MFT Exam Questions from Volini
Study Guide Latest Updated
Individuality and togetherness - ANSWER-each individual needs companionship and
independence and anxiety is experienced when these two needs polarize the individual,
balance is achieved with self-differentiation
Differentiation of Self - ANSWER-This concept refers to an individual's capacity to
balance thinking with feeling, (individuality with togetherness). High differentiation = less
reactivity and low differentiation = high reactivity
Triangles - ANSWER-a person in a relationship pulls in a third party to create the
illusion of emotional closeness that they are not receiving from the other individual in the
relationship, decreasing anxiety by spreading it across a third party
Nuclear Family Emotional System - ANSWER-another name for Undifferentiated Family
Ego Mass
Undifferentiated Family Ego Mass - ANSWER-(Nuclear Family Emotional System) An
excess of emotional reactivity, anxiety, and fusion within a family system
Family Projection Process - ANSWER-The concept identifies that individuals with
limited emotional resources are likely to project their needs onto others in the family.
Multigenerational Transmission Process - ANSWER-This term refers to the emotional
forces in families that continue over the years in interconnected patterns, transmitting
down from one generation to the next.
Sibling Position - ANSWER-Bowen endorsed that an individual's personality
development will be highly influenced by his or her position in the sibling birth order.
This also plays a role in how children are chosen as the object for the family projection
process.
Emotional Cutoff - ANSWER-A problematic manner in which individuals deal with
unresolved issues through a process of separation, isolation, withdrawal, running away,
or denying the importance of one's parental family.
Societal Emotional Process - ANSWER-The impact of social influences on family
functions. Individuals with higher levrls of self-differentiation are less vulnerable to
destructive societal influences such as sexism and discrimination.
Goals of Multigenerational Family Therapy - ANSWER-1. decrease anxiety
,2. increase levesl of differentiation in as many family members as possible
detriangulate - ANSWER-families will automatically attempt to triangulate the therapist,
so therapist remains neutral & differentiated, to derease emotionality across the family&
make room for constructively resolving conflict.
nonanxious presence - ANSWER-Bowen - therapist remains differentiated and models
nonreactivity
genogram - ANSWER-
process questions - ANSWER-questions aimed to slow individual down, decreasing
emotionality and increasing rationality as the individual becomes more aware of how
stress and anxiety influence behavior (Bowen)
going home again - ANSWER-intervention encourage ct to go home and resolve any
conflicted relationships
displacement stories - ANSWER-Guerin's intervention meant to help individuals create
distance between themselves and their problems and encourage rationality by having
them reflect on another couple's conflict as opposed to their own - Bowen
coaching - ANSWER-therapist's role with clients according to Bowen
the "I" position - ANSWER-use of "I" statements to express thoughts & feelings
relationship experiments - ANSWER-intervention that directed clients to experiment with
different ways of behaving and responding to one another, means to help clients
become aware of systemic processes by understanding how their behaviors impact
others - Bowen
person-to-person relationships - ANSWER-two people relating without triangulating
another , use of I statements - Bowen
3 phases of Multigenerational Family Therapy - ANSWER-1. Assessment Phase
2. The Genogram Phase
3. The Differentiation Phase
The Assessment Phase (Bowen) - ANSWER-history taking to understand the family
system & members, assess for patterns of togetherness & individuality by exploring
family of origin, presence of triangles, & levels of differentiation
The Genogram Phase (Bowen) - ANSWER-therapist and clients co-construct a family
diagram
, The Differentiation Phase (Bowen) - ANSWER-reduce anxiety & increase levels of
differentiation, informed by the genogram & family history
Which category does Contextual Family Therapy fall under? - ANSWER-
Transgenerational Models
Definition of Contextual Family Therapy - ANSWER-applies principles of psychoanalytic
theory to the family system, acknowledges past generations influence
Founder of Contextual Family Therapy - ANSWER-Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy
Focus on Contextual Family Therapy - ANSWER-fairness & relational ethics
2 primary characteristics of high functioning families (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-
reliability & trustworthiness
entitlement (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-what individuals are inherently due from
others in their family as well as what is earned from others based upon behavior toward
them
ledger (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-how individuals keep track of and balance debts
and entitlements
facts (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-stable & physical attributes that individuals are born
with & the contextual circumstances of their upgbringing
psychology (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-a person's internal experience of the world,
(thoughts, desires, emotions, & meaning), as facts occur externally to the individual
psychology develops internally in the individual
relational ethics (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-responsibility that each family member
has for the impact of their behaviors on others
loyalty (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-an individual's internalized of & obligations to his
family of origin, exerts a powerful influence over the individiual's functioning
legacy (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-certain attributes or qualities that are attributed to
an individual as an account of being born to his parents
equitable asymmetry (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-children are not able to card for
themselves & are entirely dependent upon their parents, making them vulnerable or
entitled based upon the circumstances of their upbringing
merit (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-earned when parents are responsible & ethical with
the equitable asymmetry withing the parent-child relationship, parents are rewarded with
loyalty from therr childhood as they mature into adults
Study Guide Latest Updated
Individuality and togetherness - ANSWER-each individual needs companionship and
independence and anxiety is experienced when these two needs polarize the individual,
balance is achieved with self-differentiation
Differentiation of Self - ANSWER-This concept refers to an individual's capacity to
balance thinking with feeling, (individuality with togetherness). High differentiation = less
reactivity and low differentiation = high reactivity
Triangles - ANSWER-a person in a relationship pulls in a third party to create the
illusion of emotional closeness that they are not receiving from the other individual in the
relationship, decreasing anxiety by spreading it across a third party
Nuclear Family Emotional System - ANSWER-another name for Undifferentiated Family
Ego Mass
Undifferentiated Family Ego Mass - ANSWER-(Nuclear Family Emotional System) An
excess of emotional reactivity, anxiety, and fusion within a family system
Family Projection Process - ANSWER-The concept identifies that individuals with
limited emotional resources are likely to project their needs onto others in the family.
Multigenerational Transmission Process - ANSWER-This term refers to the emotional
forces in families that continue over the years in interconnected patterns, transmitting
down from one generation to the next.
Sibling Position - ANSWER-Bowen endorsed that an individual's personality
development will be highly influenced by his or her position in the sibling birth order.
This also plays a role in how children are chosen as the object for the family projection
process.
Emotional Cutoff - ANSWER-A problematic manner in which individuals deal with
unresolved issues through a process of separation, isolation, withdrawal, running away,
or denying the importance of one's parental family.
Societal Emotional Process - ANSWER-The impact of social influences on family
functions. Individuals with higher levrls of self-differentiation are less vulnerable to
destructive societal influences such as sexism and discrimination.
Goals of Multigenerational Family Therapy - ANSWER-1. decrease anxiety
,2. increase levesl of differentiation in as many family members as possible
detriangulate - ANSWER-families will automatically attempt to triangulate the therapist,
so therapist remains neutral & differentiated, to derease emotionality across the family&
make room for constructively resolving conflict.
nonanxious presence - ANSWER-Bowen - therapist remains differentiated and models
nonreactivity
genogram - ANSWER-
process questions - ANSWER-questions aimed to slow individual down, decreasing
emotionality and increasing rationality as the individual becomes more aware of how
stress and anxiety influence behavior (Bowen)
going home again - ANSWER-intervention encourage ct to go home and resolve any
conflicted relationships
displacement stories - ANSWER-Guerin's intervention meant to help individuals create
distance between themselves and their problems and encourage rationality by having
them reflect on another couple's conflict as opposed to their own - Bowen
coaching - ANSWER-therapist's role with clients according to Bowen
the "I" position - ANSWER-use of "I" statements to express thoughts & feelings
relationship experiments - ANSWER-intervention that directed clients to experiment with
different ways of behaving and responding to one another, means to help clients
become aware of systemic processes by understanding how their behaviors impact
others - Bowen
person-to-person relationships - ANSWER-two people relating without triangulating
another , use of I statements - Bowen
3 phases of Multigenerational Family Therapy - ANSWER-1. Assessment Phase
2. The Genogram Phase
3. The Differentiation Phase
The Assessment Phase (Bowen) - ANSWER-history taking to understand the family
system & members, assess for patterns of togetherness & individuality by exploring
family of origin, presence of triangles, & levels of differentiation
The Genogram Phase (Bowen) - ANSWER-therapist and clients co-construct a family
diagram
, The Differentiation Phase (Bowen) - ANSWER-reduce anxiety & increase levels of
differentiation, informed by the genogram & family history
Which category does Contextual Family Therapy fall under? - ANSWER-
Transgenerational Models
Definition of Contextual Family Therapy - ANSWER-applies principles of psychoanalytic
theory to the family system, acknowledges past generations influence
Founder of Contextual Family Therapy - ANSWER-Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy
Focus on Contextual Family Therapy - ANSWER-fairness & relational ethics
2 primary characteristics of high functioning families (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-
reliability & trustworthiness
entitlement (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-what individuals are inherently due from
others in their family as well as what is earned from others based upon behavior toward
them
ledger (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-how individuals keep track of and balance debts
and entitlements
facts (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-stable & physical attributes that individuals are born
with & the contextual circumstances of their upgbringing
psychology (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-a person's internal experience of the world,
(thoughts, desires, emotions, & meaning), as facts occur externally to the individual
psychology develops internally in the individual
relational ethics (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-responsibility that each family member
has for the impact of their behaviors on others
loyalty (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-an individual's internalized of & obligations to his
family of origin, exerts a powerful influence over the individiual's functioning
legacy (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-certain attributes or qualities that are attributed to
an individual as an account of being born to his parents
equitable asymmetry (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-children are not able to card for
themselves & are entirely dependent upon their parents, making them vulnerable or
entitled based upon the circumstances of their upbringing
merit (Contextual/Nagy) - ANSWER-earned when parents are responsible & ethical with
the equitable asymmetry withing the parent-child relationship, parents are rewarded with
loyalty from therr childhood as they mature into adults
