COUPLES/FAMILY/GROUP THERAPY - CHATER 11

What is the core focus of family therapy?

The family as a system—problems are maintained by interaction patterns, not individual pathology.

What does it mean that the family is an “interconnected emotional unit”?

Change in one member affects the entire system.

What does family therapy emphasize more: past or present?

What does family therapy emphasize more: past or present?

What do family therapists study in sessions?

Relationships, boundaries, roles, alliances, and communication patterns.

In a couples session with 2 clients + 1 therapist, how many communication pathways exist?

Four — with the main one being between the partners

What is systemic thinking in family therapy?

Symptoms serve a function in the family

How does change occur in family therapy?

By altering patterns of interaction within the system.

What early events influenced family therapy development?

940s–50s recognition of family dynamics + post-WWII stress in families

What did Gregory Bateson and the Palo Alto group contribute?

Communication theory and the double-bind concept.

Q: What is Salvador Minuchin known for?

Structural family therapy—boundaries and subsystems.

What did Jay Haley and Cloe Madanes contribute?

Strategic family therapy—problem-focused, directive, paradoxical tasks.

How do family therapists view personality?

They do not focus on personality structures.

What shapes behaviour in family systems?

Family rules, interaction patterns, communication style, roles, and boundaries.

How are symptoms viewed in family therapy?

As systemic—reflecting larger family patterns.

What does the therapist focus on in session?

Here-and-now interactions and redirecting maladaptive patterns.

What is the therapist’s stance on sides in couples therapy?

Neutrality — not taking sides while staying validating.

What does structural family therapy focus on?

Organization, subsystems, and boundaries.

What is enmeshment?

Boundaries too diffuse.

What is disengagement?

Boundaries too rigid.

What does “joining” mean?

The therapist temporarily enters the family’s interactional style.

What are enactments?

Families act out interactions in session so the therapist can observe and modify them.

What are the goals of structural therapy?

Strengthen parental leadership, create clear boundaries, and restructure interactions.

What characterizes strategic family therapy?

Direct, problem-focused, therapist-designed strategies.

What is a paradoxical intervention?

Prescribing the symptom to interrupt patterns.

What is the main goal of strategic therapy?

Change repetitive sequences maintaining the problem and shift power dynamics.

What is differentiation of self?

Ability to think/act independently from group emotional pressures.

What techniques are used in Bowen therapy?

Genograms, coaching, reducing reactivity, understanding family-of-origin patterns.

What is the goal of Bowen therapy?

Increase differentiation and decrease system anxiety.

What does Satir emphasize?

Authentic communication, emotional openness, validation, self-esteem.

How does psychodynamic couples therapy view problems?

As rooted in unresolved childhood trauma or unmet needs.

What role does transference play?

Clients may expect the therapist to fix them.

What is the therapist’s role in client-centred couples therapy?

Reflect content, feelings, and interactional processes without directing.

What maintains problems in CBT couples therapy?

Distorted interpretations and rigid expectations.

What is the therapist’s method in CBT couples therapy?

Identify distortions and assign homework for healthier interactions.

What are “games” in transactional analysis - (Eric Berne)?

Repetitive, dishonest patterns to meet needs.

What are the ego states?

Parent, Child, Adult (ideal state).

What is meta-communication?

Communicating about communication—observing the pattern from outside.

What does SOBER stand for?

Stop, Observe, Breathe, Expand awareness, Respond (not react).

What is reframing?

Changing the meaning of symptoms.

What are enactments?

Recreating interactions live in session.

What is boundary setting?

Strengthening or loosening boundaries between subsystems.

What is role reversal?

Partners switch roles to understand each other’s experience.

What is family sculpture?

Physically representing family roles in space.

What is a paradoxical intervention?

Encouraging the symptom to show control or shift perspective.

What is the identified patient?

The family member who carries the symptom, representing a larger issue.

What is homeostasis in family systems?

Families resist change; current patterns maintain themselves.

What is triangulation?

Two people pulling in a third to stabilize conflict.

What is a double-bind?

Contradictory emotional messages where neither response is “correct.”

What is disengagement vs enmeshment?

Disengagement = rigid boundaries; enmeshment = diffuse boundaries.

What child problems are treated with family therapy?

Conduct problems, ADHD, school refusal, ODD, eating disorders.

What couple issues are commonly treated?

Communication breakdown, infidelity, blended family stress, power struggles.

How is family therapy used with severe mental illness?

Psychoeducation, reducing expressed emotion, improving support.

When is family therapy most helpful?

When problems are embedded in relational patterns.

What is the central principle of family therapy?

Symptoms exist within interactional patterns, not within individuals.