Basic Marital and Family Therapy Flashcards
7 cards from real MFT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Basic Marital and Family Therapy flashcards as text
Which concept in contextual family therapy, developed by Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, refers to the accumulated ledger of fairness, entitlements, and obligations across generations?
Answer: Relational ledger
The relational ledger tracks the balance of give-and-take across family generations, with debts and entitlements that can be passed down to children.
According to John Gottman's research, which of the following is the MOST reliable predictor of divorce in couples?
Answer: Presence of contempt
Gottman's research identified contempt — expressions of disgust, superiority, and disrespect — as the single strongest predictor of relationship dissolution.
A family therapist notices that whenever the parents begin to argue, their teenage son acts out and diverts the parents' attention to him. This pattern best illustrates:
Answer: Detouring
Detouring is a structural pattern in which the parental dyad avoids conflict by redirecting tension through a child, who either becomes symptomatic or is scapegoated.
In solution-focused brief therapy, the miracle question is primarily used to:
Answer: Elicit client-generated visions of a preferred future
The miracle question invites clients to describe life after the problem has disappeared, helping them articulate goals and identify small steps toward change.
Which ethical principle requires MFT therapists to disclose the limits of confidentiality at the start of treatment?
Answer: Informed consent
Informed consent requires therapists to provide clients with information about the nature, risks, and limits of treatment — including when confidentiality must be broken — before therapy begins.
In strategic family therapy, the technique of prescribing the symptom (symptom prescription) works primarily through which mechanism?
Answer: Paradoxical intention reducing symptom anxiety
When clients are instructed to deliberately enact their symptom, the anxiety and automaticity surrounding it decrease, and the symptom often loses its involuntary quality.
A client discloses that their spouse is having an extramarital affair but insists the information be kept secret from the spouse. The MOST ethically appropriate initial response is to:
Answer: Explore the secret's impact and clarify your no-secrets policy
The therapist should explore the clinical implications and refer back to a pre-established no-secrets policy rather than unilaterally disclosing or indefinitely holding the secret.