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Family Dynamics
Pat Marquart, MFT
ICDL Southern California Regional Institute
2009-2010
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A Clinical OverviewDr. Saul Brown
1. Degree of organization or
disorganization of clients family
system
2. Level of sophistication about
psychological and/or developmentalissues and openness to
professional advice
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A Clinical Overview
3. Persistence of the dysfunction, or in
this case the neurological problem,
in the identified client
4. Emotional pain and interpersonal
disruption caused by clients
dysfunction
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A Clinical Overview
5. The degree of consensus between
the parents that professional help is
needed .
6. Availability of appropriate mentalhealth or developmental therapy
resources.
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7. The attitudes present in the clients
school, social group, and extended
family.
A Clinical Overview
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Developmental Cycle of
Families 1. Basic commitment to marriage
2. Sub-systems for mutual nurturance
3. Interpersonal Mechanisms for encouragement ofeach person's individuality and autonomy
4. Facilitating ego mastery for each
5. Maintaining family integration duringadolescence and young adulthood
6. Achieving mutual validation
Dr. Saul Brown
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Family Systems Theory:
Murray Bowen, M.D. Families are systems of interconnected
and interdependent individuals, who
cannot be understood in isolation fromthe system
Each member has a role to play and
rules to respect
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Resistance to Change
Response to the demands placed on
the system
Stress of an unexpected event, placing
overwhelming demands on the family
system to change in order toaccommodate this event
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Changes in Roles
Changes in roles may maintain the
stability in the relationship, but it may
also push the family towards a differentequilibrium
Examples: Depression
Hospitalization
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Triangles ( or Triads)
Murray Bowen contends that it is the
building block of emotional systems.
Spreading the tension can stabilize asystem, but nothing gets resolved.
Paradox: While a triangle is more
stable than a dyad, it creates an oddman out - difficult to tolerate.
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Avoiding triangulation
With families under stress, the tendencyto triangulate may increase.
Families have a number ofprofessionals working with them- thepotential for triads, or triangulation, willincrease.
Professionals must be aware of and notparticipate in alliances
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Parallel Process
Specific relationship issues that families bring
to the intervention situation may evoke
feelings that are linked to providers ownpersonal issues and conflicts.
Professionals can become frustrated when
their treatment goals are not met
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Providers
Parallel process: Enacting it
In a parallel process to the issues that mayimpact a parent-child relationship, the
providers own emotional reactions and
background can impede their sensitivity to the
very families they are trying to help
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Family-Provider Relationships
DIR approach: The success of the
intervention will rest on the quality of the
relationships between professionalproviders and family members, even
when this relationship itself is not the
focus of the interventionBarbara Kalmanson, PhD
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Ghosts in the Nursery:
Dr. Selma Fraiberg
Refers to the childs involvement in the
parents unresolved psychological
issues
Remember: In every nursery there are
ghosts. They can cause transientmischief or more serious problems
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DIR Treatment Plan
The provider will formulate a treatment
plan with parents that is respectful ofthe childs rhythms and idiosyncrasiesas well as of the parents care givingstyle.
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The meaning of Childrens
Behavior When providers follow the childs lead
while observing, parents learn that the
childs behavior is important and hasmeaning.
The subjective experience of the
parents and infants, rather than theobjective experience, should be the
focus of intervention
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Importance of Recognizing
Coping PatternsTendency to withdraw
Tendency to over-control
Tendency both to over-stimulate and to withdrawTendency to overprotect
Tendency to avoid
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Caregiver Patterns
1. Comforting
2. Uses affect cueing and gestures
3. Expands continuous flow of interactions 4. Finds appropriate level of stimulation
5. Ability to engage in relationship
6. Can read cues and signals 7. Encourages development
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DIR Parenting in Daily Living
Supporting parents to understand and
be the expert on their child
Building DIR into their daily life
Making a plan for Floortime Sessions
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REFERENCES
The Child with Special Needs: Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D
The Developmental Cycle of Families: Clinical Implications
Saul L. Brown, M.D.
Engaging Autism: Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder,Ph.D
Family-provider relationships: The basis of all interventionsBarbara Kalmanson, Ph.D.
www.thebowencenter.org