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What does the family structure look like
- Organized pattern in which family members interact
- Maintained by family rules, values
- Tend to be self-perpetuating
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What are the Organized patterns in which family members interact
Subsystems
- Couple, parent-child, siblings, etc.
- Boundaries may be rigid or diffus
Hierarchical re: level of authority
Reciprocal & complementary roles
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Disengagement vs. Enmeshment
Disengagement
- Rigid boundaries prevent outside interactions
- Independent, fosters autonomy
- Isolated, limits affection & support
Enmeshment
- Loose boundaries that permit intrusions from outside
- Offer closeness and support
- Independence and autonomy suffer
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What is necessary for Development of Family Structures
Accommodation
Boundary making
- Between new family and families of origin
- Between family members, subsystems
Normal anxiety occurs as family members grow and change
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What is Adaptation of Family Structure
Family structure is required to change to adapt to:
- External pressures, e.g. loss of job, family move
- Developmental transitions, e.g. graduation, retirement
Healthy families can accommodate, adapt to change
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How does an Enmeshed Subsystems work?
- Event requiring adaptation
- Loose boundaries permit interference, intrusiveness
- Autonomy, competence is undermined
- Individual pathology
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Give a specific example of an enmeshed subsystem
- Child refuses to go to school
- Parent is understanding, lets child stay home
- Child is deprived of opportunity to learn to manage anxiety
- “School Phobia”
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how does a Disengaged Subsystems work?
- Event requiring adaptation
- Rigid boundaries limit support, problem-solving
- Denial of problem, minimization, invalidation
- Individual pathology
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Give a specific example of a disengaged subsystem
- Child experiences bullying at school
- Rigid boundaries limit emotional support, problem solving
- Child feels dismissed, invalidated
- Child develops individual pathology, e.g. depression or substance use
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What is the treatment approach for Structural Family Therapy
- Joining and accommodating
- Structural mapping
- Modifying interactions
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Define Joining and Accommodation
Become part of the system
- Overcome distrust
- Without losing authority
Join with each family member individually
- Casual conversation, at appropriate developmental level
- Engage powerful, angry, withdrawn members
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What are the steps for Structural Mapping
- enactment
- Circular questioning
- Help members identify their role in the problem
- Exploration of development of family rules that govern structure
- Explore options for restructuring
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what are the steps for modifying interactions?
- Enactment
- Highlighting: Intensity, Empathy, Shaping competence
- Boundary making
- Unbalancing
- Challenging unproductive assumptions
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Define the 3 constructs of structural theory
- structure
- subsystems
- boundaries
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Define family structure
refers to the way a family is organized into subsystems whose interactions are regulated by interpersonal boundaries
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what are the goals of therapy for structural therapy?
altering family structure so that the family can solve their own problems
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define joining
accepting and accommodating families to win their confidence and circumvent resistance
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define enactment
observed interaction of families in order to change the interactions that make up family structure
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What is the most important tenet of structural theory?
That every family has a structure, and this structure is only revealed when the family is in action
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