Experiential Family Therapy

1
Experiential Family Therapy

• Alice Garcia-Irvine, Kathy Findley
• Laura Rocha

2
History of Experiential therapy

• Emerged from humanistic-existentialist movement
  of the 1960s
• Drew from
• Gestalt Therapy
• Psychodrama
• Client-centered
• Encounter-group movement

3
Main premises

• The root cause of family problems is emotional
  suppression and denial of impulses
• Individuals-fulfilling roles
• Bridging the family-second priority

4
Theoretical Key Concepts

• Emphasis on freedom
• Emotional experiences
• Here-and-now
• Honest emotion
• Individual before the family

5
Theoretical Philosophy

• Humanistic
• People are good
• Honest emotions
• People are resourceful, energetic, creative
• Existentialist - freedom of choice

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Innovators and History

• Carl Whitaker (1912-1995)
• Anti-theoretical
• Be yourself
• Intuition
• Virginia Satir (1916-1988)
• Communication
• Individual self-expression

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Resurfacing

• Experiential family therapy lost popularity
• Then resurgence of trends of therapy
• Key figures
• Leslie Greenberg and Susan Johnson
• Richard Schwartz

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Emotionally focused couples therapy

• Greenberg and Johnson (1985)
• Attachment theory
• Emotion as communication
• Defenses
• Deeper emotions

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Richard Schwartz

• Internal Family Systems model
• Clients confront sub-personalities
• parts
• disowned selves
• Conflict in others (family, friends)
• Conflicts with/within self

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Problem Families

• Confuse instrumental expressive functions of
  emotions
• Control emotions of children
• Dull emotional experience
• Not tolerant of individuality
• Victims (children of these families)
• Boredom, apathy and anxiety later

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Satir and problem atmospheres

• Satirs observations
• Emotional deadness
• Cold affect
• Dont enjoy the family
• Lack of warmth
• Avoidance by work/school

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Satir continued

• Destructive communication in smothering feelings
• Blaming
• Placating
• Being irrelevant
• Being super reasonable.
• All are due to low self-esteem

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Satirs approaches

• Spontaneous
• Did not allow complaining
• Used positive connotation
• Taught affection
• Loving, yet forceful
• Use of touch as communication
• Was present and supportive

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Normal Family Development

• Innate inclination toward self-actualization
• Conflicts with social structure
• Not a lot of parental control
• No restriction of childs emotions
• Sharing experiences
• Open, natural, spontaneous

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Problematic Behaviors

• Suppression of feelings
• Denial of impulses
• Lack of warmth
• Avoidance
• Security rather than satisfaction

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Qualities of therapist

• Creative and spontaneous
• Unblock awareness
• Support individuation
• Force personality on family
• Caring and accepting
• Increase experience levels
• Increase affect
• Dont diagnose

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Goals of therapy

• Personal integrity
• Expand experience
• Liberate affect and impulses
• Little focus on presenting problem
• Promote communication
• Promote interaction

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Primary Techniques

• Family Sculpting
• Family Puppet Interviews
• Family Art Therapy
• Conjoint Family Drawings
• Animal Attribution
• Play Therapy Techniques
• Role-Playing
• Gestalt Therapy
• Psychotherapy of the Absurd (Whitaker)

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Nonconformists

• Gus Napier
• Carl Whitaker (3 generation rule)
• Two therapists
• Personal encounter
• Joined family
• Confrontational
• to overemphasize either the individual or family
  connectedness is to distort the human condition
  (David Keith)

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References

• Goldenberg, I., Goldenberg, H., (1991).
  Family therapy an overview (3rd ed.).
  Belmont, CA Brooks/Cole.
• Nichols, M., (2008). Family therapy concepts and
  methods (8th ed.). Boston Pearson Education.
• Piercy, F., Sprenkle, D., (1986). Family
  therapy sourcebook. New York Guilford Press