Introduction to Family Dynamics

Minuchin Structural Family TheoryA process in which there are clusters of alliances between family members w/i the overall family group.Affiliations and splits from one group, temporary or permanent, occur in pursuit of homeostatis. Most alignments are formed with the intention of joining together or opposing other family members in carrying out a family activity. "Mother and son are part of the process of alignment when they ally themselves against the younger brother, using him as their scapegoat, whenever problems arose."

Implemented by Bowen and derived from the biological view of the human family as one type of living system. not limited to families, the theory attempts to account for humanity's relationship to other natural systems....derived from bowen's work w schizophrenic patients and their families in 1954. the family is a living system and evolves with emphasis on emotion. problems w/in family stem from multigenerational transmission process whereby levels of differntiation among members become progressively lower w each generation. 8 key concepts: 1.) differntiation of self 2.) nuclear family emotional system 3. ) traingulation 4. ) family projection process 5.) emotional cutoff 6.) multigenerational transmission process 7.) sibling positino 8.) societal emotional process(need ex.)

De Shazer, "systems therapy". focuses on what the client wants to achieve through therapy rather than the problems that made them seek tx. focuses on present/future, client is asked to envision preferred future (miracle question) adn then works to achieve it. client's strengths, resources and expectations to the problem are used. Imp: focuses on change, rather than why the problem developed."Don't focus on cheating, focus on fixing why you are not getting alone". (needs work)

An interview technique, first formulated by Milan systemic therapists, aimed at eliciting differences in perception about events or relationships from different family members, particularly regarding points in the family life cycle when significant coalition shifts and adaptations occurede.
"The therapist asks each member of the family what happened in their point of view to form a map of what occured
tell me why you think your family is in therapy?" (nw)

Defined by Minuchin, Rosman, and Baker as part of the "structural family theory", coalitions are covert alliances or affiliations, temporary or long term, btwn certain family members against others in the family. there are stable and detouring coalitions.
"Mom and the youngest daughter always shared a very close, private and exclusive relationship that separated the other two kids and spouse from both mom and the baby" (needs work)

A term introduced by Jacques Derrida, generally applied in "narrative therapy" as a process used to remind clients that the dominance of one meaning or one set of assumptions is an illusion, and that it is possible to apply a multitiude of meanings or assumptions in understanding the same event or experience.
Ex: a therapist encourages their client to see themselves from various view points so that they understand that they have control over their definition of self

Bowen. family systems theory. psychoanalytic theory the separation of one's intellectual and emotional functioning; the greater the distinction, the better one is able to reisist being overwhelmed by the emotional reactivity of his or her family, thus making one less prone to dysfunction Imp: bowen said that the level of differentiation can predict pathologies in generations as levels decrease. high self esteem = healthy level of differentiation
Ex: mary is able to understand that although she loves her husband (emotion), she shouldn't be with him bc he is an abusive alcoholic (intellectual)

Minuchin,in bowen's "structural family theory", disengagement is a family organization w overly rigid boundaries, in which members are isolated and feel unconnected to each other, with each functioning separately and autonomously and w/out involvement in the day-to-day transactions w/in the family Imp: can cause symptoms of psychopathology, stress and can explain a client's lack of social support
Ex: the browns had little emotional and physical contact w each other and had their own chores that they were responsible for and generally kept to themselves

In effort to uncover the sources of schizophrenia Bateson 1953 described a double-blind circumstance where an individual who receives important contradictory injunctions at different levels of abstraction, about which he or she is unable to comment or espace, is in a no-win conflict producing situation Imp: repeated exposure causes child to escape hurt and punishment by responding with incongruent messages
Ex: a therpaist tells their depressed client not to be in such a hurry to overcome their depression and consequently the client doesn't rely on the therapist to help them change and learns to control their symptoms on their own or schizophrenic son goes to hug mom when she visits, she stiffens, he withdraws, she asks, "don't you love me anymore?"

Minuchin in "structural family therapy", a facilitation intervention in which the family is induced by the therapist to enact or play out its relationship patterns spontaneously during a therapeutic session, allowing the therapist to observe and ultimately to develop a plan or new set of rules for restructuring future transactions
Ex: in effort to bring an outside conflict into therapy the therapist asks the client not to give into their child's requests in order to see the child's tantrum and make sure the mother maintains her control over the situation

Part of the "structural family theory" as described by Minuchin, a family organization in which boundaries between members are blurred and members are overconcerned and overinvolved in each other's lives, limiting individual autonomy. opposite of disengagement. maladaptive interpersonal boundaries, overly permeable and poorly defined. unable to distinguish individual identity apart from the family. Imp: look for enmeshment in family therapy, children may act as parents, and parental control is thereby lost.
Ex: the whites have little to no personal boundaries or secrecy and are involved in all aspects of each other's lives to the point where being a member of the white family is the most prominent aspect of their lives

Part of the "structural family theory" as described by Minuchin, a closed family system has the tendency to gointo disorder and if unimpededf, to reach a disorganized and undifferentiated state. Ex: a family of immigrants is fearful of non-hispanics and strangers and rarely leaves the home causing teh family members to be in great conflict over the fear and come to resent one another

Pioneered by Carl Whitaker, a multi generational approach that addresses both individual and family relational patterns in the process of therapy. therapist is a real person, not an expert. helps family members dislodge rigid and repetitive ways of interacting by substituting more spontanteous and flexible ways of accepting and dealing with their impulses. focus on here and now. believes in inherent ability of families to heal themselves. Ex: in the family crucible, whitaker illustrates the course of EFT with a family case study. he comes a friend of the family and related to them as a friend, not as a therapist. he shows them their interactive pattern and encourages them to move away from it by learning new ways to relate to one another.
action over insight, emotion over reason, create ability to behave spontaneously in relationships as opposed to watching mom and dad

White, within the "narrative approach" , intervention technique. the process of helping families view the problem or symptom as occuring outside of themselves, in an effort to mobilize them to fight to overcome it takes away the idea that they are the problem.
Ex: a therapist encourages a young boy who is acting out to think of "trouble" as an entity separate from him. the therapist may ask, "what did trouble get you into today?"

Bowen, work with schizophrenics and their mothers, describes a relationship between two people in which each are dependent on the ohter, usually between an mom and a child to the extent that boundaries are blurred. as explained in the "transgenerational model" fusion is the merging of the intellectual and emotional aspects of a family member, paralleling the degree to which that person is caught up in, and loses a separate sense of self, in family relationships
Ex: schizophrenics have little separation between their emotions and thoughts and therefore are often at the mercy of their emotions