Group Therapy Flashcards
(40 cards)
group therapy strongly emphasizes
interpersonal interaction
What does Yalom think the client’s problem stems from?
flawed interpersonal relationship skills
what is universality?
o Clients realize that others share the same struggles (i.e., “we’re all in the same boat)
♣ Especially powerful in homogenous groups
what is group cohesiveness?
o Feelings of interconnectedness among group members
o Trust, acceptance, belongingness
o Analogous to therapeutic alliance in individual therapy
What is interpersonal learning?
The group becomes a social microcosm for each client. client will enact their own relationship pathology (without knowing) onto the group
Interpersonal learning focuses on the
here and now.
♣ Discourage discussion of lives outside therapy
♣ Encourage discussion of relationships between group members in the current moment
♣ Clients talk directly with each other about the way they behave towards each other (feedback)
what is a practical issue in group therapy with open and closed enrolment groups?
o Open-enrollment groups – individuals leave or join at any time (might not feel safe)
o Closed-enrollment groups – members start and finish together
how does preparing a client for group therapy help avoid practical issues?
o Correct misconceptions
o Provide realistic and encouraging data about outcome
o Encourage helpful ways of participating
what are the developmental stages of therapy groups?
o Initially, cautious and concerned about acceptance
o Next, some jockeying for position in the social “pecking order”
o Finally, cohesiveness emerges
why is cotherapy good?
o Often, group therapy is conducted by a team of two therapists (rather than one)
o Second set of eyes and ears can attend to client behaviors
o Also, therapists can model healthy interaction
why could cotherapy be bad?
o can be problematic when therapists are competitive, distrustful, or have incompatible therapy orientations
what is a major issue outside of group therapy?
o Extra-group socializing between clients (romantic or platonic) is a significant problem
o Even when prohibited at the outset, it happens at times
o Loyalty to friendship may exceed loyalty to group
o Other group members can feel excluded
what is the idea surrounding pathology with family therapy?
o Psychological symptoms as a by-product of dysfunctional families
o One individual may exhibit symptoms, but the problem belongs to the entire system
What is the idea of reciprocal causality with family therapy?
events influence each other reciprocally
o As opposed to linear causality, which is endorsed by individual therapists
What is focussed on in family therapy?
communication patterns
what is the idea of functionalism?
that although the psychological symptoms seem maladaptive, within the family they are functional
T or F? family therapists have pointed to unhealthy communication patterns among family members as the type of interaction that most significantly contributes to psychological problems.
True
What is homeostasis in families?
Families regulate themselves by returning themselves to an emotional set point
♣ Like a thermostat
what is feedback in response to homeostasis?
A family member may sense that the family is reaching an uncomfortable state, and take action (feedback) to return it to comfort zone.
Genograms
A pencil-and-paper method of creating a family tree that incorporates detailed information about the relationships between family members for at least three generations
o Process and result can both be beneficial
What do these represent?:
♣ Leaving home
♣ Joining of families through marriage or union
♣ Families with young children
♣ Families with adolescents
♣ Launching children and moving on in midlife
♣ Families in late middle age
♣ Families nearing the end of life
THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE. A developmental theory for families, including seven important stages in family’s life:
What is the Conflict Tactics Scale?
Objective questionnaire used to assess violence and abuse in couples
Measures how individuals react when family conflicts arise
♣ Speaking calmly, using insults, throwing objects, hitting others, etc.
♣ These are different levels and requires different interventions
What is the identified patient
the person who the family thinks really has the problem when in actuality its the whole family, often difficult to persuade the family that the problem is systematic rather than individual
family structures are unwritten rules by which the family
operates
