Intro To Clinical Psy: Family Therapy

Front 1

Family therapy approach

Back 1

-people are part of a system

-psychological symptoms are byproducts of dysfunctional families even if only one person exhibits symptoms

Front 2

Circular causality

Back 2

events and people influence each other reciprocally (crane mobile).

Front 3

System as the problem

Back 3

-unhealthy communication patterns among family members

-focus on functionalism of symptoms: may be adaptive due to communication dysfunction(s)

Eg: mom drinks; child gets stomach ache; everyone focuses on child instead of mom-adaptive behavior of child to mom's drinking.

Front 4

Homeostasis

Back 4

-families regulate themselves by returning themselves to an emotional set point-similar to a thermostat setting;

-family member sense family reaching uncomfortable state and takes action (feedback) to return to family "comfort" zone

Front 5

Assessment of Familes: Geonograms

Back 5

pencil and paper method of creating family tree incorporating detailed info about relationships between family members for at least three generations

Front 6

Developmental theory of Family Life Cycle

Back 6

1. leaving home

2. joining through marriage

3. families with young children

4. families with adolescents

5. launching children and moving on

6. families in later life

Can/must be adaptive for diversity in culture, and experience

Front 7

Identified Patient (IP)

Back 7

Systems defined; family member whose symptoms are most obvious or problematic; family believes their problems are contained within the IP and other family member roles are non-existant; "it's all his/her fault we are here"

Front 8

Classic concepts: Family structure or structural family therapy

Back 8

-rules that families operate by; not spoken but govern family member's behaviors; if flawed then problems ensure; if flawed and ignored believe IP is the problem

Front 9

Subsystems structure

Back 9

-subsystems can be parental, sibling, etc. problems
-boundaries between subsystems may be problem

Front 10

enmeshed boundaries

Back 10

dysfunctional boundaries when no clear boundaries are established: closely help hands without space

Front 11

Disengaged boundaries

Back 11

rigid inflexible boundaries like goal post on football field

Front 12

Family therapy Classic concept: differentiation of self

Back 12

essential each family member develops an appropriate degree of self-determination (becoming own person)

Front 13

Family label undifferentiated ego mass

Back 13

family is emotionally fused when no members develop differentiation of self.

Front 14

Triangles

Back 14

When two people are in conflict and bring in a third person to take their side, usually a child

mom tells child to tell dad...; dad tells child to tell mom...

-therapist goal is to remove the third party and have direct communication.

Front 15

Contemporary approach: solution-focused therapy

Back 15

-evolved from strategic family therapy

-emphasizes solving problems

-emphasizing solution rather than problem talk

-emphasizes exceptions to current problems (times when better) and how they created these exceptions to encourage them to create more exceptions.

Front 16

Narrative therapy

Back 16

-focuses on person's tendencies to create meanings about themselves and events in their lives in a particular way

-if dysfunctional; then need to edit

-revise story and recast self in more positive heroic way and new events are interpreted more positively

Front 17

Cultural competence

Back 17

therapist must appreciate:

cultural background

ethnicity

religion and other variables

Front 18

Confidentiality

Back 18

cannot guarantee when one family member tells therapist in private because may be important for family dynamics/communication