Zena is a first-year therapist using the Milan approach. She is working with a family in which the only child and the stay-at-home father have a very close bond or covert coalition. Zena instructs the parents to arrange to go on a date and not tell the child where they are going. This creates a secret between the parents to hopefully end the inappropriate coalition between the father and child. What type of intervention did Zena use?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Zena used an invariant prescription, a specific technique in the Milan systemic therapy approach, which involves giving families a directive that is meant to disrupt unhelpful patterns or coalitions within the family system. In this case, creating a secret between the parents is aimed at disrupting the inappropriate coalition between the father and child.

Zena Is a First-Year Therapist Using the Milan Approach