Exam Solution Manual for Systems Theory and Family Therapy Already Passed
Homeostasis - Answers Concept of homeostasis was one of the first concepts that guided family therapy
The idea that families tend to resist change in order to maintain a steady state.
Balance is maintained through homeostasis.
Other approaches may call this "resistance"
Family therapists believe this is what keeps individuals and families stuck in cycles and/or behaviors
-Someone always needs to maintain one of the roles to keep Homeostasis going
Process vs. Content - Answers Two different areas of focus
Content: what is being said
What the argument is about (eg., curfew)
Process: the deeper meaning, message, and interactions used
How the family argues?
What messages are sent?
Mom withdraws, Dad lectures, Kid is aggressive
The temptation is to get caught up in the content!!
Role Theory - Answers What roles are family members expected to play?
Very difficult for family members to stop playing these roles
-The perfect child
-The rebel
-The athlete
Others??
Roles may become reinforcing:
The good child is always good and the bad is always bad because neither gets the opportunity to be the
other
Child Guidance Emphasis - Answers Kids were historically treated individually ... families were viewed as
an extension of children
,Mothers were sometimes seen separately from their children but the social workers/psychiatrists did
not collaborate
Parents were frequently blamed (esp. mothers)
Term: schizophrenogenic mother- Thought that mothers cause schizophrenia- 1950s
Bowlby worked some with families.. But Nathan Ackerman was the one to take the lead
The Palo Alto Group - Answers Gregory Bateson/Schizophrenia Research
Don Jackson & Jay Haley
Focus on communication
Meta-communication
2 levels of communication/messages
Report and Command
Meta-communication is the implied command
E. g.,: clean your room (message is "you never do anything right and I have to remind you of
everything")- layered communication; listen on multiple levels
Or: I thought you were going to call when you got off work.
Double Bind (Palo Alto Group) - Answers First identification of the family's influence on behavior
observed initially in schizophrenic individuals
This idea of "do this but don't do this"
Contradictory messages within an intimate relationship that lead to conflict
Example: mom stiffens when son gives a hug, son withdraws, mom says "don't you love me?", son
embarrassed, mom criticizes son's feelings
-Wife that says "please do the dishes, then says why aren't you spending time with me?"
Don Jackson - Answers Identified family homeostasis
Complementary relationships - Answers Don Jackson
Partners are different but they fit (like a puzzle)
Logical, emotional
Weak, strong
,Symmetrical relationships - Answers Don Jackson
Based on symmetry and equality
eg: both work, share chores, etc.
Family rules - Answers Don Jackson
Idea that families follow the underlying rules - and only use a small range of behaviors
Identified that family patterns maintain symptoms
-Functional vs. Problematic
-Asking the family what secondary gains would be
-Secondary Gain: Dealing with the root problem
Scapegoat
-May be the "identified patient"- the one that "brings" the family into counseling
-Idea that families take out symptoms on one individual
-Frequently the child (can also be viewed as the symptom carrier)
Jay Haley - Answers Family communication
-Different levels of communication at the same time
Go clean your room ... what does it really mean?
Directive therapy
-Telling people to do what they fear
Virginia Satir - Answers First family therapist to really look at emotion
Focus on communication and emotion
Conceptualized families as stuck in narrow roles
Goal was to free family members from these roles
Theodore Lidz - Answers Did not believe that mothers caused schizophrenia
, Identified 2 types of marriages - both leave kids feeling responsible to balance the marriage
Psuedomutuality - Answers Lyman Wynne
"a façade of togetherness that masks conflict and blocks intimacy"
No room for uniqueness or separateness
Avoidance of deep, intimate relationships
Psuedohostility - Answers Lyman Wynne
Arguing and bickering that hides "pathological alignments" in families
Appears to be separateness but that is a façade
Prevents open communication and quality relationships
Marital Skew - Answers Theodore Lidz
-One parent is a "pathologic bully" and the other is passive/dependent; think military father
-Example: Self-centered father appearing as dominant but is actually very bullying
Marital Schism - Answers Theodore Lidz
-Husband and wife undercut each other's worth and/or compete openly for attention/affection of the
children
Example: Devon (presented as a child problem)- parents fought over who took the best care of their
child
"Rubber Fence" - Answers Lyman Wynne
Observed in these families
Keep outsiders out, and insiders in... with the appearance of being open
These families became "sick little societies"
May present as seeking help... but not let clinician in
Murray Bowen - Answers Father of the genogram
Initially specialized in schizophrenia - Menninger Clinic
Heavy emphasis on theory, less emphasis on intervention
Homeostasis - Answers Concept of homeostasis was one of the first concepts that guided family therapy
The idea that families tend to resist change in order to maintain a steady state.
Balance is maintained through homeostasis.
Other approaches may call this "resistance"
Family therapists believe this is what keeps individuals and families stuck in cycles and/or behaviors
-Someone always needs to maintain one of the roles to keep Homeostasis going
Process vs. Content - Answers Two different areas of focus
Content: what is being said
What the argument is about (eg., curfew)
Process: the deeper meaning, message, and interactions used
How the family argues?
What messages are sent?
Mom withdraws, Dad lectures, Kid is aggressive
The temptation is to get caught up in the content!!
Role Theory - Answers What roles are family members expected to play?
Very difficult for family members to stop playing these roles
-The perfect child
-The rebel
-The athlete
Others??
Roles may become reinforcing:
The good child is always good and the bad is always bad because neither gets the opportunity to be the
other
Child Guidance Emphasis - Answers Kids were historically treated individually ... families were viewed as
an extension of children
,Mothers were sometimes seen separately from their children but the social workers/psychiatrists did
not collaborate
Parents were frequently blamed (esp. mothers)
Term: schizophrenogenic mother- Thought that mothers cause schizophrenia- 1950s
Bowlby worked some with families.. But Nathan Ackerman was the one to take the lead
The Palo Alto Group - Answers Gregory Bateson/Schizophrenia Research
Don Jackson & Jay Haley
Focus on communication
Meta-communication
2 levels of communication/messages
Report and Command
Meta-communication is the implied command
E. g.,: clean your room (message is "you never do anything right and I have to remind you of
everything")- layered communication; listen on multiple levels
Or: I thought you were going to call when you got off work.
Double Bind (Palo Alto Group) - Answers First identification of the family's influence on behavior
observed initially in schizophrenic individuals
This idea of "do this but don't do this"
Contradictory messages within an intimate relationship that lead to conflict
Example: mom stiffens when son gives a hug, son withdraws, mom says "don't you love me?", son
embarrassed, mom criticizes son's feelings
-Wife that says "please do the dishes, then says why aren't you spending time with me?"
Don Jackson - Answers Identified family homeostasis
Complementary relationships - Answers Don Jackson
Partners are different but they fit (like a puzzle)
Logical, emotional
Weak, strong
,Symmetrical relationships - Answers Don Jackson
Based on symmetry and equality
eg: both work, share chores, etc.
Family rules - Answers Don Jackson
Idea that families follow the underlying rules - and only use a small range of behaviors
Identified that family patterns maintain symptoms
-Functional vs. Problematic
-Asking the family what secondary gains would be
-Secondary Gain: Dealing with the root problem
Scapegoat
-May be the "identified patient"- the one that "brings" the family into counseling
-Idea that families take out symptoms on one individual
-Frequently the child (can also be viewed as the symptom carrier)
Jay Haley - Answers Family communication
-Different levels of communication at the same time
Go clean your room ... what does it really mean?
Directive therapy
-Telling people to do what they fear
Virginia Satir - Answers First family therapist to really look at emotion
Focus on communication and emotion
Conceptualized families as stuck in narrow roles
Goal was to free family members from these roles
Theodore Lidz - Answers Did not believe that mothers caused schizophrenia
, Identified 2 types of marriages - both leave kids feeling responsible to balance the marriage
Psuedomutuality - Answers Lyman Wynne
"a façade of togetherness that masks conflict and blocks intimacy"
No room for uniqueness or separateness
Avoidance of deep, intimate relationships
Psuedohostility - Answers Lyman Wynne
Arguing and bickering that hides "pathological alignments" in families
Appears to be separateness but that is a façade
Prevents open communication and quality relationships
Marital Skew - Answers Theodore Lidz
-One parent is a "pathologic bully" and the other is passive/dependent; think military father
-Example: Self-centered father appearing as dominant but is actually very bullying
Marital Schism - Answers Theodore Lidz
-Husband and wife undercut each other's worth and/or compete openly for attention/affection of the
children
Example: Devon (presented as a child problem)- parents fought over who took the best care of their
child
"Rubber Fence" - Answers Lyman Wynne
Observed in these families
Keep outsiders out, and insiders in... with the appearance of being open
These families became "sick little societies"
May present as seeking help... but not let clinician in
Murray Bowen - Answers Father of the genogram
Initially specialized in schizophrenia - Menninger Clinic
Heavy emphasis on theory, less emphasis on intervention
