The Lingo
when a previously learned and reinforced behavior is no longer reinforced and eventually disappears
extinction, CBT
the family takes back from the therapist its authority to make choices about what is discussed in session and about decisions that affect their lives
battle for initiative, Whitaker, Symbolic Experiential Therapy
a technique for interviewing and hypothesis validation; based on the idea that people learn by perceiving differences; each family member comments on the behavior and interactions of two other members; it is hoped that beliefs will become less rigid when members are exposed to different perspectives
circular questioning, Milan Systemic
used to depict a family's organization and gain an understanding of its complex structures and sequences
mapping the system, Structural Family Therapy
a dysfunctional structure in which children use symptoms to try to change their parents
incongruous hierarchy, Strategic Therapy (Madanes)
a self-contained system with impermeable boundaries that resists change and operates with minimal interactions with its outside environment, thereby increasing its dysfunction
closed system, cybernetics
one of 5 communication styles; rational but often attempts to sway others by referring to outside "authorities"
computer, Satir
when the therapist gives the family a task with the intent of changing stuck sequences; 2 types: straightforward and indirect
directive, Strategic Family Therapy (Haley/Madanes)
a scale used to rate clients' level of anxiety to a stimulus or situation
SUDS: Subjective Units of Discomfort, CBT
groups of clients who are working on similar problems who meet in order to continue to construct and maintain new narratives and to support each other's preferred outcomes
leagues, Narrative Therapy
ledger sheets keep track of what is owed (entitlements) and what one owes (_____) within a family system
debts, Contextual Model
the view of self that is plastic and continuously deconstructed and reconstructed through interactions; therapist and client co-construct a new self that is more congruent with the client's preferred outcome
constitutional self, Narrative Therapy
technique used to offset family members' tendency to focus on what is wrong in their lives; clients are asked to recall times when they had the problem but solved it
exception question, Solution Focused Therapy
consists of 480 questions; is given prior to the first session; assesses strengths and challenges for a couple and suggests interventions; contains 5 sections
Gottman Relationship Checkup Questionnaire
capabilities that the client possesses that are not part of her dominant story and therefore are not expressed until the dominant story is reconstructed
unstoried competencies, Narrative Therapy
goal of therapy; a euphoric connectedness to others, likened to the energy and feelings of connectedness that can occur at religious revivals and rock concerts; the result is to bind the group together into a supportive, purposeful, goal-oriented social network
network effect, Network Therapy
the unacknowledged power struggle between parents and the symptomatic child
dirty games, Milan Systemic
therapeutic technique in which a parent is directed to request that the child intentionally perform the problem behavior; in this way the symptom will not draw as much parental attention, and it no longer serves a purpose
dramatizations, Strategic Therapy (Madanes)
the avoidance of doing "assessments;" no diagnoses, hypotheses, or directives; instead a non-expert position
not knowing, Collaborative Language Systems
insight leads clients to engage in new and more productive ways of behaving and interacting
working through, Psychodynamic Therapy
principle that states that a similar outcome may result from many different initial events
equifinality, Cybernetics
the measure of disorder in a system that occurs without imposed controls and inputs
entropy, GST
a technique to help family members gain emotional distance from their problems and become more self-reflective and less blaming
displacement story, Guerin (follower of Bowen)
as couples/families enact their interactions, the therapist records a set of symbols by which she tracks progress
mapping the system, Structural Family Therapy
dysfunctional part of self which contains the pain, fear, and sadness from past hurtful experiences for the client
exile, Internal Family Systems