Deck 6: Strategic Therapy

Question 1

The closing phase counseling task of warning the clients of the "danger of improvement" means _______________________________________________________________.

A) warning the client what is likely to occur if interaction does not improve and how failing to make change will lead to blaming others and setbacks
B) warning the client what is likely to occur if interaction improves and how expecting these changes can reduce the tendency to blame others for setbacks
C) warning the client that if one member improves more than the others, that the family will have more problems
D) warning the client that improving may mean that other members of the family may reject those members who make progress in therapy

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What is the best description of the strategic approach to hierarchy and power?

A) The strategic therapist relies on the family to identify the person with the most power, then the therapist aligns with that person in order to utilize the power and ensure directives are carried out.
B) The strategic therapist carefully watches to assess which parent tends to get their way in arguments and attempts to engage the less involved parent.
C) The strategic therapist tends to take the side of the children in order to equalize power in the relationship.
D) The strategic therapist is not concerned with hierarchy and power in the family because the therapist asserts power and changes direction by the use of directives.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

All of the following are ways Madanes identified for strategic therapist to think about a problem EXCEPT:

A) involuntary vs. voluntary
B) helplessness vs. power
C) metaphorical vs. literal
D) medical vs. psychological

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Social courtesy describes the initial stage of strategic therapy and is a time in which the therapist engages the clients in casual conversation in order to make clients comfortable and reduce their sense of shame.

Question 5

The latest developments in strategic therapy emphasize increasing the family's ability to _________________ rather than dominate and control one another.

A) define their own solutions
B) understand the family interactional patterns
C) decrease feelings of helplessness
D) love and nurture

Question 6

Brief strategic family therapy was developed to address drug abuse problems with Cuban youth and is based on the central concepts of systems, ____________, and strategy.

A) family dynamics
B) conflict
C) structure
D) empathy

Question 7

Which of the following best defines a paradoxical intervention?

A) Paradoxical intervention is an indirect directive that asks the client to imagine a time what it would be like if the problem was different.
B) Paradoxical intervention is an indirect directive that asks the client to engage in the problem behavior in some fashion.
C) Paradoxical intervention is a straightforward directive that gives precise, doable instructions for the directive.
D) Paradoxical intervention is an indirect directive that asks the client to complete another task prior to or directly following the problem behavior.

Question 8

The ultimate strategic goal is to help clients find ways to love without dominating, intruding upon or harming the other

Question 9

A strategic therapist asks a couple to fake being in love for an evening. This technique is called:

A) pretend technique.
B) ordeal therapy.
C) metaphorical task.
D) straightforward directive.

Question 10

All of the following are examples of initial phase counseling tasks EXCEPT:

A) use social courtesy to create a context of safety and strategic positioning.
B) assess the interaction sequence, noting the effect of stage of life, power, and alliances.
C) deliver a hypothesis to the client that reframes symptoms from a systemic perspective.
D) conceptualize the problem using one or more strategic frames (voluntariness, helplessness, hierarchy, etc.).

Question 11

Haley's strategic therapy approach uses metaphors, including the metaphor of power.

Question 12

The primary difference between other systemic therapies and strategic therapy is case conceptualizations and the approach to behavioral prescriptions, which are called ________________.

A) sequences
B) directives
C) prescriptions
D) metaphors

Question 13

In strategic therapy, the therapist's role and demeanor shift depending upon the needs of a particular client or family. This technique is called _______________.

A) maneuverability
B) taking sides
C) social courtesy
D) strategic positioning

Question 14

All of the following are true of directives EXCEPT:

A) directives ask the family to compete a specific task in between, and sometimes during, sessions.
B) directives are rarely logical or linear solutions.
C) the purpose of directives is to "perturb" the system with the smallest change possible, in order to create new interaction patterns.
D) directives ask the clients to stop the behavior for a short period in order to learn new skills.

Question 15

In brief strategic therapy, the therapist uses _______________ to connect with the family system.

A) joining
B) detriangulation
C) reversals
D) reframing negativity

Question 16

The initial interview in strategic therapy is highly structured and consists of five stages:

A) the interview stage, the problem stage, the interaction stage, the goal-setting stage, and the task-setting stage.
B) the social stage, the problem stage, the interaction stage, the goal-setting stage, and the task-setting stage.
C) the social stage, the assessment stage, the interaction stage, the goal-setting stage, and the task-setting stage.
D) the social stage, the assessment stage, the interaction stage, the planning stage, the task-setting stage.

Question 17

Strategic therapy has been used to develop the following approaches EXCEPT:

A) multisystemic family therapy.
B) brief strategic family therapy.
C) multidimensional family therapy.
D) emotionally focused couples therapy.

Question 18

An example of a working phase client goals in strategic therapy would be:

A) decrease problem interactions that are attempts to define the balance of power in the relationship.
B) address the client's acceptance of uncontrollable elements in life.
C) increase new meanings and develop alternative linguistic punctuations of the problem behavior.
D) develop a plan with family to address psychiatric issues.

Question 19

All of the following are examples of brief strategic case conceptualization EXCEPT:

A) assessing the structure, organization, and flow of information in the family.
B) adapting family structure to support members in their current life stage of development.
C) assessing the effects of the broader social life such as extended family, community, school, peers, and courts.
D) resolving family conflict by identifying a "patient" and treating the problems that individual creates for the family.

Question 20

In order to increase a client's motivation to find hope, the strategic therapist may express having little hope about the situation. This is an example of_______________.

A) strategic positioning
B) the one-down-stance
C) hierarchy and power
D) metaphor

Question 21

Explain why Haley recommends the therapist first engage the adult who is least involved in the problem.

Question 22

Specific types of interventions are deliberately chosen in brief strategic therapy in order to target the aspects of family interactions that are most likely to achieve the desired outcomes.

Question 23

Describe the role of family life stage development in strategic therapy.

Question 24

All of the following are styles of conflict resolution in families EXCEPT:

A) avoidance.
B) conflict emergence without resolution.
C) physical altercation.
D) diffusion.

Question 25

Discuss why the initial interview in strategic therapy is more highly structured than in other therapies. What assumptions drive this structure?

Question 26

Brief strategic therapy has been widely used with diverse populations because:

A) clients appreciate a brief approach over more traditional therapy.
B) it is based on larger system dynamics, hierarchy, structure, and re-structuring families into more functional patterns of behavior.
C) of its non-pathologizing and non-normative assumptions.
D) it utilizes theories of normalcy, which guide family members in developing behaviors which mirror social roles and norms.

Question 27

Using _______________________, brief strategic therapists will reframe negative interpretations of behavior by family members in order to promote caring and concern within the family.

A) joining
B) detriangulation
C) reversals
D) reframing negativity

Question 28

In brief strategic therapy, the therapist works with the family to remove a third, less powerful person from a conflict with two others. This intervention is called, __________________.

A) joining
B) detriangulation
C) reversals
D) reframing negativity

Question 29

Discuss the difference between straightforward directives and indirect directives. Provide an example for each.

Question 30

Briefly explain the concept of strategic humanism. What is it and why is it useful?