Family Systems

Family Systems Therapy

 

 

 

What is it?

Family systems theory is more than a therapeutic technique. It is a philosophy that searches for the causes of behavior, not in the individual alone, but in the interactions among the members of a group. The basic rationale is that all parts of the family are interrelated.

 

 

Basic assumptions:

• Each family is unique, due to the infinite variations in personal characteristics and cultural and ideological styles;
• The family is an interactional system whose component parts have constantly shifting boundaries and varying degrees of resistance to change;
• Families must fulfill a variety of functions for each member, both collectively and individually, if each member is to grow and develop; and
• Families pass through developmental and nondevelopmental changes that produce varying amounts of stress affecting all members.

Adlerian Family Therapy

Alfred Adler

 

This approach is based on an educational model, emphasis on family atmosphere and family constellation.

 

Goals of Adlerian Family Therapy

• Unlock mistaken goals and interactional patterns
• Engage parents in a learning experience
• Emphasis is on the family's motivational patterns
• Initiate a reorientation of the family

Multigenerational Family Therapy

 

Murray Bowen

 

 

The family is viewed as an emotional unit. 

 

 

Goals of Multigenerational Family Therapy

• To change the individuals within the context of the system
• To end generation-to-generation transmission of problems
• To lessen anxiety and relieve symptoms
• To increase the individual member's level of differentiation

 

Human Validation Process Model

 

Virginia Satir

 

 

Enhancement and validation of self-esteem, family rules, congruence and openness in communications.

 

 

Goals of Human Calidation Process Model

• Honesty
• Differences are acknowledged
• Spoken and unspoken rules

Experiential Family Therapy

Carl Whitaker

 

Techniques are secondary to the therapeutic process, pragmatic and atheoretical

 

 

Goals of Experiential Family Therapy

• Facilitate individual autonomy and a sense of belonging in the family
• Help individual achieve more intimacy by increasing awareness
• Encourage members to be themselves,
• Support

 

 

 

Structural Family Therapy

 

Salvador Minuchin

 

Symptoms are a by-product of structural failings, structural changes must occur in the family before individuals can be reduced, techniques are active and well thought out

 

 

Goals of Structural Family Therapy

 



• Modyifying the family's transactional rules
• Developing more appropriate boundaries
• Creating an effective hierarchial structure
  

 

 

 

Strategic Family Therapy

 

Jay Haley

 

Presenting problems are "real", therapy is brief and process-focused and solution oriented, change results with the family follows direction.

 

Goals of Strategic Family Therapy

• Resolve problems by focusing on behavioral consequences
• Get people to behave differently
• Shift the family organization so that the presenting problem is no longer functional
• Move family toward the appropriate stage of family development

References:
Corey, Gerald (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 9th ed.
Belmont,California: Brooks/Cole. 

 

Postmodern Approach

Postmodern

 

 

 

What is it?

Postmodern therapy focuses on deconstructing common beliefs and examining their value in an individual’s life.

 

 

Key Figures

Insoo Kim Berg

(1935 - 2007)

 

Steve de Shazer

(1940 - 2005)

 

Michael White

(1949 - 2008)

 

David Epston

(b.1944)

 

The Basic Philosophies:

• Based on the premise that there multiple realities and multiple truths.
• Postmodern therapies reject the idea that reality is external and can be grasped.
• People create meaning in their lives through conversations with others.
• The postmodern approaches avoid: pathologies clients, avoid searching for underlying causes of problems, and place a high value on discovering clients' strengths and resources.
• Rather than talking about problems, the focus of therapy is on creating solutions in the present and the future.

Key Concepts:

• Therapy tends to be brief and addresses the present and the future.
• The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem.
• The emphasis is on externalizing the problem an looking for exceptions to the problem.
• Therapy consists of a collaborative dialogue in which the therapist and the client co-create solutions.
• By identifying instances when the problem did not exist, clients can create new meaning for themselves and fashion a new life story.

Goals:

• To change the way clients view problems and what they can do about concerns.
• To collaboratively established; specific, clear, concrete, realistic, and observable goals leading to increase positive change.
• To help clients create a self identity grounded on competence and resourcefulness so they can resolve present and future concerns.
• To assist clients in viewing their lives in positive ways, rather than being problem saturated.

Techniques:

• Pre-therapy change
• The miracle questions
• Scaling questions
• Exception questions 

 

 

 

 

References:
Corey, Gerald (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 9th ed.
Belmont,California: Brooks/Cole. 

Positive Psychology Therapy EXTRA CREDIT

Positive Psychology Therapy

 

 

 

 

Developed from theorist

 

 

 

Abraham Maslow

(1908  – 1970)

Created Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

 

 

Carl Rogers

(1902 - 1987)

Developed the client-centered approach

 

 

Erich Fromm

(1900 – 1980)

 

 

Father of Positive Psychology

Martin Seligman

 

 

What is it?

This theory is based on the belief that happiness is derived from various factors, both emotional and mental. Positive psychology aims to help people identify the happiness moment to moment, rather than only in retrospection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theories

Pleasant Life - examines how people optimally experience, forecast, and savor the positive feelings and emotions that are part of normal and healthy living.

Good Life -Investigation of the beneficial effects of immersion, absorption, and flow, felt by individuals when optimally engaged with their primary activities.

Meaningful Life - questions how individuals derive a positive sense of well-being, belonging, meaning, and purpose from being part of and contributing back to something larger and more permanent than themselves. 

 

 

Goal

To make normal life more fulfilling.

Approaches

Neuroscientific approach- neuroscience and brain imaging have shown increasing potential for helping science understand happiness and sadness. Though it may be impossible to achieve any comprehensive objective measure of happiness, some physiological correlates to happiness can be measured.

Evolutionary approach- an alternative approach to understanding happiness and quality of life.The evolutionary perspective points towards an understanding of what happiness is about and how to best exploit the capacities of the brain with which humans are endowed

 

 Techniques

• Positive thinking
• Positive emotions
• Positive authenticity
• Positive choices
• Positive habits
  

 

 

 

Feminist Therapy EXTRA CREDIT

Feminist

 

 

What is Feminist Therapy?

Feminist Therapy involves the integration of feminist philosophy and principles into the therapeutic process. Gender, the way gender experiences influence people’s lives, and how these factors relate to the individual’s current distress are of central interest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Mothers" of Feminist Therapy

 

 

Dr. Jean Baker Miller

(1928 - 2006)

 

 

Carolyn Zerbe Enns

 

 

Oliva M. Espin

Laura S. Brown

 

 

Principles of Feminist Therapy

1. The personal is political
2. Commitment to social change
3. Women's and girl's voices and ways of knowing are valued and their experiences are honored
4. The counseling relationship is egalitarian
5. A focus on stregnths and reformulated definition of psychological distress
6. All types of oppression are recognized

 

 

 

Goals?

Empowerment, valuing and addirming diversity, striving for change rather than adjustment, equality, balancing independence and interdependence, social change, and self-nurturance.

 

 

 

 

Techniques

 

• Gender-role analysis - explores the impact of gender-role expectations on the client's psychological well-being and draws upon this imformation to make decisions about future gender-role behaviors. Gender-role intervention places this concern in the context of society's role expectations for women.
• Power analysis - helps clients understand how unequal access to power and resources can influence personal realities.
• Biblotherapy - reading about feminist perspectivies on common issues in women's lives. Reading is supplementing what is learned in therapy sessions.
• Assertivness training - women become aware of their interpersonal rights, transcend sterotypical gender roles, change negative beliefs, and implement changes in daily life.
• Reframing and relabeling - reframing includes a shift from "blaming the victim" to a consideration of social factors in the environment that contribute to the client's problem. Relabeling is an intervention the label or evaluation applied to some behavioral characteristic. 
• Social action - as clients become more grounded in their understanding of feminism, therapists may suggests that they participate in community out reach.
• Group work - a way for women to discuss their lack of voice in the society in self help groups.

 

 The Role of Men?

 

 

Men can be feminist therapists, and the principles and practices are useful in working with male clients, indivuals fromdiverse racial and cultural backgrounds, and people who are commited to addressing social justice issue in counceling practice. Some feninist therapists regularly see men, especially  with abusive men and in batterers' groups.

 

 

 



Link:

http://feministtherapyassociates.com/FeministTherapy.html



References:
Corey, Gerald (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 9th ed.
Belmont,California: Brooks/Cole. 

Reality Therapy

Reality Therapy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Founder: William Glasser (1925)

 

 

 

What is Reality Therapy?

Reality Therapy aims to help define and assess basic values within the framework of a current situation and to evaluate the person's present behavior and future plans in relation to those values.

 

 

Choice Theory

Five genetically encoded needs which serve as the theoretical basis for reality therapy

 

 

Goals

The goal of Reality Therapy is to help clients get connected or reconnected with the people they have chosen to put in their lives.

 

 

 

 

Characteristics



• Excuses are not accepted
• The unconscious is avoided
• Avoiding a focus on symptoms
• Therapy is concerned primarily with the here and now

 

 

Techniques

 

The cycle of counceling

• Creation of a supportive and challenging environment to allow clients to begin making life changes
• Implementation of specific procedures that will lead to changes in behavior

 

The "WDEP" System

 

Robert E. Wubbolding (1936)

 

The WDEP system is used to assist people in satisfy their basic needs.

 

•  W - wants, needs, and perceptions
• D - direction and doing
• E -  self-evaluation
• P - planning

 

 

Links:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab/brightminds/tReality.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:
Corey, Gerald (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 9th ed.
Belmont,California: Brooks/Cole.




Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Cognitive Behavior

 

 

What is Cognitive Behavior Therapy?

Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps patients understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behaviors.

 

 

 

 

 

Goal?

The goal of Cognitive Behavior  Therapy is to try and help clients accept themselves in spite of their imperfections.

 

 

 

Techniques:

Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT): Developed by psychologist Albert Ellis (1913 - 2007) also the father of Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

 

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy focuses on resolving emotional and behavioral problems and disturbances and enabling people to lead happier and more fulfilling lives.

 

 

DEBT is based on the fact that we learn irrational beliefs from significant others during childhood and then recreate those beliefs throughout our own lifetime.  

 

 

A-B-C Framework

This model is a important tool for understanding the client's feelings, thoughts, events, and behaviors.

 

A – Activating Event: Something happens in the environment around you.

B – Beliefs: You hold a belief about the event or situation.

C – Consequence: You have an emotional response to your belief. 

Cognitive Therapy: Developed by Aaron T. Beck (1921)

 

 

 

 

Cognitive Therapy seeks to help the patient overcome difficulties.

 

Automatic Thoughts

Personalized thoughts that are triggered by particular stimuli that lead to emotional responses.

 

 

 

 

Cognitive Behavior Modification (CBM): Developed by Donald Meichenbaum (1940)

 

 

 

 

Cognitive Behavior Modification focuses on changing the client's self-verbalizations.

 

 

 

Stress Inoculation Training

Consist of teaching the client stress management techniques.

 

Phases:

1. The conceptual-educational phase
2. the skills acquistion and consolidation phase
3. the application and follow through phase

Relapse Prevention

Procedures for dealing with the daily setbacks clients experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Key Points of Understanding:

• REBT
• Cognitive Therapy
• CBT



 

Links:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/MY00194



http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_Treatments_and_Supports&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=141590

 



 

 

 

 

References:
Corey, Gerald (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 9th ed.
Belmont,California: Brooks/Cole.  

 

Behavior Therapy

Behavior Therapy

 

 

Founder: B.F. Skinner (1904 - 1990)

 

Behavior therapy is a goal-oriented, therapeutic approach that treats emotional and behavioral disorders as maladaptive learned responses that can be replaced by healthier ones with appropriate training.

 

 

 

 

Goal

The goal of Behavior therapy is increase personal choice and to create new grounds for learning.

 

 

Focus

The focus of therapy is on the end result. After taking away the positive condition away, you still get the same effect.

 

 

Key Points:

• Operant conditioning
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Systematic desensitization
• Social skills training
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing

 

 

 

 

 

Links:

http://www.laynestoops.com/blog/b-f-skinners-behavior-therapy/

Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt Therapy

 

 

Founder: Fritz Perls (1893 - 1970)

 

 

Gestalt therapy is a humanistic method of psychotherapy that takes a holistic approach to human experience by stressing individual responsibility and awareness of present psychological and physical needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goal

The goal of Gestalt therapy is to raise clients' awareness regarding how they function in their environment (with family, at work, school, friends).

 

 

Focuses

The focus of therapy is more on what is happening (the moment-to-moment process) than what is being discussed (the content).     

 

 

 

Key Points:

• The use of statments and questions to focus awareness
• Clients verbal behavior of language
• Nonverbal behavior
• Self-dialogue
• Enactment and dramatization
• Guided fantasy
• Dream work
• Awareness of self and others
• Avoidance behaviors

 

Links:

http://fritzperls.com/gestalttherapy/

http://gestalttheory.com/concepts/

 

 

 

Person-Centered Therapy

Person-Centered

"Individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behaviour; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided"

-Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987)

 

 

This type of therapy diverged from the traditional views of the therapist as an expert and moved instead toward a non-directive approach that embodied the theory of actualizing tendency. Person-centered therapy is an approach to counseling that places much of the responsibility for the treatment process on the client.   

 

Assumptions:

• People are trustworthy by nature
• They have the capacity to understand and resolve their own problems
• They areinnately resourceful and capable
• Clients canunderstand what is making them unhappy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goals:

Congruence - the willingness to relate to clients without hiding behind a professional facade.
Unconditional Positive Regard - therapist accepting client for who he or she is without disapproving feelings, actions or characteristics. It shows the willingness to listen without interrupting, judging or giving advice.
Empathy - understand and appreciate the client's feeling throughout the therapy session.

 

 

Key Points:

• Rogers believes that, under nurturing conditions a client will be able to move forward and resolve their own issues
• One can direct one’s own life
• Congruence – both the therapist’s and the client’s
• Unconditional positive regard
• Accurate empathetic understanding

 
 

 

 

Links: http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Person-centered-therapy.html



Existential Therapy

Existential

 

 

 

Founder: Rollo May (1909 - 1994)

The existential approach is philosophical. It is concerned with the understanding of people’s position in the world and with the clarification of what it means to be alive. It is also committed to exploring these questions with a receptive attitude, rather than a dogmatic one: the search for truth with an open mind and an attitude of wonder is the aim, not the fitting of the client into pre-established categories and interpretations.

 

 

Goals of Existential Therapy:

being responsible for decisions

coping with anxiety by examining what is at the root of individual anxieties

finding personal meaning and truth

increasing authentic living and self awareness

living in the present by experiencing life and living each moment to the fullest

Major Focuses:

anxiety one of life’s conditions

capacity for self awareness

creation of personal identities

establishing meaningful relationships with other individuals

freedom and responsibility

search for personal goals, meaning, purpose, and values

 

Key Points:

awareness of an individual’s existence

awareness of how limited the human lifespan is

freedom of the individual to make choices

threats of meaninglessness

 

 

 

Links: http://www.psychologycampus.com/psychology-counseling/existential-therapy.html
http://counsellingresource.com/lib/therapy/types/existential/

Adlerian

Adlerian

Founder: Alfred Adler (1870-1937)

Goals of therapy: To realize his or her mistaken views about self.  To think about his/her unique lifestyle and then find ways to incorporate this lifestyle in the social world.

Process: Adlerian therapy typically begins with an assessment of the patient which involves interview questions about family and childhood memories.  It is common for patients to fill out in-depth questionnaires.  The therapist will help identify how family dynamics have influenced the patient’s sense of self and the world. Through assessment of personal history, the therapist will help the patient realize where “mistakes” have been made in regards to self and world perception.

 Key points: Humans are social beings. Humans are motivated by desires to find one’s place in society and belong. Holism – the idea that the personality is complete and indivisible. Humans are naturally creative, active, and decisional. Human nature is driven by an unknown creative force to better oneself.

Links: http://www.psychologycampus.com/psychology-counseling/adlerian-therapy.html

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis 

Founder: Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)

Goals of therapy: To make the unconscious conscious. To reconstruct the basic personality. To assist clients in reliving earlier experience and working through repressed conflicts. To achieve intellectual awareness.

Key points: Focus on unconscious psychodynamics. Attention to repressed material. Strengthen ego to moderate id and superego. Develop a transference relationship and work through it. Extensive exploration of past. Focus on key influences in developmental years and how they influenced current behavior. Analysis of dreams and slips for repressed and unconscious material. Free association  

Links: http://www.simplypsychology.org/psychoanalysis.html