How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families | Page 289

K. Lessons from early models
1. Group - group dynamics, roles, process/content distinction, free and open discussion,
reflective interpretations, connective interpretations, reconstructive interpretations, normative
interpretations, networking, confronting, caveat - families aren’t egalitarian
2. Communications - double bind, meta communication, homeostasis, rules, feedback loops,
cybernetics, altering patterns of communication, paradoxical directives, symptoms - focused,
focus on marital pair
L. System’s anxiety
1. Therapists viewed family as being to blame for a "victim’s" illness and were, therefore, the
enemy
2. Cybernetics and general systems theory helped clinicians understand families, but tend to
dismiss selfhood as an illusion
M. Stages of family therapy
1. Initial call - keep it short
2. First interview - build alliance and hypothesize
3. Early phase of treatment - refining hypothesis and beginning to work on problems
4. Middle phase of treatment - family begins to take more active role
5. Termination - review and consolidate
N. Family assessment
1. Presenting problem
2. Understanding referral route
3. Identifying systemic context (interpersonal context of presenting concern)
4. Stages of life cycle
5. Family structure
6. Communication
7. Drug and alcohol abuse
8. Domestic violence and sexual abuse
9. Extramarital involvement (not just sexual affairs)
10. Gender (roles, expectations, and society)
11. Cultural factors (including mainstream)
12. Ethical dimension (therapist and family’s ethics)
O. Working with managed care - it’s necessary, so cooperate

289