CPCE: Helping Relationships--Family Theories and Interventions

Family theories

Provide practitioners with a systematic way of conceptualizing problems within a family. Aim to ameliorate the functioning of entire family units, rather than the one "symptomatic" individual within the family.

Psychodynamic model

Based on the key concepts of Freud's psychoanalytic theory and explores the role of anxiety, defense mechanisms, and unconscious conflicts and desires in the functioning of individuals and families. Developed by Nathan Ackerman.

General systems theory

Provides a basic framework for understanding the interactions and issues that occur within family systems. It is more helpful to examine family relationships and transactions between members than to scrutinize the personalities or actions of any one famil

Circular causality

Each family member's behavior is influenced by other family members.

Rules

Establish a template of expected family behavior and provide members with predictability and a foundation for interacting with each other.

Homeostasis

Tendency for families to sustain their normal functioning and patterns of interaction unless someone or something intervenes.

Boundaries

Help to separate the family system from outsiders and define roles and responsibilities within a family unit.

Subsystems

Distinct and somewhat independent parts of a larger system (e.g., spousal, parental, and sibling).

Open family systems

Flexible boundaries, open to change, have ongoing interaction and involvement with their communities.

Closed family systems

Rigid boundaries, averse to change, cordon themselves off from the outside world.

Murray Bowen

Developed family systems therapy.

Family systems therapy

Proposes that healthy peoples' thoughts are differentiated from their feelings. Healthy individuals have also resolved their family of origin issues and do not experience undue anxiety when relationships with others become stressed.

Family of origin

The family in which a person grows up.

Differentiation of self

Refers to people's ability to separate themselves from their family of origin without cutting themselves off from their families.

Fused

Enmeshment with family members or situations.

Triangle

When two members who are experiencing an uncomfortable amount of stress in their relationship draw in a third member to help release emotional tension. A member with low differentiation will likely be pulled in.

Nuclear family emotional system

Formed based on parental subsystem's degree of differentiation. An undifferentiated person is more likely to marry another undifferentiated person. If the levels are not adjusted, maladaptive patterns are likely to continue in the family.

Family projection process

When undifferentiated parents project their tension and anxiety onto their most susceptible or sensitive child. This causes the child to become the focus of the problems instead of the parents' relationship.

Multigenerational transmission

If undifferentiated parents have undifferentiated children, the process continues when those children have their own families.

Emotional cutoff

Children who are highly fused might try to emotionally remove themselves from their family of origin to improve or maintain their well-being. They might stop talking to them, move away, or only interact on a surface level. The fusion will still manifest i

Sibling position

Marriages work out best when spousal roles match the partners' _________ ____________ from their families of origin because they would be comfortable filling those roles.

Societal regression

When a society that is experiencing too much stress regresses its level of differentiation.

Genograms

Visual representations of approximately three generations of a family. Include information such as members' names, ages, marriage dates, divorce dates, dates of deaths, important events, and symbols to describe relationship patterns, fusion, and emotional

Back home visits

Recommended for clients who have unresolved issues with their family of origin. Ultimate goal of these visits is to increase the client's differentiation.

Detriangulation

Learning how to avoid becoming involved in triangles and how to avoid triangulating others.

Experiential family counseling

Less concerned with techniques and more concerned with establishing a genuine relationship with clients and helping them bring their problems into the here and now.

Symbolic experiential

Helps families strike a balance between interdependence and togetherness and learn how to interact with each other in a meaningful and natural way, while moving away from the tendency to behave in the same monotonous pattern that led to the dysfunction. D

Carl Whitaker

Developed symbolic-experiential family therapy.

Virginia Satir

Created human validation process model.

Human validation process model

Views symptoms as ways to preserve the family's homeostasis and as obstructions to growth. These blockages must be unclogged to allow development to occur. Creates a welcoming environment in which families will feel comfortable exploring their issues and

Placaters

Agree with and try to please everyone; they also mollify people, are unsure of themselves, and often lack self-confidence.

Blamers

Critical of other people, charge others with wrongdoing, and fail to take any responsibility for their actions.

Intellectualizers

Approach situations in a detached manner, rationalizing everything and never allowing their emotions to be shown.

Distracters

Want to avoid dealing with situations, so they distract others by introducing unrelated, irrelevant topics.

Congruent communicator

Sends clear messages and verbal comments matching his behavior and internal thoughts and feelings.

Family sculpting

Used to help the counselor and the family more fully understand one family member's impression of family relationships. The counselor asks a family member to physically arrange the entire family in the room.

Strategic family therapy

Emphasizes altering behavior rather than helping clients gain insight and personal awareness. Directive, tries to change families quickly, short-term therapy.

Milton Erickson

Developed the main tenets of strategic family therapy.

Jay Haley

Helped found the Bateson Group, the Mental Research Institute, and the Family Research Institute.

MRI Interactional Family Therapy

A strategic family therapy approach developed by Jay Haley. Encourages the exploration of family interactional patterns to understand and effectively resolve family issues.

Quid pro quo

Propensity of individuals to treat others like they are treated. Often unspoken of in families.

Redundancy principle

Family members tend to interact with each other in the same way, and it is unusual for those patterns of behavior to change or expand.

Punctuation

The conviction by individuals that their verbal communication, especially during a conflict, occurs in reaction to someone else. Strategic family therapists would disagree with this assumption.

Symmetrical relationships

Family relationships between equals. Might be competitive because there is not a dominant member.

Complementary relationships

Family relationships between unequals, where one member is "one down" and the other is "one up." Not necessarily objectionable.

Relabeling

Involves interpreting a family's situation in a new way to encourage family members to view their problem in a more favorable light.

Prescribing the symptom

The counselor tells the clients to keep engaging in their troublesome behavior.This lessens resistance and gives the clients control of their behavior.

Directives

Encourage clients, either directly or subtly, to participate in new behaviors (e.g., homework assignments).

Ordeal

A paradoxical technique that asks clients to complete an undesirable but health-promoting task before participating in their worrisome behavior.

Pretend technique

Clients are encouraged to simulate their symptoms.

Milan systemic

Focuses on exploring family members' perceptions of each other and their interactional patterns, as well as asking questions to increase their awareness of unhealthy family behaviors. Non-directive.

Long brief therapy

Counselors in Milan systemic family therapy only meet with families once per month for up to twelve months.

Positive connotations

Counselors attach positive motives to a family member's problematic behavior.

Paradox

Used in Milan systemic family therapy to interfere with games that family members play to exert control over one another. Also used to address the family coming to therapy then not wanting to make any changes.

Counterparadox

Asks family members not to change too quickly and helps the family avoid resistance.

Circular questioning

A Milan family therapy technique that uses questions to highlight family connections and differences among family member.

Hypothesizing

Fundamental to the Milan model. Formed by counselors from the first contact with the family. Helps family members change and gain more insight into their behavior. They are not supposed to be accepted as absolute truths.

Neutrality

The objective position that counselors adhere to when working with families.

Ritual prescriptions

Usually paradoxical assignments that indicate certain actions to be taken on specific days and times by particular family members. Helps families try new ways of behaving and interacting.

Salvador Minuchin

Developed structural family counseling.

Structural family counseling

Incorporates many of the general systems theory concepts. Concerned with examining and changing the structure and organization of families.

Structure

How a family reorganizes itself. Ideally, it should have internal hierarchy where the parents serve as the main sources of authority.

Alignments

Alliances between family members.

Power

Who exerts authority in a family in different situations.

Coalitions

Occur when some family members form an alignment against another family member.

Joining

Imitating the manner, style, affective range, or content of a family's communications in order to solidify the therapeutic alliance with them.

Structural maps

Visual representations of a family's coalitions, alignments, boundaries, and conflicts.

Enactment

Deliberate process by which the counselor encourages the family to play out its problem in the session.

Restructuring

Involves actively working to change the structure of the family system.

Unbalancing

Used to better establish a proper family hierarchy.