Systems Theory
The most influential conceptual system in the development of family therapy has been
What is systems theory
Therapists operating from this model are very likely to become emotionally engaged with the client family.
Who are experiential therapists
The stages of a family's life (separation from one's parents, marriage, having children, growing older, retirement, and death) are know as the
What is the family life cycle
The primary task of the first session of family therapy is
What is to establish an alliance and develop a hypothesis about the presenting problem.
One schematic diagram used by family therapists to organize information about family members and their relationships across generations
What is a genogram
A balanced, steady state of equilibrium is known as
What is homeostasis
Which form of therapy sees problems as external to the family and as part of the profound influence of culture and context?
What is narrative therapy
Disengaged family subsystems are characterized by
What are rigid boundaries
An emotional barrier that protects and enhances the integrity of individuals, subsystems, and families is called
What is a boundary
Countertransference refers to
What is an unconscious emotional reaction on the part of the therapist to a patient or family member.
This acts to maintain no change "in a system"
What is negative feedback
For Boszormeni-Nagy, families had problems because of problems of
What is trustworthiness
The concept that knowledge and meaning are shaped by culturally-shared assumptions is called
What is social constructivism
Therapists might use techniques meant to produce intensity in the family to challenge family members during ...
What is the middle (or working phase) of treatment
In early research in family dynamics and schizophrenia family therapist pioneers observed that schizophrenia
What is made sense in the context of family therapy
The term which describes the process by which a system changes its structure to adapt to new contexts is called
What is morphogenesis
In this approach to therapy the therapist is an egalitarian partner in therapy, and rejects any kind of expert-in-charge approach.
What is a post-modern approach to therapy
A paradoxical technique that requires a client either to give up a symptom or admit that it is under voluntary control is known as
What is prescribing the symptom
This question, used by solution-focused therapists, is intended to circumvent client's global and unremitting perceptions of their problems and direct their attention to times when the problem was not present
What is an exception question
Change of behavior without change in rules.
What is first order change
The study of controlled processes in systems, particularly analysis of the flow of information in closed systems is called
What is Cybernetics
In a session with a couple and their two children, Susan Smith (the therapist) listens to the couple's complaints about their 11 year old daughter, Julie. She is demanding, throws tantrums, and hits her 9 year old brother. Susan seems to focus on times when Julie is behaving well, and asks her parents to talk about those times when they are pleased with Julie's behavior. During one caring interchange, Susan congratulates the couple on what a fine daughter they have. Susan most likely sees herself as
What is a solution focused therapist
Relabeling a family's description of behavior to make it more amenable to therapeutic change is called
What is reframing
Historically, family therapy moved away from a medical model of understanding human persons by moving toward
What is a circular rather than linear way of seeing people and problems.
A collection of beliefs based on distortion of historical reality and shared by all family members, but which also shapes the rules governing family functioning are called
What are family myths