Family Systems Flashcards
7 cards from real CAASP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Family Systems flashcards as text
When a CAASP practitioner conducts a family strengths assessment, the primary goal is to:
Answer: Document protective factors that can be mobilized to support the child
Strengths-based assessment identifies existing protective factors, resources, and capacities within the family that can be built upon in the service plan.
A family therapist observes that whenever the parents begin to argue, the identified patient (a 10-year-old) acts out, which immediately redirects parental attention to the child and stops the argument. This pattern is an example of:
Answer: Triangulation deflecting marital conflict through the child
Triangulation occurs when tension between two parties (the parents) is defused by involving a third party (the child), making the child's symptoms functionally maintain marital stability.
According to CAASP principles, services for children with serious emotional disturbance should be delivered in the 'least restrictive environment.' This means:
Answer: Services should be provided in community and family settings whenever safe and appropriate
The least restrictive environment principle supports maintaining children in their homes and communities rather than using more restrictive, segregated, or institutional settings whenever clinically appropriate.
Which of the following scenarios reflects a 'disengaged' family subsystem according to Minuchin's structural model?
Answer: A father who is emotionally unavailable and rarely interacts with his children
Disengagement describes rigid, impermeable boundaries resulting in emotional isolation and lack of connection between family members.
In the context of CAASP, 'unconditional services' means that support for families should:
Answer: Continue regardless of a child's behavior or setbacks, without threats of exclusion
Unconditional care is a wraparound/CAASP principle stating that the team commits to the family even through crises or plan failures, never withdrawing services punitively.
A family systems-informed CAASP practitioner distinguishes between 'first-order change' and 'second-order change.' Which is the more transformative and lasting?
Answer: Second-order change, because it alters the rules and structure of the system itself
Second-order change modifies the underlying rules, roles, and structure of the family system, producing lasting transformation rather than superficial behavioral adjustments.
A CAASP care coordinator discovers that a family's cultural values emphasize collective decision-making and they resist being asked to identify individual goals. The most appropriate response is to:
Answer: Adapt the planning process to honor the family's collective orientation
CAASP's culturally competent, family-driven principles require practitioners to adapt service planning processes to fit the family's cultural framework rather than imposing a dominant-culture model.