Experiential Interventions : Experiential Therapy

A therapist who works from a family system perspective takes on the role of teacher, model and consultant (Corey, 2017). The therapist is active in forming a relationship with the family by acknowledging and

The basic concepts of this type of therapy are boundaries, subsystems, complementary and alignments which are easily applied and grasped. The most important aspect the therapist must keep in perspective is that every family is made up of structure and that these structures are seen only when the members of the family interact. If the therapist does not consider the entire structure of the family and intervene in only one of the many subsystems are most likely not to attain a lasting change.

Whitaker’s (1978) conceptualization of the dynamic was evident when he told the family “It’s really the family that has the anxiety about everybody’s getting together, and the family he’s acting for” (p. 9). Recognizing the importance of Don’s participation in the therapeutic process, the family agreed to a second session with all members present.

The counselor will ask questions to clarify and summarize the family’s concerns. I will answer any questions and address any concerns raised by the family about the therapy process. I will also assist in laying down parental authority and a sense of impartiality among the children. This will reinstate equilibrium in the family and motivate all members to participate in the therapy.

Structural Family Therapy can also promote a safe environment for individuals to express concerns or feelings to family members. It can improve communication, develop effective problem-solving methods, explore values, and experiment with new behaviors (Thayer 1982). The role of the clinician is to keep the sessions family focused. The clinician must recognize who the "identified patient" is or the client the family system has

According to Minuchin and Fishman (1981), it is the task of the family therapist to persuade family members that reality, or their view of the problem, can be stretched or modified. In reframing, the

, I believe the authors’ were instrumental in providing a clear example of what the family really needed and searched for. The family needed to realize that in order for the family to make a real change they need to utilize a structure that included the entire family. They also needed to know that the therapists were completely serious

Prior to reading this book I had never heard of co-therapy before. I now think it is a great advantage for people to see two therapists working together with their family unit. The therapists can set the example as to how a system should work cohesively together. Whitaker and Napier displayed a fluid working relationship using skills as individuals and as a team to address the Brice’s issues.

During the first session boundaries and ground rules were set. In this session my goal was to get to know the whole family and learn about each of their concerns and what they each wanted to gain from therapy. I went around the room and asked each one to describe how each one viewed their family structure as a whole. I let Marge begin since she seemed to be the most eager one in starting family therapy. Her main concerns were having her husband’s support, her son’s

Collaborative therapy approach was founded by Harlene Anderson, Harry Goolishian and Tom Andersen. Their approach required the client and therapist to engage in a two-way dialog to examine and create a positive understanding to the client’s situation (Gehart, 2014). Creating a positive understanding and meaning can be done with the help of the therapist and sometimes a reflection team. The therapist and reflection team try to help the client shift their meanings and beliefs. Once that is done the therapist and client starts the restructuring process by changing the client’s behavior and interactions. Collaborative therapist have identified ways to help the client solve concerns by helping the client to stabilize, normalize,

therapy aims to improve family relations, and the family is encouraged to become a type of

Becvar, D. & Becvar R. (2009). Family therapy: a systemic integration. (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Whitaker believed that the active and forceful personal involvement and caring of the therapist was the best way to bring about changes in the family and promote flexibility among family members. He relied on his own personality and wit rather than any kind of fixed techniques to stir up issues in families and to help them open up and be themselves. He also did this to confuse the family. In his words, "I revel in non-organization. I think that's part of what my therapy has to do with. It has to do with disorganizing whatever the family brings in and enjoying my disorganization as well." (pp. 204)

In the strategic and structural family therapies, the therapist’s position was not extensively discussed. However, there has been an emphasis for the therapist to be respectful and empathic in session. For instance, a structural family therapist, in order to produce change, needs to first join with the family members. In joining, the therapist conveys acceptance and respect of family members and their ways of doing things. In this manner, the Milan group’s concept of neutrality is connected with the structural therapy’s concept of joining. The intent for both therapists is also to allow the family members to listen to each other’s stories. While in neutrality, it is a stance that is undertaken throughout the therapeutic process, the structural therapist may move into realigning the boundaries and restructuring the hierarchies in the family. To achieve that, the structural therapist may at times align with one family member. This is where neutrality ends for the structural therapist.

In the reading Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development by David Kolb (1984), he proposed that learning is a cycle process in which individuals learn through their own experiences in life. This notion of the learning cycle in which he was influenced by the ideas of three other theorists (Piaget, Dewey, and Lewinian) called it Experiential Learning Theory. Kolb’s theory was based on how people learned by imputing information and processing the information. Within this two abilities, there are four steps in which Kolb’s believe the learning process occurs. The first one he calls “concrete experience”, in which one actually does the learning right then and now. The second one is “reflective observation” when the learner thinks about what they did as a reflection of the experience. The next step is the “abstract conceptualization”, where the learner makes a generalization of the experience. The last step is “active experimentation”, where the learner puts to practice his/her understanding and adapts to it. The learner does this by taking all the first three steps of the learning cycle and seeing the results (pg. 30). Learning is a process in which individuals learn through trial and error. This process can then be reused with our prior experience to strengthen the outcome of our first experience. It is shaped as a cycle in the way we process information cognitively. This is how I understood of the reading on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory.