Chapter 14- Family Systems Therapy
MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST ITEMS
1. Who was the first person of the modern era to do family therapy? (p. 410)
a. Adler
b. Minuchin
c. Bowen
d. Satir
e. Haley
2. Which family therapist made use of innovative interventions such as metaphor, reframing, rules for
interaction, parts party, family reconstructions, family sculpting, and family maps?
(p. 420)
a. Bowen
b. Minuchin
c. Satir
d. Whitaker
e. Haley
3. Which of the following statements about strategic family therapy is not true? (p. 416)
a. Therapy is brief, process-focused, and solution-oriented.
b. Change results when the family follows the therapist’s directions and change transactions.
c. The focus is on solving problems in the present.
d. The therapist designs strategies for change.
e. Presenting problems are viewed as being symptomatic of a dysfunction within the system.
4. Alfred Adler was the first to notice that the development of children within family constellations was
heavily influenced by: (p. 414)
a. the power structure within the family.
b. cultural context in which a family resides.
c. balance of leadership between parents.
d. jealousy and rivalry among the children.
e. birth order.
5. Postmodern thought has contributed to family therapy by: (p. 417)
a. minimizing the role of assessment.
b. stimulating the therapist’s view of clients as the experts on their own lives.
c. developing an individual therapy application of the family systems approach.
d. both (a) and (b)
6. Who was the person who refined Adler’s concepts into a typology of mistaken goals and an organized
approach to family therapy? (p. 414)
a. Virginia Satir
b. Jay Haley
c. Cloe Madanes
d. Carl Whitaker
e. Rudolf Dreikurs
7. The concept of triangulation is most associated with: (p. 415)
a. Virginia Satir.
b. Murray Bowen.
c. Salvador Minuchin.
d. Carl Whitaker.
e. Rudolf Dreikurs.
8. What type of boundaries results in disengagement? (p. 423)
a. clear boundaries
b. diffuse boundaries
c. rigid boundaries
d. flexible boundaries
e. shrinking boundaries
9. What is the technique in family therapy that casts a new light on a problem and provides a different
interpretation for a problematic situation? (p. 421)
a. reorganization
b. family mapping
c. restructuring
d. reframing
e. joining
10. A major contribution of Bowen’s theory is the notion of: (p. 415)
a. birth order as a determinant of personality.
b. differentiation of the self.
c. family rules and communication patterns.
d. spontaneity, creativity, and play as therapeutic factors in family therapy.
11. They systems perspective implies: (p. 412)
a. individuals are autonomous and independent of their families.
b. the external environment is the most powerful influence on an individual’s development.
c. individuals are best understood through the context of their role in their family.
d. systematic intervention is required to deconstruct an unhealthy family interaction pattern.
12. Which is(are) a key role (or roles) of most family therapists? (p. 419)
a. teacher
b. model
c. coach
d. consultant
e. all of the above
13. Which of the following techniques is a strategic family therapist least likely to use? (p. 419)
a. asking about attempted solutions to a problem
b. directives
c. family sculpting
d. reframing
e. paradoxical interventions
14. A tool for collecting and organizing key relationships in a three-generational extended family is a: (p.
436)
a. lifestyle assessment.
b. family sketch.
c. genogram.
d. projective test.
e. none of the above.
15. Which of the following roles and functions would be least interesting to a structural family therapist?
(p. 419)
a. joining the family in a position of leadership
b. giving voice to the therapist’s own impulses and fantasies
c. mapping the underlying structure of a family
d. intervening in ways designed to transform an ineffective structure of a family
e. being a stage director
16. Which of the following is least associated with Satir’s human validation process model?
(p. 415)
a. family rules
b. functional versus dysfunctional communication patterns
c. family roles and triads
d. storied lives and narratives
e. defensive stances in coping with stress
17. Triangles in family relationships can best be explained as __________:
a. reducing anxiety and emotional tension in relationships.
b. a method of disengagement.
c. a method of becoming enmeshed.
d. an attempt to develop intimacy.
18. Which approach to family therapy contends that one’s current family problems will not significantly
change until relationship patterns in one’s family of origin are understood and directly challenged?
(p. 415)
a. Bowenian family therapy
b. human validation process model
c. structural family therapy
d. strategic family therapy
19. The techniques of joining, accommodating, unbalancing, tracking, and boundary making would be
most likely to be part of which approach to family therapy? (p. 419)
a. Bowenian family therapy
b. Adlerian family therapy
c. structural family therapy
d. strategic family therapy
e. experiential/symbolic family therapy
20. A major contribution of Whitaker’s approach to family therapy is: (p. 419)
a. birth order as a determinant of personality.
b. differentiation of the self.
c. genogram work.
d. spontaneity, creativity, and play as therapeutic factors in family therapy.
e. none of the above
21. The major focus of family therapy is: (p. 438)
a. brief treatment.
b. the family’s present interactions.
c. how current family relationships maintain systems.
d. facilitating change.
e. all of the above.
22. Which of the following lenses addresses the family’s goals? (p. 421)
a. sequences
b. the teleological lens
c. internal family systems
d. the organization lens
e. the developmental lens
23. What lens is primarily concerned with assessing a family’s typical day and the routines support their
daily living? (p. 422)
a. the organization lens
b. the teleological lens
c. sequences
d. the developmental lens
e. internal family systems
24. Which approach assumes that a family can best be understood when it is analyzed from at least a
three-generational perspective? (p. 410)
a. Bowenian family therapy
b. human validation process model
c. social constructionism
d. strategic family therapy
e. experiential/symbolic family therapy
25. Which approach asserts that emotional fusion to one’s family must be addressed if one hopes to
achieve a mature and unique personality? (p. 415)
a. Bowenian family therapy
b. Adlerian family therapy
c. social constructionism
d. strategic family therapy
e. solution-oriented therapy
26. A couple directs the focus of their energy toward a problematic son as a way to avoid facing or
dealing with their own conflicts. This is an example of: (p. 415)
a. enmeshment.
b. normal love.
c. displacement.
d. triangulation.
e. diffusion.
27. In working with a triangulated relationship, Bowen would be inclined to place primary emphasis on:
(p. 415)
a. joining the family.
b. engaging in personal self-disclosure to build trust.
c. maintaining a stance of neutrality.
d. siding with one member involved in the triangle.
e. identifying behavioral goals to guide the therapy.
28. Structural family therapy includes all of the following goals except for bringing about structural
change by: (p. 418)
a. modifying the family’s transactional rules.
b. developing more appropriate boundaries.
c. creating an effective hierarchical structure.
d. reducing symptoms of dysfunction.
e. the therapist taking a not-knowing stance with a family.
29. The teleological lens is central to: (p. 421)
a. strategic family therapy.
b. Adlerian family therapy.
c. Bowenian family therapy.
d. structural family therapy.
e. all of the above
30. What lens includes the biological, individual, relational, familial, and societal levels?
(p. 424)
a. internal family systems
b. the teleological lens
c. sequences
d. the developmental lens
e. the multicultural lens
31. Which of the following individuals is not associated with family therapy? (p. 410-411)
a. Alfred Adler
b. Cloe Madanes
c. Albert Ellis
d. Salvador Minuchin
e. Carl Whitaker
32. Which approach would be most interested in the appropriateness of hierarchical structure in the
family? (p. 417)
a. Bowenian family therapy
b. human validation process model
c. structural family therapy
d. social constructionism
33. Which lens of family therapy is most likely to be concerned with the question, “How does the
family’s level of economics, education, ethnicity, religion, race, regional background, gender, and age
affect the family’s processes?” (p. 426)
a. internal family systems
b. the teleological lens
c. sequences
d. the multicultural lens
e. the developmental lens
34. Family atmosphere, family constellation, and mistaken goals are key concepts of: (p. 414)
a. Adlerian family therapy.
b. structural family therapy.
c. experiential family therapy.
d. none of the above
35. A family systems perspective is grounded on the assumption(s) that a client’s problematic behavior
may: (p. 412)
a. serve a function or purpose for the family.
b. be a function of the family’s inability to function productively.
c. be a symptom of dysfunctional patterns handed down across generations.
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
36. According to Dreikurs, four goals of children’s misbehavior include: (p. 421)
a. attention getting, power struggle, revenge, and assumed disability.
a. attention getting, control, affection, and nurturing.
b. nurturing, education, security, and attention getting.
c. none of the above
37. Adlerian family therapy strives to ______ as its goal. (p. 418)
a. establish a hierarchy of power
b. establish and support parents as effective leaders of the family
c. replace automatic, often nonconscious, negative interactions with a conscious understanding of
family process
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
38. Problem descriptions and goal identification, typical day, the child interview and goal disclosure are
techniques used in: (p. 419)
a. multigenerational family therapy.
b. strategic family therapy.
c. social constructionist therapy.
d. Adlerian family therapy.
e. none of the above
39. A potential limitation of the family systems model is: (p. 440)
a. a particular family member’s needs may be overshadowed by the needs of the system.
b. the systemic perspective can be overwhelming for the therapist.
c. family therapy is not well-suited to working with diverse clients.
d. all of the above
40. The therapy goals of promoting growth, self-esteem, connection, and helping family members
achieve congruent communication and interaction is most associated with which theory of family
therapy? (p. 418)
a. Bowen’s multigenerational family therapy
b. Satir’s human validation process model
c. Whitaker’s experiential/symbolic family therapy
d. Minuchin’s structural family therapy
e. Haley’s strategic family therapy
ANSWER KEY FOR CHAPTER 14
MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST QUESTIONS
TRUE–FALSE TEST ITEMS
Decide if the following statements are “more true” or “more false” as applied to the perspective of family
systems therapy.
1. Bowen’s multigenerational approach stresses techniques more than it does theory.
2. Family systems therapy represents a paradigm shift that is sometimes called “the fourth force.”
3. Given the multicultural lens, it is difficulty to find shortcomings of family therapy for a diversity
perspective.
4. The focus of Bowen’s multigenerational approach is on dealing with family of origin issues and
detriangulating relationships.
5. The cornerstone of Bowen’s theory is differentiation of self.
6. Carl Whitaker’s style focuses on his own spontaneous reactions and craziness as a way to tap material
that a family keeps secret.
7. Whitaker’s experiential/symbolic approach is based on a well-developed theory of how a family
changes.
8. Satir’s human validation model focuses on functional versus dysfunctional communication in
families.
9. Because Bowen’s multigenerational approach looks at families from a three-generational perspective,
the therapist is mainly interested in past happenings and does not pay much attention to present
issues.
10. Minuchin’s structural therapy is based on the notion that an individual’s symptoms are best
understood from the vantage point of interactional patterns within a family, and that structural
changes must occur in a family before an individual’s symptoms can be resolved.
11. Structural family therapy deals with boundaries.
12. The goal of structural family therapy is to break down any hierarchical structure and replace it with
equal relationships among all family members.
13. Structural family therapists limit their interventions to families alone.
14. Minuchin’s approach to therapy is geared more toward insight, rather than being a therapy of action.
15. Strategic family therapy has its foundation in communications theory.
16. Strategic family therapists do not generally deal with the presenting problem; rather, they focus on the
underlying symptom of a dysfunctional system.
17. The focus of strategic family therapy is on growth and resolving historical conflicts in a family rather
than on dealing with present problems of a family.
18. Strategic family therapy stresses some of the same basic concepts as the structural approach to family
therapy.
19. The role of the strategic therapist involves being in charge of the session.
20. Strategic therapists do not rely on therapy techniques to bring about change but instead give more
stress to the therapist’s relationship with a family.
21. A multilensed approach to family therapy is best supported by a collaborative relationship.
22. Conducting an assessment is one of the phases of the multilensed approaches.
23. Understanding family process is almost always facilitated by “how” questions.
24. Assessment is not considered useful in the family systems perspective.
25. Family therapists are wise to consider Western models of family functioning universal.
26. The teleological lens in concerned with the study of how intuition and telepathy inform family
therapy.
27. Family systems therapy can be used when working with individual clients.
28. From a family systems perspective, an individual’s dysfunctional behavior grows out of the
interactional unit of the family as well as the larger community and societal systems.
29. There is a trend in the field of family therapy toward rejecting an integrative model of practice.
30. Bowenian therapists function in ways to bring about change through action-oriented directives and
paradoxical interventions.
31. Bowenian therapists place more emphasis on techniques than they do on understanding the dynamics
of a family system.
32. According to Haley, who the therapist is as a person is far more important than specific intervention
techniques.
33. In Whitaker’s experiential therapy, there is a greater focus on exploring past experiences than on
here-and-now interaction between the family and the therapist.
34. In experiential therapy, techniques are secondary to the relationship that the therapist is able to
establish with the family.
35. Joining, accommodation, and boundary making are techniques likely to be used by structural family
therapists.
36. Strategic therapists emphasize the value of therapist interpretation, exploring unresolved issues from
the past, and insight.
37. A multicultural lens challenges dominant culture and introduces diversity and complexity into our
understanding of the human condition.
38. The gender lens makes use of lifestyle assessments during the intake interview.
39. Because an individual is connected to a living system, change in one part of that system will result in
change in the other parts.
40. The main focus of family therapy is on past interactions and past conflicts as the best way to
understand the dynamics of the family system.
ANSWER KEY FOR CHAPTER 14
TRUE–FALSE TEST QUESTIONS