Family Systems Vocabulary 4

A concept developed in Structural Family Therapy, which identifies abstract dividers that are present between family subsystems. They may be defined spatially by the way family members align structurally with one another. These are set by the implicit rules defining who participates, and how, within each subsystem. They may be altered over time as the nature of the subsystems and the family's environment changes. Family therapists often describe them as rigid, flexible, diffuse, open or closed.

A form of communication, defined in systems theory, which consists of quantities, differences, and analogies. This type of communication has connotative (as opposed to denotative) meaning. Such communication consists not of words, but of the nonverbal, paraverbal, and contextual aspects of interaction. Family therapists refer to this when they identify the process (as opposed to the content) of a family therapy session.

A clinical model which utilizes learning theory and is often integrated with resources from cognitive therapy. It begins with a problem analysis to: 1) pinpoint specific behaviors that are causing distress; 2) prioritize the range of problems; 3) determine the frequency of the problem behavior. The family therapist then redefines the problems at a family systems level to define the antecedents and consequences. The goal is to define the problem in overt behavioral terms and then to develop achievable goals with problem-solving solutions in which all family members can participate. These interventions may include education, communication training, and contingency contracting.

A clinical technique, developed by the Milan group of family therapists, which describes a goal of eliciting differences in perceptions about events, problems, and/or relationships from each family member. It is based on the premise that family members frequently describe a problem in terms that are often too broad or too narrow. It suggests two types of questions: 1) ones that identify the connections and broaden a member's understanding of their larger context; and 2) ones that draw distinctions and narrow a member's focus from generalizations.

A clinical model, developed initially by Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck, and often integrated with Behavioral Family Therapy, which is based on the assumption that behavior and affect follow from thinking. In family systems each family member's beliefs about one another will affect their patterns of interaction. For example, if a spouse returns home with a depressive and agitated mood, the partner may assume (incorrectly) that she/he is the cause of the spouse's mood and withdraw. The goal is to restructure and redefine such distorted beliefs to change the dysfunctional behavioral patterns.

A central concept in family systems theory whereby family members share meaning with each other, both verbally and non-verbally. Certain types are defined as digital, which define the content of what is expressed, or analogic, which identifies how the content is processed and how it defines the relationship between members. For example, non-verbal behavior may "cancel out" a verbal message such as when the verbal expression of affection occurs with abuse.

An early concept in family theory and utilized in marital therapy which describes the manner in which each partner complements, fulfills, or is expected to fulfill, the unconscious needs and role expectations of the other partner- a mutual "fitting together" in a relationship. These marital patterns include: nurturance-dependence, gregarious-private, and spontaneous-controlling. The dynamic maintains the equilibrium of the dyadic system but also may reinforce dysfunctional elements.
At an interactional systems level, the behaviors and/or emotionality of one partner may be enhanced by corresponding behaviors and emotions of the other. For example, one spouse may be assertive and the other submissive such that these characteristic behaviors complement one another and support the relationship.

A professional concept that refers to the ethical obligation of a therapist to protect client information, identity, and privacy. For family therapists, this obligation is more complex due to working with multiple family members. It also involves privacy issues among and between family members, as well as external sources. The process of revealing information to parties, either within or outside of the family system, as well as the therapist's responsibilities and conditions under which confidentiality may be waived, are outlined by state laws and the Code of Ethics of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.

A concept from systems theory and epistemology which asserts that reality is created through the process of interacting with one's environment rather than by discovery, that reality is constructed in one's mind through perturbations from the environment. In contrast, the traditional scientific method asserts that an objective reality is an actuality independent of one's existence, and social constructionism views the construction of reality emerging from social interchange and mediated through language.

A clinical model, developed by Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, which suggests that family behavior is strongly influenced by "invisible," intergenerational loyalties, or bonds across generations, which involve transgenerational entitlements, and indebtedness. It identifies a broad range of relational determinants: individual and transactional systems, transgenerational patterns, and relational ethics. The goal of the family therapist is to assist families in exploring their legacies and determining how they can go about "balancing the ledger of obligation" to past, present, and future generations.

A clinical technique, developed by Murray Bowen, which involves the gradual separation of one or more family members from a dysfunctional triangular relationship.

A concept from Family of Origin Therapy which defines a family member's ability to function autonomously in the context of being emotionally connected to other members. It has also been used to describe the process whereby a family member learns to regulate anxiety by objectively coordinating thinking with emotional responses.

A concept that describes a form of communication which utilizes arbitrary signs which "stand for" something in a "one-to-one" relationship. For example, the word "bed" stands for the piece of furniture on which one sleeps. Family therapists utilize this concept of when they identify the content (as opposed to the process) of a session.

A concept, developed by Murray Bowen, which identifies a pattern of dramatic emotional (and often geographical) separation between individuals and their family of origin. This pattern often leads to a process of fusion with other individuals, such as spoused or children, who replace the ties to the family of origin system.

A concept from Structural Family Therapy which describes a visual and/or symbolic representation of a family system's organization and structure. It differs from a genogram by creating an arrangement of the family members around the presenting problem, and may illustrate the system's coalitions and boundaries.

A concept from Family of Origin Therapy that describes the tendency of one family member to become so emotionally attached to another that one's own self-identity and personal boundaries become blurred with another person. It is the opposite of differentiation of self.

A diagram of extended family relationships which includes at least three generations. For the family therapist, this provides a visual map of the family structure and recurring patterns, as well as critical events such as births, marriages, divorces, and deaths.

A concept that describes a relationship in which family members (e.g. spouses) have relatively equal status and power. This relationship type may display greater conflict than complimentary patterns, because the relatively equal status of the partners can cause disputes to escalate circularly leading to a greater disruption.

A family dynamic describing the process whereby a third family member is introduced into a dyadic relationship to balance either uncomfortable intimacy or a certain level of conflict or distance experienced by the dyad. The process provides balance and stability to the system, but may also reinforce dysfunctional interactions. For example, a scapegoated or parentified child may have been triangled into the parental dyad.

A family dynamic, often represented by a rigid triadic relationship between two parents and a child, in which each parent demands that the child side with him or her in a conflict. The child may become paralyzed because, no matter what response is given, he or she will be perceived by one of the parents as betraying that parent's expectations.
This term can also refer to any triad in which the conflict between two members pulls in a third in such a way that the latter is immobilized in a loyalty conflict.