WEEK 3: WHAT

IS FAMILY

?

P S R T 4 2 7 1 : T H E F A M I L Y R O L E I N R E H A B I L I T A T I O N

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ADDITIONAL REFERENCES FOR THIS LECTURE…

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EPISTEMOLOGY

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A GOOD THEORY? (SIGELMAN AND RIDER, 2003)

Internally consistent

Falsifiable

Based on data

(Based in logic?...)

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BASIC DEVELOPMENT ISSUES (SIGELMAN AND RIDER, 2003)

Nature vs. Nurture?Biology or Environment?

Activity vs. Passivity?

Continuity vs. Discontinuity?Gradual or abrupt?Quantitative or qualitative?

Universality vs. Context Specificity

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DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES: 4 SCHOOLS (SIGELMAN AND RIDER, 2003)

Psychoanalytic (Freud, Erikson)

Learning (Skinner, Bandura)

Cognitive developmental (Piaget)

Contextual/Systems (Bronfenbrenner, Vygotsky)

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PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY (“INTRAPSYCHIC”)

F R E U D• Instincts• Unconscious

motivation• Id, ego, superego• Psychosexual

development

Internally inconsistent?

Hard to test?

E R I C K S O N Psychosocial

development (8 conflicts)

“Ego virtues” Biology + environment

Difficult to test? Describes, doesn’t

explain?

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LEARNING THEORYClassical conditioning (Watson, Pavlov) Preconditioning, Conditioning, Postconditioning

Operant conditioning (Skinner) Reinforcement

Social Learning Theory (Bandura) Humans as active cognitive agents Observational learning

Not enough evidence that learning is responsible? Too little emphasis on biology?

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COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORYConstructivism Interaction between maturing brain and experience

Stages1.Sensorimotor (0-2)2.Preoperational (2-7)3.Concrete operational (7-11)4.Formal operational (11-12+)

Too little emphasis on motivation, emotion?Too narrow a perspective?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A (6:18)

CONTEXTUAL AND SYSTEMS THEORIESSociocultural perspective (Vygotsky) Individual + culture Language, communication Cognitive development: a social process, beyond imitation

Bioecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner) Nature and nurture (biology and environment) Reciprocal influence 4 systems: micro, meso, exo, macro

Standardized coherent theory impossible? Too much “it depends”?

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BRONFENBRENNER’S ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM

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SYSTEMS

C L O S E D S Y S T E M STransformationPhysical energy

exchange

O P E N S Y S T E M SInput, throughput,

outputInformation exchange

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GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY (BOULDING, 1956)

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GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY (BOULDING, 1956)

Seeking “an optimum degree of generality”The Republic of Learning is breaking upA “desert of mutual unintelligibility”

Two approaches:

1. General phenomena Population change and interaction Equilibrium theory Growth theory Information and communication theory

2. Hierarchy of complexity

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GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY

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LOOKS SIMILAR TO…

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FAMILY SYSTEMS (BAVELAS AND SEGAL, 1982)

Roots in GST: studies of communications in families similar

Psychoanalysis “proscribes” therapist contact with families

Psychotherapists turn to “research”• Especially about schizophrenia, hitherto non-responsive to treatment

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1950S: THE BATESON PROJECT (BAVELAS AND SEGAL, 1982)

Disturbed behavior from disturbed communication• “In response to a particular interpersonal context”

Old scope of knowledge• Based on energy• Causality: Linear, sequential• 1st Law of Thermodynamics (transformation of energy)

Bateson’s new epistemology• Based on information• Causality: Circular, simultaneous• 2nd Law of Thermodynamics (entropy)

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DR. EDGAR AUERSWALD’S ASSUMPTIONSThe study of families is rooted in science.

Evolution in family studies relates to evolutions in biology and physics.

All human “constructions” are “edits” of the universe, either local or universal.

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AUERSWALD’S TERMSEpistemology = rules used to define “universal reality”

Paradigm = rules used to define a subset of universal reality

Theory = an idea that contributes to a paradigm

Model = a metaphor for an epistemology, paradigm, or theory

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FAMILY SYSTEMS: 5 PARADIGMS (AUERSWALD, 1987)

Psychodynamic• Group of interlocking individual psychodynamics at different stages

Family Independently operating units from which individual

pyschodynamicsGeneral

A system with things similar to all other systems, within hierarchies, e.g. civilizations societies individuals psyches, etc.

Cybernetic System of circular information flow and regulatory mechanisms

Ecological “Co-evolutionary ecosystem in an evolutionary timespace”

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FAMILY SYSTEMS: 5 PARADIGMS (AUERSWALD, 1987)

Psychodynamic Abandoned by family therapists

FamilyGeneral Basis for “family systems therapy”Cybernetic

Ecological Alternative reality system?

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AUERSWARD: CURRENT STATE OF FAMILY STUDY…

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EQUIFINALITY• Rejects “genetic fallacy”: Causes don’t dictate outcomes• Process can override and become the cause• Child and parents mutually influence

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2FixXF7yYs

BOWEN FAMILY THEORY (BROWN, 1999)

Reduce anxiety by… Understanding how family systems work Increasing “differentiation”

8 Elements1.Fusion and Differentiation2.Triangles3.Nuclear Family Emotional System4.Family Projection Process5.Emotional Cutoff6.Multigenerational Transmission Process7.Sibling Positions8.Societal Evolution

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THEORIES ABOUT SCHIZOPRENIA (TORREY, 2006)

GeneticNeurochemical Neurotransmitters? (Dopamine, glutamate, 100+ others…) Neuropeptides (Endorphines…)DevelopmentalInfectiousNutritionalEndocrinalStress

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OBSOLETE THEORIES ABOUT SZ (TORREY, 2006)

Demons, masturbationBad mothers• “Schizophrenogenic mothers”Bad families Bateson: “Double-bind” Lidz at Yale “Expressed emotion”Bad cultures Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, Christopher LaschFake disease Thomas Szasz

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SO WHAT? RELATING FAMILY SYSTEMS TO PSYCH REHABHow do family dynamics effect recoveries?How broadly should families be conceived and defined?How should providers think of families?How should families be approached?What role should practitioners expect families to play?How can psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners lead others in their

field?What specific things can psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners do to

optimize family engagement? What should Psych Rehab learn from the history of family theories?Do family systems theories matter?

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