CTC Family Systems & Trauma Recovery 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Bowen Family Systems Theory, which concept describes the degree to which a person can maintain a clear sense of self while remaining emotionally connected to the family?
- Differentiation of self (Correct answer)
- Triangulation
- Emotional cutoff
- Family projection process
Correct answer: Differentiation of self
Differentiation of self refers to the capacity to maintain one's identity and autonomy while staying in emotional contact with others, which Bowen considered central to psychological health.
Question 2: A child repeatedly acts out at school whenever parents argue at home. From a family systems perspective, this child is most likely serving which function?
- Scapegoating to deflect parental conflict (Correct answer)
- Developing an independent identity
- Seeking peer attachment
- Exhibiting reactive attachment disorder
Correct answer: Scapegoating to deflect parental conflict
In family systems theory, a child's symptomatic behavior often functions to stabilize the parental system by shifting focus away from marital conflict.
Question 3: Which therapeutic approach specifically addresses unresolved family-of-origin trauma by mapping multigenerational patterns?
- Genogram therapy (Correct answer)
- EMDR
- Cognitive processing therapy
- Somatic experiencing
Correct answer: Genogram therapy
Genograms are multigenerational family maps used to identify recurring trauma patterns, relationship dynamics, and emotional themes across generations.
Question 4: A trauma consultant notices that a non-offending parent minimizes a child's abuse disclosure to protect family stability. This response is best understood as:
- Homeostatic pressure to maintain family equilibrium (Correct answer)
- Secure attachment avoidance
- Parentification of the child
- Secondary traumatic stress in the parent
Correct answer: Homeostatic pressure to maintain family equilibrium
Family systems homeostasis drives members to resist change even when that change (believing the child) is necessary for safety and healing.
Question 5: In structural family therapy, 'enmeshment' within a trauma context primarily refers to:
- Blurred boundaries that impair individual autonomy and trauma recovery (Correct answer)
- A child's over-attachment to a traumatizing parent
- Co-occurring PTSD symptoms shared by family members
- Role reversal between parent and child
Correct answer: Blurred boundaries that impair individual autonomy and trauma recovery
Enmeshment describes overly diffuse boundaries where family members are excessively entangled, which hinders a trauma survivor's ability to develop independent coping.
Question 6: When working with a family where one parent has PTSD from childhood trauma, the consultant should prioritize which intervention first?
- Stabilizing the parent's trauma symptoms to protect the parenting relationship (Correct answer)
- Immediately placing the child with alternative caregivers
- Conducting family trauma processing sessions simultaneously
- Administering trauma assessments to all family members
Correct answer: Stabilizing the parent's trauma symptoms to protect the parenting relationship
Stabilizing the parent's own trauma symptoms reduces spillover into parenting behavior and protects the child's attachment security before family-level work begins.
Question 7: Which family systems concept explains why trauma treatment gains made by one family member can create resistance or symptom emergence in another member?
- Systemic homeostasis (Correct answer)
- Multigenerational transmission
- Emotional cutoff
- Sibling position
Correct answer: Systemic homeostasis
When one member changes, systemic homeostasis drives the family to rebalance, sometimes manifesting as new symptoms in another member who resists the shift.
CTC Family Systems & Trauma Recovery 2
In Bowen Family Systems Theory, which concept describes the degree to which a person can maintain a clear sense of self while remaining emotionally connected to the family?