CTC Family Systems & Trauma Recovery 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A grandmother who experienced war-related trauma has never disclosed this to her family. Her grandchildren show anxiety and hypervigilance with no identified cause. This is best explained by:
- Epigenetic and narrative transmission of intergenerational trauma (Correct answer)
- Shared environmental stressors in the home
- Genetic predisposition to anxiety disorders
- Attachment disruption from inconsistent caregiving
Correct answer: Epigenetic and narrative transmission of intergenerational trauma
Intergenerational trauma transmission occurs through both epigenetic mechanisms and unspoken family narratives, affecting descendants who have no direct exposure to the original trauma.
Question 2: In Contextual Family Therapy (Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy), the concept of 'invisible loyalties' in trauma families refers to:
- Children unconsciously repeating parental trauma patterns out of family loyalty (Correct answer)
- Hidden alliances between siblings against a parent
- Unspoken rules about which family secrets can be shared
- Enmeshed parent-child relationships that exclude the other parent
Correct answer: Children unconsciously repeating parental trauma patterns out of family loyalty
Invisible loyalties describe how children unconsciously honor parents or ancestors by repeating their struggles, perpetuating trauma patterns across generations.
Question 3: A CTC consultant working with a family in trauma recovery identifies that the eldest child manages all household responsibilities and mediates parental conflict. This role is called:
- Parentification (Correct answer)
- Scapegoating
- Triangulation
- Emotional cutoff
Correct answer: Parentification
Parentification occurs when a child assumes adult responsibilities, often as a response to parental incapacity due to trauma, substance use, or mental illness.
Question 4: Which phase of family trauma recovery focuses on rebuilding safety, predictability, and routine within the family system?
- Stabilization and safety (Correct answer)
- Trauma narration
- Integration and meaning-making
- Reconnection with community
Correct answer: Stabilization and safety
Stabilization is the foundational phase of trauma recovery that establishes the safety and predictability necessary before any trauma processing can occur.
Question 5: A trauma consultant observes that family members avoid discussing a deceased relative who died by suicide. From a family systems perspective, this silence most likely:
- Creates a toxic secret that distorts family communication and identity (Correct answer)
- Protects vulnerable members from secondary traumatization
- Reflects culturally appropriate grieving practices
- Indicates the family has successfully resolved the loss
Correct answer: Creates a toxic secret that distorts family communication and identity
Unspoken family secrets around traumatic loss create communication distortions, shame, and identity confusion that impair healing across generations.
Question 6: In Trauma-Focused CBT for families, the 'conjoint session' between parent and child serves which primary purpose?
- The child shares their trauma narrative with a supported, prepared parent (Correct answer)
- The therapist conducts joint EMDR processing with both members
- Family members identify cognitive distortions together
- The parent discloses their own trauma history to the child
Correct answer: The child shares their trauma narrative with a supported, prepared parent
The TF-CBT conjoint session allows the child to share their trauma narrative with a caregiver who has been prepared to respond in a supportive, non-reactive way.
Question 7: A family refuses to acknowledge that domestic violence occurred despite clear evidence. The CTC consultant should recognize this as which family system dynamic?
- Collective denial protecting the family's shared narrative (Correct answer)
- Malingering by the identified patient
- Folie à deux (shared delusion)
- Insecure attachment in the non-offending parent
Correct answer: Collective denial protecting the family's shared narrative
Collective denial is a family system mechanism that preserves a shared identity and protects members from the disruption that acknowledgment of abuse would cause.
CTC Family Systems & Trauma Recovery 3
A grandmother who experienced war-related trauma has never disclosed this to her family.
Her grandchildren show anxiety and hypervigilance with no identified cause.
This is best explained by: