*Experiential Therapy* – Flashcards
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Originators
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Virginia Satir (Humanistic Family Therapy) Carl Whitaker (Symbolic-Experiential Family Therapy)
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Satir's 3 Focuses
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1.Symptom(s) in the family --reframing them as expressions of strength or positive condition for intervention 2.Communication patterns between family members 3.HOW the generations interacted and affect each other (Family Life Chronology)
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Whitaker's 3 Areas of Assessment
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1. Assessing family's area of ability to change. NOT AS INTERESTED IN SYMPTOM REDUCTION AS CHANGE. 2. Shells of Context: Way family makes connections outside--community and more distant relatives as well as individuals. 3.Initial phase of therapy--> Whitaker assessed beliefs of family. As he interacted w/ adults & kids, informally assessed how family aligned with his ideas on healthy families.
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Whitaker's notion on a "Healthy" family
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-Health is a perpetual process of being -Families should be able to handle input/criticism -Individuals should have security of belonging -Clear boundaries should be put in the generations -Power should be distributed -Important to recognize that family myths are evolving -Members are enriched by outside relationships -As family gets stronger, it becomes more overt in communication
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Assessment (general)
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Often informal and info. is gathered while conducting therapy. *Satir, however, was known for using interaction exercises as assessment and intervention.
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Verbal and Nonverbal Assessment
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Satir: -Constantly observed all members in session; frequently commenting on verbal/nonverbal communication and invited members to respond. *Exercises Whitaker: -Observed clients closely--radiating a sense of "caring" -Often "played" with the infant/youngest and watched what made the families 'tick' in session. -Would often joke and play with the family for reactions.
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Family Life Cycle & Whitaker (Assessment)
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*Believed that the FLC demonstrated evolution and would assess: milestones, developmental stages of children, and any impasses to negotiate as the family transitions through the stages. *Asked questions/probed as assessment *Assessed quality of intimacy in the family *Assessed for balances of power and the use of distancing to decrease intimacy. *noting emotional ages of individuals
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Situational Crises
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Whitaker watched for situational crises moments in a family; assessing for stressors and impacts overall on the family. NOT CONCERNED WITH PAST, BUT CURRENT STATES OF THE CRISIS' impact. Ex: moving, stopping alcohol/drug use, beginning alcohol/drug use, etc.
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Satir's 3 Factors that Shaped Development for Family Members
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1. Inherent genetic legacy 2. Lifespan learnings affecting personal growth 3. Mind-body connection
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Satir and Self Esteem
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*Believed that self-esteem shaped early influences from relationships b/w mother, child , and father---which she dubbed the PRIMARY TRIAD. *Family Life chronology
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Family Life Chronology (Satir)
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*Traced the courtship and developing marital history of the parents, family of origins, transitions, child development, and hopes for future. Used in early stages of FT to collect info *Also used to help family learn "safeness" when communicating about events/perceptions of their family. *Assessed capacity to communicate w/ one another *Assessed ways in which family rules were developed & enforced.
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Self-Mandala (Satir)
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Assessed individual strengths and areas of growth. *Writing name in the center of page and drawing 8 circles around it for "I am" branches. Client then writes information about themselves--helping Satir know what was helping/hindering the individual.
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Focus of Treatment
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Satir: utilizes to reframe and provide a systemic view for the family to depathologize individuals in family; raising self-esteem. Whitaker: depathologized family experiences and redefined symptoms as attempts at growth.
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Symptoms in Families
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Satir: Families shoulc be balanced--symptoms were an indication of disruption of the need for homeostatic balance. Saw individuals/family growth as primary. Whitaker: Believed symptoms developed when dysfunctional processes were stuck in place for a long period of time.
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Long and Short Term Goals
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SATIR: Resolved presenting issue and improve self esteem; believed family rules were crucial in developing/maintaining self esteem. Aimed to improve communication for each member and believed families should have hopeful/open contacts w/ each other. WHITAKER: Worked for symptom relief; primary goals were family to grow, learn, and have fun with one another, have cohesion, switching roles, and flexible boundaries for outsiders.
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Whitaker & "Change"
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*Change occurs through experience; assessed through nonverbal/symbolic experience out of the conscious awareness. *Worked to help members experience themselves in the family; encouraged straight talk b/w members. *Used creative thought/behavior to facilitate non-rational experience of change; "Believed therapy got in the way of therapy" because the therapist should grow as the family does. AUTHENTIC/SPONTANEOUS
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Satir & "Change"
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*Helped family have corrective experiences of the "here and now" around current issues; focused on the experiential and affect-oriented activities. *Believed when family members expressed feelings and were validated, pain of the family is healed. *Messages children received non-verbally and verbally were important; often she would have a PARTS PARTY--where each learned mind/body aspects of themselves.
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Whitaker's Three Phases of Treatment
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EARLY PHASE: *Battle for structure w/ family--showing that he was in charge of EVERYTHANG. Resisting family suggestions for therapy; letting them know he was strong enough for his own growth as well. *Battle for Initiative: Showing that they will set course of change outside of session; showing support as they take charge of their own lives. MIDDLE PHASE: Both co-therapists actively engage; NOT absorbing into the system, but testing the family's anxiety responses. Symptoms framed as steps toward growth. *Psychotherapy of the Absurd: used to force new ways of experiencing--leading to healthier relationships. LATE PHASE: Therapist needs little interventions as fam. increases growth/flexibility; termination includes grieving over "separation" and celebrating new resources/capacities.
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Satir's 6 Stage Model of Treatment (1-3)
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1. Status Quo: Wanted the family to feel comfortable; dealing with fear of treatment. *Making eye contact and using a non-judgmental attitude with each member. 2. Introduction of Foreign Element: Described what she was doing; modeling clear communication. Assessed family climate while modeling effective communication, and encouraged members to share feelings. Waiting up to 45 min. to present problem and validating strengths first. 3. Chaos: Informally conducted family life chronology; gently reframing patterns towards the end. Issues causing turmoil were brought to closure--new ways and hope being aligned.*Family members start to take risks in being emotional.
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Carl Whitaker's Theoretical Contributions
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*Battle for Structure *Battle for Initiative *Psychotherapy of the absurd *Focus on symbols representing impulses/emotional infrastructures
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Virginia Satir's Theoretical Contributions
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*Communication styles *Family Life Chronology *Family Reconstruction *"Humanistic" approach
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Satir's 6 Stage Model of Treatment (4-6)
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4. New Possibilities/ Integration: Teaching how to communicate, giving feedback on nonverbal and verbals. *Satir focuses on new change possibilities/forgotten resources. 5. Practice/Implementation: Family practices new ways or doing/perceiving. New roles, better communication, improved self-esteem. New resources applied here. 6. Goal Attained/New Status Quo: Satir believed termination occured when fam could recognize/reflect hostility, seek clarity, understand other's POV, give non-blaming feedback, disagree, and communicate congruently. New "status quo" developed.
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Communication Styles (Satir)
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Placater: Goes along w/ others; pleasing/avoiding conflict. Blamer: Accuses others/ dominates situation. Super-Reasonable: Stays rational/avoids emo. responses Irrelevant: *Avoiding. Cannot attend to what is going on. Congruent: Genuinely expressing thoughts/feelings. *Placater, Blamer, Super-Reasonable, and/or Irrelevant are all known as survival stances; in order to protect self-worth against percieved verbal/nonverbal threats.
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Family Reconstruction (Satir)
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Families re-enact multigenerational histories of the family--helping them to understand how they learned old behaviors and gain new outlooks on relationships w/parents.
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Satir's Assessment of the 8 Elements of Self
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1. Physical (body) 2. Intellectual (logic) 3. Emotional (feelings) 4. Sensual (sight, sound, etc.) 5. Interactional ("I-Thou" communication) 6. Contextual (context of time/space/sound, etc) 7. Nutritional 8. Spiritual *Wanted to see which areas of self were important to each family member; as well as differences among family members.
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Founding Principle
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Family exists for aiding the growth of each family member
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heavily involved
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Therapist is _______________ _______________ in the family system and is not distant like psychoanalytical and trans-generational therapists
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Affect
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Experiential therapist deal with and in ___________. This ___________ is between family members and between the therapist and family members
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Carl Whitaker
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usually had a co-therapist as a distant observer and to create a holding environment
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Theory of Dysfunction
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(Whitaker) the scapegoat provides anxiety relief for the family. Whitaker increased anxiety in the sessions (opposite of Bowen). He believed high levels of anxiety allows for the change to take place
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Faulty communication
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(Satir) is one of the primary forms of dysfunction. She wants to increase the family systems capacity for healthy and nurturing communication (in the real of the effectual)
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"I" statements
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Satir like Bowen also focused on ___ _____________, where individuals can make statements for themselves but are discourage to make descriptions about others family members
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Faulty descriptions
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________ _________ lead to members feeling alienated. Dysfunction occurs because the members feel alienated from the others and it's not a "healthy whole".
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Contrast of Theories
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Bowen uses reason to compartmentalize the emotional life because that's where the danger lies. Satir and Whitaker embrace the emotion in each individual and release it so that a better self can emerge.
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Psychoanalytical models
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say much of the emotional disruption occurs because of unconscious material.
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Experiential model
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says there is too much restriction on emotional experience. The family is not nurturing that and it needs to brought out in therapy and not feared but be honored and made use of.
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Reframing
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term used for emotional expression under the guise of creativity. One needs to have the room to be emotional/creative or real and express that directly
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Desperation
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Whitaker - the amount of ________________ in a family is a sign of readiness for change. The _______________ is key and necessary (he turned families away he felt were not desperate enough.
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Immediate shared experiences
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produce new responses, which produce individual and family growth
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interacts and relates
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Increasing the family's creativity, spontaneity and ability to play, changes the way in which the family _______________ and _____________ with one another
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Craziness
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Whitaker encouraged the family's ______________ and he modeled his own _______________. He didn't inhibit, try to change or discourage it.
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Conflicts
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Whitaker creates _______________ (2 battlegrounds for the _________ )
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Battle for Initiative (Whitaker)
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family must win over the direction of the course of therapy. They must create the direction
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Battle for Structure (Whitaker)
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therapist must win. This is the structure of the therapy (i.e. what time they will meet, who will meet, who will be present). Whitaker would not see a family where he could not win this battle. It was necessary for change.
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Experiential (Whitaker)
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Stresses communication and intuition w/ humanistic confidence in healing when emotion obstacles are removed. Therapists use their own experiences to join w/ and identify solutions.
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Family Sculpting (Satir)
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A psychodrama technique used to help the family enact an event, feeling, or structure; goal is revealing patterns of emotional closeness and distance. Therapist choreographs and physically positions members; family members may act out survival stances that each use to protect themselves.
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Humanistic (Satir)
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A process model where therapist joins family to promote health. Satir believeed this was evolving and that it need not follow set of principles; she could work alone or with one or more co-therapists. She was also flexible about the time, locations, and place of therapy.
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Ingredients Intervention (Satir)
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Used to teach members to ask questions to understand what they perceived, meaning behind perceptions, and feelings about these meanings. *Defenses used and internal rules about perceptions that the individual carries within.
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Parts Party (Satir)
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Conducted in 15-40 people--a parts party helps individual acknowledge good vs. bad parts of themselves; clients can identify, transform, and integrate inner resources to resolve.
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Primary Survival Triad
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Parents and the child; crucial to life development.
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Reframing (Whitaker & Satir)
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Strategy used to effect an alteration on a family's internal model of the world; often used to de-pathologize a presenting issue or problems verbalized in therapy. Shows Diff. between positive intents and actual behavior*
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Psychotherapy of the Absurd (Whitaker)
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Used to force the family into new ways of experiencing. *Whitaker played with fantasies about how members could take mythic roles to help family. This exaggeration of aspects of myth became psycho. of the absurd--form of paradoxical intervention.
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Seed Model (Satir)
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*Every person is born with potential *Roles/statuses define differences only within contexts and are always changing *Change is ongoing life process
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Symbols (Whitaker)
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Relied on unconscious process; non verbals where the therapist has symbolic images, metaphors, meanings that come into awareness as if they were in response to dynamics presented in family. Whitaker relied on symbols to understand dynamics that family could not express verbally.
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family sculpting
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Satire used _____________ ______________ - it places people in space, time and affect as a way to bring out the relationships with one another and create more communication with one another about what is happening.
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Secondary reactive emotions
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Emotions that serve as defenses to protect the more vulnerable primary emotions
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self-actualization
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Carl Roger's term for the innate human tendency for each of us to seek what is best for us. A tendency that gets subverted by the need to please but can be released again in the presence of unconditional positive regard
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primary emotions
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Emotions that express our CORE feelings
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Emotional deadness
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A condition that exists when individuals in families either are not aware of, and/or suppress their emotions
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Role Rigidity
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Satir talks about _______ ____________ and different roles the family members have. All are due to Low Self Esteem 1) Placator 2)Blamer 3) Leveler 4) Computer 5)Distractor
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Placator
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Satir's ______________ Description A ____________ (hands up and begging on their knees) is ingratiating, pleaser, apologizing, and never disagrees no matter what. Message: "I am helpless" in a victims posture. Inside: "I feel like a nothing; without you I am dead. I am worthless." Blocks: Self is blocked.
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Blamer
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Satir's ____________ Description The ______________ finds fault, is a dictator, or boss who acts superior. Message: "If it weren't for you, everything would be all right." Internal feeling is tightness in muscles and organs with increase in blood pressure. The voice is hard, tight and often shrill and loud. Message: Body accuses "I am the boss around here." Inside: "I am lonely and unsuccessful." Blocks: Others are blocked.
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Leveler
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Satir's ____________ Description Clear communication, called "leveling" or "flowing," heals ruptures, breaks impasses, and builds bridges between people. Message: The effect is congruence and says "I like you." The voice is warm and the person looks at you. The message is single and straight and represents a truth of the person at that moment. Inside: The words match the facial expression, body position and voice tone. Relationships are easy, free and honest with self-esteem high.
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Computer
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Satir's ______________ Description The __________ is very correct, very reasonable and shows no semblance of feeling. The person seems calm, cool and collected, dry, often cool and detached. Voice is dry monotone and words are likely to be abstract. The body computes. The person blocks out the self and the context. Message: is "I'm calm, cool and collected and have all the answers." Inside: the person feels vulnerable.
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Distractor
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Satir's ______________ Description Whatever the ____________ does or says is irrelevant to what anyone else is saying or doing. This person doesn't respond to the point. Message: "I am off somewhere else." Inside: The person is feeling: "Nobody cares, there is no place for me here."
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Problematic Behaviors
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Suppression of feelings Denial of impulses Lack of warmth Avoidance Security rather than satisfaction
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Satir's Approaches
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Spontaneous Did not allow complaining Used positive connotation Taught affection Loving, yet forceful Use of touch as communication Was present and supportive
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Qualities of Therapist
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Creative and spontaneous Unblock awareness Support individuation Force personality on family Caring and accepting Increase experience levels Increase affect Don't diagnose
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Goals of Therapy
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Personal integrity Expand experience Liberate affect and impulses Little focus on presenting problem Promote communication Promote interaction
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Primary Techniques
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Family Sculpting Family Puppet Interviews Family Art Therapy Conjoint Family Drawings Animal Attribution Play Therapy Techniques Role-Playing Gestalt Therapy Psychotherapy of the Absurd (Whitaker)
