Week 2 Marriage and Family Key Terms

Acculturation Stres

The psychological impact of adapting to a new culture, often experienced by immigrants, which can lead to family discord and behavioral issues.

Affectional Expression (DAS subscale)

The degree to which each partner in a relationship agrees in reference to affection, as measured by the Dyadic Adjustment Scale.

AAMFT

A professional organization that defines core competencies, ethical codes, and credentialing for marriage and family therapists.

Assessment

The process of collecting information using various strategies (observation, self-report, interviews) to understand individuals, couples, and families, formulate hypotheses, evaluate treatment, and facilitate change.

Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)

A 21-item self-report measure used to assess characteristic attitudes and symptoms of anxiety.

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)

A 21-item self-report measure used to assess characteristic attitudes and symptoms of depression.

CMFC

A distinct counseling specialty focused on understanding and addressing family and relationship dynamics, often taking a holistic wellness approach.

COAMFTE (Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education)

An accrediting body for graduate programs in marriage and family therapy.

Criterion-referenced Tests

Formal assessments that focus on intra-individual differences, providing data based on whether a person answered problems correctly, useful for instructional planning.

Cross-Cutting Symptom Measures (DSM-5 Level 1 & 2)

Assessment measures found on the DSM-5 website; Level 1 helps narrow potential diagnoses, while Level 2 is more diagnosis-specific, both aiding in identifying mental health issues.

Cultural Humility

The ability to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the person, acknowledging the therapist's responsibility to continuously learn.

Cultural Competence

The development of content knowledge and skills relevant to treating clients from a cultural background different from the practitioner, involving active pursuit of awareness of personal values.

• Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS)

A widely used 32-question self-report instrument for assessing relationship quality in couples, with four subscales: Dyadic Consensus, Dyadic Satisfaction, Dyadic Cohesion, and Affectional Expression.

Dyadic Cohesion (DAS subscale)

The magnitude to which a couple participates in activities together, as measured by the Dyadic Adjustment Scale.

Dyadic Consensus (DAS subscale)

The measure to which each person agrees with their partner, as measured by the Dyadic Adjustment Scale.

Dyadic Satisfaction (DAS subscale)

The degree to which each person feels satisfied with their partner, as measured by the Dyadic Adjustment Scale.

FACES IV

A 62-item family self-report assessment based on the Circumplex Model that examines family cohesion and family flexibility, with eight scales.

Familial Aggregation

The clustering of a particular trait or disorder within a family, often considered a family-level risk factor in diagnosis.

Formal Assessments

Data-driven and systematic assessments, often standardized, that provide objective scores for comparison and gauge proficiency levels.

Genogram

A graphic representation of a family tree that displays detailed information about relationship dynamics, psychological factors, and physical health across multiple generations, providing a visual understanding for clinicians and clients.

HITECH Act of 2009

Legislation within HIPAA that protects consumers' electronic health information and stipulates requirements for electronic data storage and breach reporting.

HIPAA

Federal law that mandates the protection and privacy of patient health information.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

HIPAA

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

AAMFT

Couples, Marriage, and Family Counseling/Counselor

CMFC

Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health

HITECH

Identified Patient

The individual within a couple or family system who is initially identified as having the problem and from whom the formal diagnosis is derived, even though the clinician may view the problem systemically.

Informal Assessments

Subjective and content-driven assessments that are not data-driven, including observations, rating scales, personal documents, and environmental assessments, often used for quick information gathering.

LMFT

A professional who is licensed to diagnose and treat mental health, emotional, behavioral, and relational issues within individual, couple, and family systems.

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

LMFT

Multiple Relationship (Dual Relationship)

A situation where a counselor has another relationship with a client, couple, family, or supervisee outside the therapeutic or supervisory relationship, which can create ethical dilemmas.

Multicultural Competence

The development of knowledge, awareness, and skills to work effectively with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Norm-referenced Tests

Standardized formal assessments that compare one individual's skill or performance with others in the same or a similar age group.

Psychodiagnostic Interview

A clinical interview process that involves gathering a careful clinical history and summary of social, psychological, and biological factors to facilitate clinical case formulation and diagnosis, often with a systems approach.

Qualitative Research

Exploratory research that gathers non-numerical, subjective data through methods like interviews and observations to gain insight into reasons, opinions, and motivations, and to identify patterns and themes.

Quantitative Research

Research that gathers numerical data and generates statistics, using objective and specific methods like surveys and structured interviews, to generalize findings across groups and explain phenomena.

Recovery Approach

A paradigm shift in mental health that emphasizes the possibility for individuals with severe and persistent mental health conditions to achieve a full quality of life, often leading to terms like "consumer" or "service recipient" replacing "client."

RDAS

A 14-item scale that addresses three of the four subscales of the original Dyadic Adjustment Scale, used for assessing relationship quality.

Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale

RDAS

Suicide Assessment

The process of evaluating a client's risk of suicide by understanding factors such as frequency of thoughts, risk factors, presence of a plan, and access to means.

VPAS

An assessment tool completed by parents to evaluate a child's behavior and symptoms, often used in diagnosing conditions like ADHD.

Vanderbilt Parent Assessment Scale

VPAS

VTAS

An assessment tool completed by teachers to evaluate a student's behavior and symptoms in a school setting, often used in diagnosing conditions like ADHD.

Vanderbilt Teacher Assessment Scale

VTAS

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

A U.S. federal law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

Channels

In star diagrams, lines connecting the client to significant others or groups, indicating the nature and scope of their exchange (e.g., broad for open, narrow for constrained, closed off for distant).

Community Genogram

A graphic, interactive assessment and treatment device that expands upon traditional genograms to collaboratively explore cultural and contextual factors influencing client difficulties, positioning individuals within their wider community and societal networks.

Cultural Genogram

A graphic tool developed to promote cultural awareness and sensitivity, illustrating how various aspects of culture influence families and individual identities, often extended for use with clients to understand their culturally constructed realities.

Dominant Beliefs

Widely held societal perceptions and norms that can influence how institutions, communities, and individuals define and address issues, potentially perpetuating systemic delays or biases.

Ecomap

A diagrammatic tool used in social work and family counseling to illustrate the current composition and structure of a family's ecological system, including connections to outside systems and the nature of those connections (e.g., supportive, conflictual).

Ecosystemic Perspective

A framework that views individuals, families, and communities as interconnected systems, emphasizing the reciprocal influences between them and their wider social, political, economic, and cultural Environments.

Embayments

In star diagrams, sections protruding from the central "star" that represent contexts or circumstances deemed relevant by clients, with their size and length indicating perceived significance.

Encapsulated Identified Patient

A traditional view of a client as an isolated individual whose problems are solely internal or personal, divorced from their wider sociocultural environment.

Family Genogram

A graphic device derived from Bowen's work, providing guidelines for constructing three-generational diagrams to examine interactional patterns, emotional processes, and dominant themes transmitted across generations.

Goose Father (Kirogi Appa)

A term referring to fathers in Korean transnational families who live apart from their wives and children, often in Korea, while their families reside abroad (e.g., in the U.S.) to secure quality education for their children.

Individual Star Diagram

A basic component of the community genogram where the client is at the center, surrounded by embayments (contexts) and channels (significant others) that illustrate their unique position and navigation within wider contexts.

Institutional Star Diagram

A variation of the star diagram specifically designed to map the influence of institutions (e.g., universities, counseling centers) on a client's life and experiences.

Intersectionalities

The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. Community genograms attend to how these aspects of cultural identity intersect.

Kirogi Families (Wild Geese Families)

Transnational Korean families where parents live apart (often one in Korea, the other and children abroad) for the purpose of securing quality education for their children, reflecting broader cultural values and aspirations.

Liberation of Consciousness

The ultimate goal of counseling using community genograms, emphasizing the expansion of personal, family, group, and organizational awareness about systemic influences and paths towards greater autonomy and well-being.

Positive Asset Search

A phase in community genogram construction focused on explicitly identifying and exploring cultural, community, family, and personal strengths and resources within the graphic display.

Reflective Consciousness

A state of heightened awareness promoted by community genograms, where clients and counselors critically examine how wider forces shape perceptions and experiences, often leading to advocacy roles.

Relational Star Diagram

A variation of the star diagram used with individuals who form a relational system (e.g., partners, families), combining their individual stars to illustrate shared and distinct contexts and relationships.

Reified Definitions

Fixed or solidified perceptions of client circumstances that may not account for underlying systemic or contextual factors, often leading to limited resources or understanding.

Self-in-Relation

An enhanced understanding of one's identity and experiences as inextricably connected to and influenced by relationships within a wider community and cultural context.

Social Justice Counseling

A counseling approach that recognizes how the wider sociocultural environment impacts clients and actively works to address oppression, advocate for clients, and realign power differentials to maximize client well-being and promote equity.

Star Diagram

The standard template for community genograms, visually arranging information about clients, influential persons, and systems within an ecosystemic framework using embayments and channels.

Territory of Assessment

The scope of information and factors considered during the assessment phase of counseling. Community genograms aim to expand this to include broader cultural, environmental, and institutional influences.