MFT Basic Marital and Family Therapy 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following BEST describes the concept of complementarity in structural family therapy?
- Partners choosing each other based on similar backgrounds
- Reciprocal, interlocking roles that maintain family homeostasis (Correct answer)
- The therapist and family sharing mutual influence
- Patterns in which one partner dominates the other
Correct answer: Reciprocal, interlocking roles that maintain family homeostasis
Complementarity refers to the way family members' behaviors are mutually reinforcing and interlocking, so that changing one person's role requires changes in the entire system.
Question 2: In attachment theory applied to couples therapy (EFT), the core goal of Stage 2 is best described as:
- Reducing surface-level conflict through communication skills
- Restructuring negative interactional cycles at the level of attachment emotions (Correct answer)
- Teaching partners active listening and I-statements
- Identifying and challenging cognitive distortions about the partner
Correct answer: Restructuring negative interactional cycles at the level of attachment emotions
In EFT Stage 2, partners access and express previously unacknowledged attachment emotions, enabling new, emotionally vulnerable interactions that reshape the bond.
Question 3: A family therapist is working with a blended family and observes that the stepparent is placed in a position of authority without having first built a relationship with the stepchildren. This is most likely to create:
- Role diffusion
- Coalition against the stepparent (Correct answer)
- Disengaged subsystem boundaries
- Excessive differentiation
Correct answer: Coalition against the stepparent
When authority is granted without an established relationship, stepchildren often form coalitions with the biological parent, undermining the stepparent and creating loyalty conflicts.
Question 4: Which of the following best characterizes the cybernetic concept of 'morphogenesis' in family systems?
- The family's resistance to change to maintain current functioning
- The family's capacity to transform its rules and structure in response to change (Correct answer)
- The process of assigning roles to members to maintain equilibrium
- The transmission of anxiety across generations
Correct answer: The family's capacity to transform its rules and structure in response to change
Morphogenesis refers to a system's ability to change its structure and rules — positive feedback loops that amplify deviation, enabling transformation and growth.
Question 5: A therapist working with a Latino family takes time to engage in small talk and express interest in family members' wellbeing before addressing the presenting concern. This reflects the cultural value of:
- Familismo
- Personalismo (Correct answer)
- Respeto
- Simpatía
Correct answer: Personalismo
Personalismo is the Latino cultural value emphasizing warm, personalized relationships over formal or task-focused interactions, which is critical for building therapeutic alliance.
Question 6: In cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (CBCT), automatic thoughts in relationships are MOST directly addressed through:
- Behavioral exchange exercises
- Guided discovery and Socratic questioning (Correct answer)
- Enactment of conflict sequences
- Exploration of family-of-origin patterns
Correct answer: Guided discovery and Socratic questioning
CBCT uses Socratic questioning and guided discovery to help partners examine and restructure maladaptive cognitions about the relationship and each other.
Question 7: Which theorist is most associated with the concept of the 'identified patient' and the view that the symptomatic individual expresses the dysfunction of the entire family system?
- Murray Bowen
- Salvador Minuchin
- Jay Haley
- Nathan Ackerman (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Nathan Ackerman
Nathan Ackerman, a pioneer of family therapy, introduced the concept that the identified patient serves as the symptom-bearer for the family's relational distress.
MFT Basic Marital and Family Therapy 4
Which of the following BEST describes the concept of complementarity in structural family therapy?