©THEBRIGHTSTARS 2024
Mastering Competencies in Family Therapy -
Gehart - Chapter 7 (ed. 4) Exam Questions
With Correct Answers
Who is Salvador Minuchin? - answer✔Considered the founder of Structural Family Therapy.
- Born and raised in Argentina.
- Trained as a pediatrician and child psychiatrist.
- Physician in the Israeli army.
- Studied interpersonal psychiatry with Harry Stack Sullivan.
- Worked with "delinquent" boys at the Wiltwyck School
- Director of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic
What is the basic assumption of Structural Family Therapy? - answer✔Families are organized
structurally in certain ways to cope with stress.
What do structural therapists map? - answer✔The family structure - boundaries, hierarchies,
and subsystems - to help clients resolve individual mental health symptoms and relational
problems.
What do structural therapists focus on when working with families? - answer✔The family's
strengths and seek to help family's expand their interaction patterns to adjust to their ever-
changing developmental and contextual demands.
What are Latent Adaptive Resources? - answer✔Dormant strengths of the family that can be
leveraged in their favor.
What are Boundaries? - answer✔The rules for managing physical and psychological distance
between family members.
What do Boundaries define? - answer✔The regulation of closeness, distance, hierarchy, and
family roles.
, ©THEBRIGHTSTARS 2024
What are Clear Boundaries? - answer✔"Normal" boundaries allow for close emotional contact
with others while simultaneously allowing each person to maintain a sense of identity and
differentiation.
What are Diffuse Boundaries? - answer✔"Weak " boundaries do not make a clear distinction
between members, creating a strong sense of mutuality and connection at the expense of
individual autonomy.
What do therapists typically see family members do when they are Enmeshed? - answer✔-
Interrupting one another or speaking for one another.
- Mind reading and making assumptions.
- Insisting on high levels of protectiveness and being overly concerned.
- Demanding loyalty at the expense of individual needs.
- Feeling threatened when there is disagreement or difference.
What are Rigid Boundaries? - answer✔Emphasize autonomy and independence at the expense
of emotional connection, creating isolation that may be more emotional than physical.
What do therapists see when working with disengaged families? - answer✔- Lack of reaction
and few repercussions, even to problems.
- Significant freedom for most members to do as they please.
- Few demands for or expressions of loyalty and commitment.
- Consistently using parallel interactions as substitutes for reciprocal interactions and
engagement.
What is an Enactment? - answer✔Techniques in which the therapist prompts the family to
reenact a conflict or other interaction.
What are Enactments used for? - answer✔Both assess and alter the problematic interactional
sequences, allowing the therapist to map, track, and modify the family structure.
What are the three stages of an Enactment? - answer✔1. Observation of spontaneous
interactions
2. The invitation: eliciting transactions
3. Redirecting alternative transactions
According to Minuchin, what are the three phases of structural therapy? - answer✔1. Join the
family (build an alliance)
2. Map the family structure, boundaries, and hierarchy (evaluate and assess)
Mastering Competencies in Family Therapy -
Gehart - Chapter 7 (ed. 4) Exam Questions
With Correct Answers
Who is Salvador Minuchin? - answer✔Considered the founder of Structural Family Therapy.
- Born and raised in Argentina.
- Trained as a pediatrician and child psychiatrist.
- Physician in the Israeli army.
- Studied interpersonal psychiatry with Harry Stack Sullivan.
- Worked with "delinquent" boys at the Wiltwyck School
- Director of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic
What is the basic assumption of Structural Family Therapy? - answer✔Families are organized
structurally in certain ways to cope with stress.
What do structural therapists map? - answer✔The family structure - boundaries, hierarchies,
and subsystems - to help clients resolve individual mental health symptoms and relational
problems.
What do structural therapists focus on when working with families? - answer✔The family's
strengths and seek to help family's expand their interaction patterns to adjust to their ever-
changing developmental and contextual demands.
What are Latent Adaptive Resources? - answer✔Dormant strengths of the family that can be
leveraged in their favor.
What are Boundaries? - answer✔The rules for managing physical and psychological distance
between family members.
What do Boundaries define? - answer✔The regulation of closeness, distance, hierarchy, and
family roles.
, ©THEBRIGHTSTARS 2024
What are Clear Boundaries? - answer✔"Normal" boundaries allow for close emotional contact
with others while simultaneously allowing each person to maintain a sense of identity and
differentiation.
What are Diffuse Boundaries? - answer✔"Weak " boundaries do not make a clear distinction
between members, creating a strong sense of mutuality and connection at the expense of
individual autonomy.
What do therapists typically see family members do when they are Enmeshed? - answer✔-
Interrupting one another or speaking for one another.
- Mind reading and making assumptions.
- Insisting on high levels of protectiveness and being overly concerned.
- Demanding loyalty at the expense of individual needs.
- Feeling threatened when there is disagreement or difference.
What are Rigid Boundaries? - answer✔Emphasize autonomy and independence at the expense
of emotional connection, creating isolation that may be more emotional than physical.
What do therapists see when working with disengaged families? - answer✔- Lack of reaction
and few repercussions, even to problems.
- Significant freedom for most members to do as they please.
- Few demands for or expressions of loyalty and commitment.
- Consistently using parallel interactions as substitutes for reciprocal interactions and
engagement.
What is an Enactment? - answer✔Techniques in which the therapist prompts the family to
reenact a conflict or other interaction.
What are Enactments used for? - answer✔Both assess and alter the problematic interactional
sequences, allowing the therapist to map, track, and modify the family structure.
What are the three stages of an Enactment? - answer✔1. Observation of spontaneous
interactions
2. The invitation: eliciting transactions
3. Redirecting alternative transactions
According to Minuchin, what are the three phases of structural therapy? - answer✔1. Join the
family (build an alliance)
2. Map the family structure, boundaries, and hierarchy (evaluate and assess)
