Week 3 Marriage and Family Key Terms

Attachment Theory

A theory asserting that individuals require secure attachments to primary caregivers in order to develop into healthy adults, foundational to object constancy and strong ego identity.

Contextual Family Therapy

A comprehensive and integrative family therapy model developed by Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, combining psychodynamic, intergenerational, individual psychology, systemic interaction, and existential elements.

Countertransference

The reactions elicited in the therapist by a client's transference, often exhibited by the therapist, which can provide insights into client dynamics when acknowledged and processed.

Destructive Entitlement

An unconscious drive to seek constant affirmation or repayment of emotional debt due to an unbalanced intergenerational ledger, often resulting from a deficit of essential needs in one's own development.

Differentiation

The process of developing a distinct sense of self from one's family of origin, essential for identity integration and healthy adult adjustment.

Ego Identity

The earliest foundations of self, formed through introjection and identification processes that define the self in relation to others, as described by Erikson.

External Objects

In object relations theory, people to whom an individual has an emotional attachment or personal investment, experienced based on introjects and symbolic representations (e.g., ideal, rejecting, exciting).

Family-of-Origin Therapy

A relational therapy theory, particularly associated with James Framo, that integrates object relations theory and focuses on how partner relationships trigger unresolved attachment issues from childhood caregiver experiences.

General Systems Theory (GST)

A framework proposed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, emphasizing that circumstances and events can be understood through dynamic interactions among influential elements, and that all systems have shared patterns revealing key characteristics.

Homeostasis

The tendency of a system (e.g., a couple or family) to maintain relatively stable characteristics, which can be healthy or dysfunctional, and is often resistant to change.

Introjects

Internalized constructs of the self in relation to others, resulting from past experiences, particularly early caregiver–child interactions, which form expectations for subsequent interactions.

Investigative Neutrality

A technique and philosophy in psychodynamic family therapy where the counselor supports clients and facilitates the analytical process without needing to solve problems, maintaining objectivity by balancing temporarily partial interactions.

Ledgers of Merits

The system's unwritten history of give and take, representing what is provided and what is due, which ideally reflects a general sense of balance across generations.

Marital Bargaining

Rigid role identities that emerge in couples as partners conform to the inner role models projected onto them by the other, as described by Henry Dicks.

Marital Collusion

A concept described by Henry Dicks where both partners unconsciously cooperate in accepting negative introjects projected onto them by the other, contributing to dysfunctional dynamics.

Multidirectional Partiality

A technique where the counselor actively acknowledges topics and issues from each participant's point of view—including absent family members—while avoiding alignments or bias, conveying empathy and supporting connection.

Object Constancy

The ability to maintain a positive internal representation of an object (person) despite changes in external reality or the object's behavior, crucial for secure attachments.

Object Relations Theory

A psychodynamic theory focusing on the impact of internalized representations of others and relationships on an individual's personality and interactions.

Projective Identification

A mechanism (proposed by Melanie Klein) by which constructs of self or self–other are unconsciously attributed to an external object, leading the object to then behave in ways that confirm the projection.

Proxemics

The study of spatial dynamics and arrangements within a system (e.g., how family members sit relative to each other), providing clues about relationships and dynamics.

Psychodynamic Family Therapy

A therapeutic approach that evolved from psychoanalysis and general systems theory, focusing on how unconscious thought processes, past experiences, and unresolved conflicts impact not only individual behavior but also relational dynamics and dysfunctional family patterns.

Psychoanalysis

An individually oriented treatment approach, rooted in Sigmund Freud's work, centered on enhancing personal awareness and revealing unconscious influences through extensive, time-consuming exploration of the inner self.

Relational Ethics

Concerns the depth and quality of intra- and intergenerational moral constructs within a family and how these are expressed, emphasizing balance, justice, needs fulfillment, and reciprocity.

Role Complementarity

Compensatory or counterbalancing behavior exhibited by familial pairs (e.g., parent-child, partners) in response to conflictual circumstances, which can be supportive or lead to negative outcomes like scapegoating.

Separation-Individuation

Essential developmental tasks related to forming an integrated and differentiated self-identity, which, if poorly developed, can contribute to family enmeshments and affect adult attachments.

Splitting

A defense mechanism (building on Freud's concept, Fairbairn suggested it occurs when the ego tries to keep positive and negative representations of external objects separated), which ideally dissipates early in development as these representations become integrated.

Transference

The projection or redirection of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors previously associated with one object (person) onto a new object, most often observed in counseling as a client's projection onto the counselor.

Biopsychosocial Model

A comprehensive, systems-oriented framework in medicine that integrates biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors in health and illness, expanding to include transpersonal-spiritual domains.

Bowenian Family Systems Theory

A comprehensive explanation for psychological problems from a systemic and multigenerational perspective, developed by Murray Bowen, viewing the family as an emotional unit on a continuum from emotional fusion to differentiation.

Circular Causality

A concept in systems theory asserting that systems are constantly modified by recursive feedback from multiple sources, meaning there is no simple linear cause and effect.

Differentiation of Self

A core concept in BFST, defined as an instinctually rooted life force that propels humans to become emotionally separate individuals with the ability to think, feel, and act for themselves, balancing emotional and intellectual functioning, and intimacy and autonomy.

Differentiation of Self Inventory

A self-report instrument developed by Skowron and Friedlander (1998) to measure the level of differentiation of self in adults, focusing on four aspects: emotional reactivity, taking the I-position, emotional cutoff, and fusion with others.

Displacement Stories

A counseling technique in BFST where fictitious families, written stories, or films are used to help clients safely attend to emotional issues and increase awareness of interactional patterns, as it's often easier to see processes in others.

Emotional Cutoff

A person's attempt to emotionally distance themselves from certain family members or the entire family, often due to an inability to directly resolve issues of emotional fusion, preventing them from forming a unique identity or satisfying relationships.

Emotional Fusion

A state in which individuals are emotionally "stuck together," characterized by a conglomerate emotional oneness and a lack of clear emotional boundaries between family members, leading to instability and difficulty in managing anxiety.

Equifinality

A principle in systems theory meaning that the same result may be reached from different beginnings in open systems, emphasizing that the final state is not solely determined by initial conditions.

Family Genogram Interview

A standardized genogram format used as a major assessment tool in BFST, providing a visual representation of a family's composition, structure, member characteristics, relationships, and important family dynamics across three or more generations.

Family Projection Process

A process in BFST where parents project their unresolved stress, anxiety, or intense emotions onto one or more children, particularly the most emotionally attached child, leading to lower levels of differentiation in that child.

Feedback Loops

Mechanisms in open systems that regulate behavior.

Negative Feedback Loops

Contributes to homeostasis by self-regulation and maintains stability

Positive Feedback Loops

Leads to change by amplifying a pattern, essential for learning and growth.

General Systems Theory

A conceptual framework that focuses on wholeness, self-organization, relationships, and interactions between parts, moving beyond reductionistic and mechanistic traditions to understand phenomena in terms of patterns and context.

"I-Position"

An interpersonal aspect of differentiation where individuals are capable of adhering to a stable, clearly defined sense of self and are less likely to bend to the pressure of others, stating how they think or feel instead of focusing on others' actions.

Interlocking Triangles

A series of triangles that form when more than three people are involved in an emotionally significant relationship system, maintaining conflict in place.

Multigenerational Transmission Process

The transmission of family dynamics, emotional responses, attitudes, values, beliefs, behaviors, and interaction patterns from one generation to the next through projection and other emotional processes.

Nuclear Family Emotional Process

Describes the patterns of emotional functioning within a single generation of a nuclear family, where high emotional fusion leads to instability and attempts to reduce tension through various dysfunctional behaviors.

Reductionism

A scientific tradition that focuses on breaking down phenomena into smaller, isolated parts to study linear cause-and-effect relationships, contrasting with systems theory.

Rigid Boundaries

In family systems, boundaries that represent extreme separateness between family members, often leading to emotional distance and a lack of intimacy

Sibling Position

A concept in BFST suggesting that children develop certain fixed personality characteristics and roles based on their birth order within the family, influencing emotional development and conflict patterns.

Societal Emotional Process

The concept that emotional processes in families are influenced by broader emotional processes in society (and vice versa), including social forces like sexism, racism, and poverty, leading to societal regression during times of high anxiety.

Triangulation

A three-person emotional configuration considered the basic building block of the family system and the smallest stable relationship pattern. When a two-person system experiences instability or anxiety, a third person is drawn in to stabilize the dyad.

Undifferentiated Family Ego Mass

A term introduced by Bowen to describe a family that is emotionally "stuck together," characterized by a conglomerate emotional oneness and a lack of clear individuality among members.

Wholeness

A key assumption in family systems theory, positing that a system behaves as a whole, meaning a change in any one part will cause changes in other parts and throughout the entire system.