizophrenia and their families.

What does differentiation refer to in Bowen's family therapy?

The ability to distinguish between one's own feelings and thoughts.

What is the intrapersonal aspect of differentiation?

A person’s ability to distinguish between their own feelings and thoughts.

What happens to a person with a low level of differentiation?

They become ‘emotionally fused’ with other family members.

What is an emotional triangle?

Formed when a family dyad recruits a third family member to alleviate tension.

What is the family projection process?

Parents project their emotional immaturity onto their children.

What is the multigenerational transmission process?

The passing of emotional immaturity from one generation to the next.

What is the primary goal of Bowenian therapy?

To increase differentiation in each family member.

What does constructing a genogram help with in Bowenian therapy?

Depicting family relationships and important life events.

What is the role of Bowenian therapists?

Act as coaches who stay connected but remain neutral.

What is structural family therapy based on?

The assumption that a family member’s symptoms relate to problems in the family’s structure.

What are boundaries in the context of family therapy?

Implicit and explicit rules determining the amount of contact between family members.

What are enmeshed relationships?

Relationships caused by overly diffused boundaries.

What are disengaged relationships characterized by?

Overly rigid boundaries.

What type of therapy involves establishing a therapeutic alliance and evaluating family structures?

Structural family therapy.

What is mimesis in the context of joining?

Adopting the family’s affective, behavioral, and communication style.

What is reframing?

Relabeling a problematic behavior to view it constructively.

What is the core assumption of strategic family therapy?

Struggles for power and control are core features of family functioning.

What is the primary goal of strategic family therapy?

To alter family interactions maintaining symptoms.

What are paradoxical directives?

Strategies that help family members realize their control over problematic behaviors.

What hypothesis does Milan systemic family therapy operate under?

The family protects itself from change through homeostatic rules and communication patterns.

What is a 'dirty game' in family therapy?

Rigid patterns of communication that involve power struggles.

What does neutrality in Milan systemic therapy refer to?

The therapist's acceptance of each family member's perception of the problem.

What are the four dysfunctional communication styles in Satir’s therapy?

Placating, blaming, computing, and distracting.

What is the aim of conjoint family therapy?

To enhance the growth potential of family members.

What is family sculpting?

Positioning family members to depict their view of relationships.

What does narrative family therapy focus on?

Replacing oppressive stories that maintain problems with alternative, healthier stories.

What role do externalizing questions play in narrative therapy?

Help clients view their problems as external to themselves.

What are therapeutic letters in narrative therapy?

Letters written to reinforce emerging alternative stories.

What does emotionally focused therapy (EFT) emphasize?

Restructuring emotional experiences to develop new interactional patterns.

What are the three stages of EFT?

Assessment and cycle de-escalation, changing interactional positions, consolidation and integration.

What does functional family therapy aim to do?

Replace problematic behaviors with non-problematic behaviors fulfilling the same relational functions.

What are the stages of functional family therapy?

Engagement & motivation, behavior change, and generalization.

What is multisystemic therapy (MST) designed for?

Adolescent offenders and their families.

What are core principles of multisystemic therapy?

Finding fit between identified problems and broader contextual variables.

How does group therapy promote therapeutic factors according to Yalom & Leszcz?

Through cohesiveness, instillation of hope, universality, and other factors.

What is group cohesiveness considered the analogue of?

The therapeutic alliance in individual therapy.