According to Encyclopedia Britannica the term cybernetics comes from the ancient Greek word kybernetikos (“good at steering”). Cybernetics in therapy is the study of how feedback is used to regulate mechanical system. When applied to families, cybernetics teaches that when a family functions like a closed system the response to a problem may actually preserve it. An example of cybernetics is how a family gets information to maintain stability that steers the family towards homeostasis. For example: kid takes out the trash, mom nags, etc.; it is an interaction that repeats itself every week. Negative feedback: Return to stability or normal - no new information Status quo within the family- maybe the kid doesn't get angry and instead ignores the mom, but still takes out the trash. …show more content…
Positive feedback: Attempt to change - only means new information, not necessarily good/positive 2 outcomes: former homeostasis OR new homeostasis The main clinical guidelines of family systems theory is that individual problems must be understood within their larger family and environmental systems, which often provide the key to successful treatment.
Family therapy provides a way of thinking in systemic, relational terms, and a set of strategies for intervening with individuals, couples, families, and other systems. Whether the client is a large family or a single person, family therapy focuses on changing relational interactions. The central part of cybernetics is the feedback loop which is needed to maintain a smooth path weather it is negative or positive feedback. Case conceptualization is a report of information that is gathered organized and assessed to provide an explanation of a client’s behavior. Therapist look for emotional, stated nonverbal
and behavioral information that will help a therapist develop a picture of the clients experience and will lead to collaboration with the client on goals for change. Case conceptualization is usually how the client views themselves. If a therapist views this in behavioral approach we would be looking at how the client behaves. Case conceptualization also creates a larger picture of what you understand about your client. In case conceptualization you have the client or family present their concerns by presenting and describing their problems, collect a summary of relatable background information. Find out what has or has not worked for the clients in the past, accessing what has not worked for the client is probably the best way to start and identify patterns related to the presenting problems. Find out what did work for the client, in some cases some clients are unaware that their problems is no longer a problem, finding the answers to unique outcomes or exceptions provide clues for intervention. In conclusion Cybernetics in therapy is basically used to guide your client, teach the client to set goals in their family system by focusing on context giving them purpose as to why it would be better for them to change and lastly giving them positive feedback. According to www.sulross.edu Case conceptualization is the abilities to gather and interpret information, apply counseling and developmental theories, understand diagnostic frameworks, and engage in collaborative treatment planning are all important parts of the counseling process. Case conceptualization can help a therapist better understand a presented problem by having a model- driven approach.
Structural therapy focuses on the family as a whole. It is concerned about how the issues effect the family relationships and connections. This theory concentrates on how well the understanding is amongst the family members and counselor. The members of the family are prompted to understand how the issues were created, where did the issues come from, when the issues started effecting their family, and what the family needs to overcome their issues. Its focus is to help others understand and improve negative behavior. The structural therapy concentrates on the interaction and boundaries of families with separating the whole family into smaller groups. The subsystems will create a clearer understanding of what issues are hurting their family environment (Gladding, S. T. 2010). The counselor is concerned about the members interaction because this reveals how strong the relationships and connections are in the home. The boundaries are important because they create an understanding that there are limits and order, and the boundaries can be diffused, rigid, or clear (Gladding, S. T. 2010). The counselor is expected to identify techniques so members can understand which boundaries are clear, positive, and healthy (Gladding, S. T. 2010).
Case conceptualization and treatment planning is used by therapist to assist in determining a client’s diagnosis, goals, and treatment plan that is most effective in determining the issues surrounding the clients diagnosis. It is crucial that the client’s treatment plan is specific to the individual, is relational and appropriate to the needs of the client.
Substance use affects not only the individual who is using but the whole family unit. The family can be an important key factor in an individual's life when they choose to seek treatment. The family can help the individual who is addicted or they can negatively contribute to them relapsing. Family therapy is treatment that can reduce substance use and improve the family dynamics in a household. Brief Strategic Family Therapy is a common therapy used to treat substance use in families. This paper will explain why family therapy is important. It will also explain what Brief Strategic Family Therapy is and the process that families go through in it.
Experiential Family Therapy is a therapy that encourages patients to address subconscious issues through actions, and role playing. It is a treatment that is used for a group of people in order to determine the source of problem in the family (Gurman and Kniskern, 2014). Experiential Family Therapy has its strengths and weaknesses. One of the strengths of this therapy is that, it focuses on the present and patients are able to express their emotions on what is happening to them presently. The client will have time to share everything about his/her life experiences one on one without any fears. As a result, it helps the client in the healing process because, he/she is able to express their feelings freely and come out of the problem. Therefore, in this type of therapy, the clients are deeply involved in solving their issues. It helps clients to scrutinize their individual connections and to initiate a self-discovery through therapy, on how their relationships influence their current behaviors (Gurman and Kniskern, 2014). By examining their personal relationships through experiential family therapy, family members are able to
...n all family members get involved in trying to help. By the individual’s family being apart of their therapy session, it shows how much their family members care for them and want them to get help with whatever issues they may be having. This is very important because it is a sign of love and it is showing the support that they have for one another. Therapist have also found that during strategic family therapy, they can help all family members with helping to encourage each other as well as create rules and interactions that are psychological healthy for all family members who are involved. It will make it easier for the family members to all get along and understand each other. When one person in the family is having issues, the other members should take the time to talk to one another and help each other out, especially the family member who is in need of help.
Structural family therapist have exemplified within the context relational therapies that uncovers stressors in relationship between individuals (Vetere, 2001). Structural family therapy has been known to be called “interventive approach” because of the “intensity” to encourage clients to change (Hammond & Nichols, 2014).
In the industrial age before World War II, when individual psychotherapy was born and thrived, human beings were essentially seen as machines, with broken parts—including the mind—that could be repaired; after World War II, the dawning information technology age brought a paradigm shift in the view of human life from mechanical to relational, and communication and systems theories provided family therapy with increased validity and prominence. (White, 2009, pp. 200-201). The modern family systems theories that grew out of this paradigm viewed families narrowly as functional or dysfunctional according to the delineation of each theory. Today, postmodern theory suggests that no absolute truth governs individuals or families; instead, people are
Divorce is and has become a major issue in our society, the reason for that has been attributed to the drastic increase in divorce rates over the years. Divorce often disrupts the flow of the family structure, increases discord, and affects how family issues are handled. Families dealing with divorce are often times in a state of complete confusion and disorder, and filled with frustration, anger, and pain. Power struggles between spouses, which often times spread to the children if there any increase as the addiction worsens. There is a growing concernment among those in different fields like Social Work, Academia, and Mental Health in the United States, other countries, who have taken an interest in how divorce is readjusting
Goldenberg, H. & Goldenberg, I. (2013). Family therapy: An overview (8th ed.). Belmont CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
My theoretical approach to family therapy is very integrative as I believe families cannot be described nor treated from a single-school approach. I view humans through a humanistic and existential lens but am more technically structural and solution-based. With this integrative approach, I believe I will be the most effective in helping families grow and reach their goals.
Drawing on Padesky and Greenberger (1995, p.27-28), accurate diagnosis and case conceptualisation, here referred to as case formulation, are indispensable for outlining a successful treatment plan and establishing continuous treatment progress. The aim of case formulation is to outline the client’s problems in a coherent and logical manner, while providing shared guidelines for therapy, which can be as individualised as necessary depending on the client’s unique requirements (Westbrook, Kennerley and Kirk, 2011, p.63-97). Even though not all factors were addressed during this session, the case formulation used for this counselling session consists of cognitive, behavioural, emotional, environmental, socio-cultural, phys...
The CBT theoretical formulation focuses on the whole family. “As behavior therapist shifted their attention from individuals to family relationships, they came to rely on Thibaut and Kelley’s theory of social exchange, according to which people strive to maximize rewards and minimize costs in relationships” (Nichols,
Each member of my family have to feel like the therapist is working with them if not change will not occur. The use of family mapping will help distinguish the types of boundaries that exist among my family. With the disengagement within my family subsystems, using the enactment technique will illustrate the interaction among family members. I am close to the siblings that I grew up with and my father his siblings were very close. With that being said, I will like to see the dynamic between my aunts and uncles when they are all in the same room together after years of being apart. I chose structural family therapy because at the end of the therapy session, I want the restructuring of my family structure.
Strategic family therapy model was developed in the 1950s. The theory comes from Gregory Bateson and the Palo Alto Group with other influences. Strategic family therapy seeks to identify the issues within the family that are causing the current problems. Once the issues are identified, then the therapist can work with the family to change the behaviors so that the issues or problems decrease and untimely stop. Strategic family therapy is short term treatment which uses reframing, redefining, pretend, paradoxical intervention and positioning. “Strategic family therapy is a brief form of therapy characterized by the clinician’s specific focus on changing the family behavior associated with the identified problem” (Gardner, 2006). This draws
Melnik. "Cybernetics, genetic engineering and the future of psychotherapy." Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 25, no. 1-2, 2013, p. 39+. General OneFile,