6645 Midterm Review
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1. 6645 midterm review: Chapters 2,3,4,8.9,5,11,12
2. 6645 midterm review: From Midterm Reading
3. Mental Research Institute (MRI) assessement technique: Assessment focus-
es n the symptom(s) and does not look at history. Looks for instances of circular
causality and determines sequences of symptom maintaining behaviors
4. Who are the theorists associated with MRI?: Watzlawick, Wekland, Fisch,
Jackson and Sluzki
5. sensate focus exercises: exercises designed to reduce anxiety and teach mu-
tual pleasuring through non-genital touching in non-demanding situations
6. attachment: seeking closeness in the face of stress
7. Anxiously attached children: have overly protective and intrusive parents
8. Avoidantly attached children: have emotionally unavailable parents. The child
will make initial attempts at seeking comfort from his or her caregiver, but when it
becomes apparent that the caregiver will not respond, the child eventually gives up
9. complimentarity: refers to the reciprocity that is the defining feature of every
relationship
10. process/content: Focus on "how" people talk rather than "what" they talk about;
the most productive shift a family therapist can make; focusing on the underlying
processes that are contributing to the content is key
11. enmeshment: offers access to support, but at the expense of independence.
Enmeshed parents are loving and attentive; however, their children tend to be
dependent and may have trouble relating to people outside their family
12. family life cycle: a series of stages determined by a combination of age, marital
status, and the presence or absence of children
13. Narrative Therapy: emphasizes the fact that families with problems come to
therapy with defeatist narratives that tend to keep them from acting effective-
ly-Michael White
14. Personal Construct Theory: According to George Kelly, we make sense of
the world by creating our own constructs of the environment. We interpret and
organize events, and we make predictions that guide our actions on the basis of
these constructs.
15. Reframing techniques: Process of redefining events from a different point of
view; relabeling behavior to shift how family members respond to it
16. constructivism: teaches us to look beyond behavior to the ways we interpret
our experience. Moreover, in a world where all truth is relative, the perspective of
the therapist has no more claim to objectivity than that of the clients
17. social constructionism: a sociological theory that argues that people actively
shape their reality through social interaction; it is therefore something that is con-
1/6
, 6645 Midterm Review
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_9orar9
structed, not inherent; it looks to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups
participate in the construction of their perceived social reality
18. Solution Focused Therapy: the best way to solve a problem is to discover what
people do when they're not having the problem
19. triangles in family therapy: Relationship problems often turn out to be triangu-
lar (Bowen, 1978), even though it may not always be apparent
20. cybernetics: when a family functions like a closed system, the response to
a problem may actually perpetuate it; to employ this concept clinically, therapists
simply identify how family members have been responding to their problems and
then get them to try something different.
21. Bowen Family Systems Therapy: 1. Two counterbalencing life forces are to-
getherness and individuality
2. Differentation of self
3. Relationship Triangles
4. Understanding not problem-solving is the goal-ask process questions
5. Use of genograms to outline relational dynamics
22. Murray Bowen: one of the pioneers of family therapy, emphasized theory as
opposed to technique, distinguishing his work from the more behaviorally oriented
family therapists. Bowen's extended family systems model is the most comprehen-
sive theory in family therapy. The goal in the Bowenian model is differentiation of self,
namely, the ability to remain oneself in the face of external influences, especially the
pressures of family life
23. Philip Guerin: Guerin's highly articulated model outlines several therapeutic
goals, which emphasize the multigenerational context of families, working to calm
the emotional level of family members, and defining specific patterns of relationships
within families
24. differentiation of self: cornerstone of Bowen's theory is both an intrapsychic
and an interpersonal concept; roughly analogous to ego strength; is the capacity to
think and reflect, to not respond automatically to emotional pressures; it is the ability
to be flexible and act wisely, even in the face of anxiety
25. A differentiated person: capable of strong emotion and spontaneity but also
possessing the self-restraint that comes with the ability to resist the pull of emotion-
ality
26. Emotional Triangle: Virtually all relationships are shadowed by third par-
ties—relatives, friends, even memories and driven by anxiety
27. triangulation: lets off steam but freezes conflict in place. It isn't that complaining
or seeking solace is wrong, but rather that triangles become chronic diversions that
undermine relationships.
2/6
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_9orar9
1. 6645 midterm review: Chapters 2,3,4,8.9,5,11,12
2. 6645 midterm review: From Midterm Reading
3. Mental Research Institute (MRI) assessement technique: Assessment focus-
es n the symptom(s) and does not look at history. Looks for instances of circular
causality and determines sequences of symptom maintaining behaviors
4. Who are the theorists associated with MRI?: Watzlawick, Wekland, Fisch,
Jackson and Sluzki
5. sensate focus exercises: exercises designed to reduce anxiety and teach mu-
tual pleasuring through non-genital touching in non-demanding situations
6. attachment: seeking closeness in the face of stress
7. Anxiously attached children: have overly protective and intrusive parents
8. Avoidantly attached children: have emotionally unavailable parents. The child
will make initial attempts at seeking comfort from his or her caregiver, but when it
becomes apparent that the caregiver will not respond, the child eventually gives up
9. complimentarity: refers to the reciprocity that is the defining feature of every
relationship
10. process/content: Focus on "how" people talk rather than "what" they talk about;
the most productive shift a family therapist can make; focusing on the underlying
processes that are contributing to the content is key
11. enmeshment: offers access to support, but at the expense of independence.
Enmeshed parents are loving and attentive; however, their children tend to be
dependent and may have trouble relating to people outside their family
12. family life cycle: a series of stages determined by a combination of age, marital
status, and the presence or absence of children
13. Narrative Therapy: emphasizes the fact that families with problems come to
therapy with defeatist narratives that tend to keep them from acting effective-
ly-Michael White
14. Personal Construct Theory: According to George Kelly, we make sense of
the world by creating our own constructs of the environment. We interpret and
organize events, and we make predictions that guide our actions on the basis of
these constructs.
15. Reframing techniques: Process of redefining events from a different point of
view; relabeling behavior to shift how family members respond to it
16. constructivism: teaches us to look beyond behavior to the ways we interpret
our experience. Moreover, in a world where all truth is relative, the perspective of
the therapist has no more claim to objectivity than that of the clients
17. social constructionism: a sociological theory that argues that people actively
shape their reality through social interaction; it is therefore something that is con-
1/6
, 6645 Midterm Review
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_9orar9
structed, not inherent; it looks to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups
participate in the construction of their perceived social reality
18. Solution Focused Therapy: the best way to solve a problem is to discover what
people do when they're not having the problem
19. triangles in family therapy: Relationship problems often turn out to be triangu-
lar (Bowen, 1978), even though it may not always be apparent
20. cybernetics: when a family functions like a closed system, the response to
a problem may actually perpetuate it; to employ this concept clinically, therapists
simply identify how family members have been responding to their problems and
then get them to try something different.
21. Bowen Family Systems Therapy: 1. Two counterbalencing life forces are to-
getherness and individuality
2. Differentation of self
3. Relationship Triangles
4. Understanding not problem-solving is the goal-ask process questions
5. Use of genograms to outline relational dynamics
22. Murray Bowen: one of the pioneers of family therapy, emphasized theory as
opposed to technique, distinguishing his work from the more behaviorally oriented
family therapists. Bowen's extended family systems model is the most comprehen-
sive theory in family therapy. The goal in the Bowenian model is differentiation of self,
namely, the ability to remain oneself in the face of external influences, especially the
pressures of family life
23. Philip Guerin: Guerin's highly articulated model outlines several therapeutic
goals, which emphasize the multigenerational context of families, working to calm
the emotional level of family members, and defining specific patterns of relationships
within families
24. differentiation of self: cornerstone of Bowen's theory is both an intrapsychic
and an interpersonal concept; roughly analogous to ego strength; is the capacity to
think and reflect, to not respond automatically to emotional pressures; it is the ability
to be flexible and act wisely, even in the face of anxiety
25. A differentiated person: capable of strong emotion and spontaneity but also
possessing the self-restraint that comes with the ability to resist the pull of emotion-
ality
26. Emotional Triangle: Virtually all relationships are shadowed by third par-
ties—relatives, friends, even memories and driven by anxiety
27. triangulation: lets off steam but freezes conflict in place. It isn't that complaining
or seeking solace is wrong, but rather that triangles become chronic diversions that
undermine relationships.
2/6
