MFT Family Therapy Models 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Structural Family Therapy, which technique involves the therapist joining the family by temporarily adopting their communication style and rules?
- Enactment
- Accommodation (Correct answer)
- Reframing
- Unbalancing
Correct answer: Accommodation
Accommodation is the joining technique where the therapist adapts to the family's style to build rapport and gain entry into the system.
Question 2: Which family therapy model uses the concept of 'differentiation of self' as a central treatment goal?
- Strategic Family Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Bowen Family Systems Therapy (Correct answer)
- Emotionally Focused Therapy
Correct answer: Bowen Family Systems Therapy
Bowen's model holds that the primary goal is increasing differentiation of self — the ability to maintain one's identity while staying emotionally connected to others.
Question 3: The 'externalization' technique in Narrative Therapy is best described as:
- Blaming external forces for family problems
- Separating the person from the problem through language (Correct answer)
- Exploring external influences like culture and media
- Projecting one's feelings onto another family member
Correct answer: Separating the person from the problem through language
Externalization uses language to separate the person from the problem, so the problem becomes something the person has rather than something they are.
Question 4: In Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), the therapist primarily focuses on:
- Behavioral contracts between partners
- Identifying irrational beliefs driving conflict
- Attachment needs underlying negative interaction cycles (Correct answer)
- Structural hierarchies and boundaries within the couple
Correct answer: Attachment needs underlying negative interaction cycles
EFT, developed by Sue Johnson, targets the underlying attachment fears and longings that drive couples' negative interaction cycles.
Question 5: A family therapist using the Milan Systemic model would most likely employ which of the following techniques?
- Enactment and boundary-making
- Circular questioning and positive connotation (Correct answer)
- Miracle question and scaling questions
- Genogram construction and detriangulation
Correct answer: Circular questioning and positive connotation
The Milan model is known for circular questioning (exploring relationships between beliefs and behaviors) and positive connotation (reframing the symptom as protective).
Question 6: Which concept from Contextual Family Therapy, developed by Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, refers to the obligation children feel to be loyal to their family of origin?
- Invisible loyalties (Correct answer)
- Triangulation
- Parentification
- Enmeshment
Correct answer: Invisible loyalties
Invisible loyalties are unconscious commitments children maintain toward their family of origin, which can create symptoms when they conflict with other relationships.
Question 7: In Object Relations Family Therapy, projective identification refers to:
- A parent identifying too strongly with a child's achievements
- Unconsciously attributing one's own feelings to another person and inducing those feelings in them (Correct answer)
- A therapist projecting countertransference onto the family
- A child identifying with the parental object after separation
Correct answer: Unconsciously attributing one's own feelings to another person and inducing those feelings in them
Projective identification involves unconsciously placing unwanted aspects of oneself into another person and then relating to them as if they possess those qualities.
MFT Family Therapy Models 2
In Structural Family Therapy, which technique involves the therapist joining the family by temporarily adopting their communication style and rules?