Deck 12: Family Systems Theory and Therapy

Question 1

Which of the following statements regarding family systems theory is/are most true?

A) The focus of treatment rests on the family member with the most serious problem.
B) The family creates and maintains a system characterized by positive reinforcement.
C) The idea that the whole family system must be treated in order to address the problems of the individual is a fundamental tenet across most theoretical orientations.
D) None of the above.
E) Only a and b.

Answer 1

The idea that the whole family system must be treated in order to address the problems of the individual is a fundamental tenet across most theoretical orientations.

Question 2

Nathan Ackerman conceptualized which of the following in a 1948 article regarding his new approaches for working with families?

A) For best results, the father must receive treatment as well as the mother.
B) Due to the fundamental overarching relationship between the mother and the child, a father's presence in therapy is unnecessary.
C) When trying to be efficient, it is most useful to condense treatment of the child's environment to therapy of the mother.
D) Mothers can be more open and effective in therapy if the father is not present.
E) Mothers are more influential, which makes working directly with fathers of minimal relevance.

Answer 2

For best results, the father must receive treatment as well as the mother.

Question 3

Which of the following statements regarding the time line of family therapy history is/are most true?

A) Family therapy ideology began with Freud in the 1890s.
B) In 1917, an early social worker named Mary Ellen Richmond advocated inclusion of fathers and the entire family in treatment.
C) Adler established 30 child guidance clinics in the 1920s.
D) Both a and b.
E) Both b and c.

Answer 3

Both b and c.

Question 4

The "golden age of family therapy" occurred in which of the following periods?

A) 1930s and 1940s.
B) 1950s and 1960s.
C) 1970s and 1980s.
D) 1990s to present.
E) None of the above.

Question 5

The term cybernetics refers to which of the following?

A) A process that emanated from studying machinelike systems in the 1940s and 1950s.
B) A social science that studies the way families self-regulate.
C) A new science that focuses on the way technology impacts families.
D) A robotic state or condition that often characterizes families that are suffering from systemic problems.
E) Both a and b.

Question 6

Double-bind communication can best be described as which of the following?

A) Family members mimic each other's communication styles.
B) Two members of the family form a dyad.
C) Family members discuss only problems and negative events.
D) The recipient of this form of communication feels trapped in a no-win situation.
E) The recipient of this form of communication feels trapped in a no-lose situation.

Question 7

Double-bind communication patterns are sometimes found in families that have family members suffering from which of the following?

A) Bipolar disorder.
B) Schizophrenia.
C) Depressive disorders.
D) Neuroleptic-induced Parkinsonism.
E) Echolalia.

Question 8

The model whereby human systems are described as open and having fluid boundaries that accept and give influence is referred to as:

A) Adaptive systems theory.
B) Dynamical systems theory.
C) General systems theory.
D) Critical systems theory.
E) Macrosystems theory.

Question 9

A family from a relatively conservative region has moved to a community with a much more liberal culture. A counselor working with this family would need to be aware of their potential challenges in which of the following systems?

A) Chronosystem.
B) Macrosystem.
C) Microsystem.
D) Biosystem.
E) Mesosystem.

Question 10

In Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the system including the setting where a child lives is referred to as which of the following?

A) Microsystem.
B) Exosystem.
C) Biosystem.
D) Macrosystem.
E) Mesosystem.

Question 11

The system that refers to changes in other domains over time is best referred to as the:

A) Microsystem.
B) Dynamic system.
C) Health system.
D) Chronosystem.
E) Mesosystem.

Question 12

The rule of second-order cybernetics refers to which of the following?

A) A family therapist is a participant-observer and therefore always an influence on the family system.
B) A family therapist is a dispassionate expert-observer on the family system.
C) The second therapy session is most influential.
D) Family systems are organized and linear systems.
E) None of the above.

Question 13

______________ describes a process in which everyone in a family contributes to the creation and maintenance of problems and successes.

A) Linear thinking.
B) Circular causality.
C) Sociocybernetics.
D) Xeostomia.
E) Homeostasis.

Question 14

When a family first begins therapy, there is typically an identified patient. One or more initial challenges facing the therapist is to do which of the following?

A) Correctly diagnose the identified patient.
B) Help the family see the circular causality present in the family system.
C) Focus on relational interactions.
D) All of the above.
E) Only b and c.

Question 15

When a family makes changes that address deeper underlying patterns, these are referred to as:

A) Cellular kinyotics.
B) Organic change.
C) Behavior change.
D) Second-order change.
E) Countertransference.

Question 16

A _____________ occurs when Dad attends AA and quits drinking.

A) First-order change.
B) Second-order change.
C) Systemic change.
D) Courageous change.
E) Double-benefit change.

Question 17

In family therapy, homeostasis refers to which of the following?

A) The innate unpredictability of family interactional patterns.
B) The ability to allow family members to have freedom.
C) The idea that humans can't ever truly change.
D) A phenomenon where family members resemble each other in actions and behavior.
E) A sense of balance and equilibrium that is consistent and predictable.

Question 18

In the Johnson family, it's common for Mom to vent to her teenage daughter about her less than satisfying sex life. This is an example of:

A) Diffuse boundaries.
B) Triangulation.
C) Obtuse behavior.
D) Modern parenting.
E) Differentiation.

Question 19

The two members of a dyad are able to ignore their own issues by focusing on those of a third party. This is an example of:

A) Intentional avoidance.
B) A coalition.
C) Triangulation.
D) Multiplicity.
E) Differentiation.

Question 20

A ____________ is an example of two family members siding together against a third.

A) Coalition.
B) Dyad.
C) Aligned pair.
D) Treaty.
E) Triangulation.

Question 21

When Salvador Minuchin asked, "Who's the sheriff in this family?" he was trying to determine which of the following?

A) Family roles.
B) Family rules.
C) Family nicknames.
D) Family secrets.
E) None of the above.

Question 22

The members of the Jones family quietly understand that they are not to express their negative feelings. This is an example of which of the following?

A) Overt rules.
B) Covert rules.
C) Family rules.
D) Rigid rules.
E) Systemic repression.

Question 23

Example(s) of an overt rule might be which of the following?

A) A specific bedtime for children.
B) Kids should always wear helmets when riding bikes.
C) Never discuss Grandpa's drinking.
D) All of the above.
E) Both a and b.

Question 24

Murray Bowen developed a therapy that focuses largely on a family's history and patterns established across generations. This type of therapy is referred to as which of the following?

A) Historical family therapy.
B) Chronological family therapy.
C) Ethnological family therapy.
D) Intergenerational family therapy.
E) Macrogenerational family therapy.

Question 25

______________ applies to the ability of family members to establish a calm, observant, and logical self in the face of familial turmoil.

A) Enmeshment.
B) Emotional cutoff.
C) Withdrawal.
D) Differentiation.
E) Mindfulness.

Question 26

In the Morgan family, Dad is involved in every area of Mom's life. It is sometimes difficult to tell where his life stops and her life starts. This is an example of ___________.

A) Enmeshment.
B) Differentiation.
C) Deep love.
D) Consecration.
E) Folie a deux.

Question 27

A genogram is a tool for teaching family members about which of the following?

A) Relationship dynamics in their family.
B) Propensity for inheriting particular conditions.
C) Patterns in a family that extend back three generations or more.
D) All of the above.
E) Only a and c.

Question 28

Structural family therapy was developed by ______________ in the 1970s.

A) Alfred Adler.
B) Virginia Satir.
C) William Cosby.
D) Salvador Minuchin.
E) Nathan Ackerman.

Question 29

In structural family therapy, the therapist joins the family and makes efforts to fit in with the family. This joining is often referred to as which of the following?

A) Scapegoating.
B) Aligning.
C) Mimesis.
D) Homeostasis.
E) Reframing.

Question 30

There are three techniques typically used in helping families change their structure. These three techniques are:

A) Joining, aligning, and accepting.
B) Collaborating, empathizing, and reflecting.
C) Blaming, mocking, and patronizing.
D) Unbalancing, intensifying, and reframing.
E) None of the above; there are many more techniques for changing family structure.

Question 31

_________________ is an example of a paradoxical intervention used in strategic family therapy.

A) Prescribing the symptom.
B) Alleviating the symptom.
C) Providing insight.
D) Focusing on the identified patient.
E) Symptom provocation.

Question 32

Humanistic and experiential models of family therapy embrace which of the following?

A) Change is created and experienced in the here and now.
B) Communication styles are attended to during therapy sessions.
C) Counselors allow their congruent and spontaneous selves to emerge.
D) All of the above.
E) Only a and b.

Question 33

Placating is a communication style demonstrated by which of the following?

A) Blaming others.
B) Aggressive and demanding messages.
C) Self-deprecating talk.
D) Placing others above oneself.
E) Both c and d.

Question 34

Authentic, direct, sensitive, and clear communication patterns are seen in which of the following of Satir's communication styles?

A) Congruent.
B) Super-reasonable.
C) Placating.
D) Irrelevant.
E) Differentiated.

Question 35

_______________ is an example of a nonverbal technique that allows unspoken family messages to be communicated clearly.

A) Empty-chair technique.
B) Family sculpting.
C) Family mapping.
D) Play therapy.
E) None of the above.

Question 36

Functional family therapy is a model that integrates which of the following?

A) Adlerian and existential therapies.
B) Freudian and Gestalt therapies.
C) Behavioral and person-centered therapies.
D) Environmental and individual therapies.
E) None of the above.

Question 37

In functional family therapy, the counselor takes on the role of which of the following?

A) Historian.
B) Curious researcher.
C) Expert.
D) Enmeshed family member.
E) Family sheriff.

Question 38

________________ is a therapy that allows families to change their story and view it through a lens that includes strengths and sparkling moments.

A) Reflective family therapy.
B) Dynamic family therapy.
C) Multisystem family therapy.
D) Narrative family therapy.
E) Functional family therapy.

Question 39

Which of the following is a central belief of feminist family therapy?

A) It recognizes the personal as political.
B) Families of all kinds need support.
C) It attends to the implications of gender and gender roles.
D) It recognizes patriarchy as a well-established and limiting factor.
E) All of the above.

Question 40

The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES) is a self-report instrument for assessing which of the following?

A) Family members' satisfaction with their family situation.
B) Family members' satisfaction with their family therapist.
C) The therapist's satisfaction with the family.
D) None of the above.
E) Only a and b.

Question 41

The efficacy of family therapy can best be described by which of the following?

A) Multisystemic family therapy seems to be helpful in treating adolescent drug use.
B) Individual treatment for eating disorders may be as effective as family therapy, if not more so.
C) Involving the family seems to enhance alcohol treatment.
D) All of the above.
E) Only a and c.

Question 42

Which family therapy approach is generally most effective for treating adolescent substance problems?

A) Humanistic-experiential family therapy.
B) Structural family therapy.
C) Multisystemic family therapy.
D) One-person family therapy.
E) Functional family therapy.