EXPERIENTIAL FAMILY

THERAPY
 OVERVIEW

 Experiential therapy (ET) involves activities rather than the traditional “talk therapy.”

 It focuses on the experience, understanding, and re-conceptualizing of one's emotions and how
they affect one's behavior

 Experiential Family Therapy uses active, multisensory techniques such as play therapy, art
therapy, music therapy, drama therapy, role play and drawings, family's expression of affect.

 EFT encourages clients to identify and address hidden or subconscious issues through activities
such as role playing and a range of other active experiences.

 Increased affect and uncovered information stimulate change and growth in the family system.
 Founding Figures

 Carl Whitaker (1912-1995)

 Founder of experiential family therapy, he broke the rules of the psychotherapeutic orthodoxies of the
time, such as the therapy focused on a single client
 He acknowledges the role of the entire family in the therapeutic process
 Originally interested in the psychotic mind
 Encouraged family members to be themselves

 Virginia Satir (1916-1988)

 Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy was designed to improve r/ps and communication within the
family structure by addressing a person’s actions, emotions, and perceptions as they relate to that
person’s dynamic within the family unit.
 Individual self-expression, focused on individuals with low self-esteem
 Satire developed within her model five conceptual styles of communication (communication categories):

1. Placater (non-assertive): they are out to please, never disagreeing, and always seeking approval. They avoid
conflict. The main concern is how to other perceive them

2. Blamer: Fault finders – never accepting responsibility themselves, always blaming someone or something else.
The blamer hides a feeling of alienation and loneliness behind a tough and complex mask; they likely to initiate
conflict

3. Computer: computer behavior is very correct and proper but displaying no emotion, masking a feeling of
vulnerability. They have a firework of emotion inside while appearing cold or unfeeling. They often say things
that are value judgments w/o indicating who could have made the judgment, w/c implies that everyone would
agree
4. Distractor: seek attention to compensate for their feelings of loneliness or inadequacy. Rather than positive
action, distractors use a range of emotions from anger to guilt to either avoid an issue or manipulate how others
feel.
5. Leveler (Assertive)/congruent: have emotional balance and can relate to all kinds of people. They are
assertive. The goal of leveling is mutual problem solving.
The leveler response is the most effective behavior for solving problems creatively

Virginia Satir used the comm. categories to help ind. family members become aware of their incongruent br.

Incongruent br is when your mind thinks one thing, but your body does another (e.g. such as faking) while you
might try and mask your problems, your body gives signals to other people. People sense something is
incongruent and this creates conflict
Founding Principles

 Emotional suppression is the heart of family problems

 Dysfunctional families are less tolerant of individualistic emotions

 Families will improve if family members get in touch with their real feelings and express them

Experiential Family Therapy:

 Emerged out of the humanistic-existential psychology movement in the 1960s and from the practice
of client-centered therapy
 Influenced heavily by Gestalt therapy, psychodrama, client-centered therapy
 Emphasizes affect.
 A healthy family is one in which people openly experience life with each other in a lively manner
 Help individuals achieve more intimacy by increasing their awareness of their inner potential and
opening channels for family interaction
 Encourage members to be themselves by freely expressing what they are thinking and feeling
Premises of the Theory
Families are not aware of their emotions or, if aware, they suppress them
Lack of emotional awareness and express leads to emotional deadness
The resolution is to emphasize sensitivity and feeling expression among family members
Emotional expressivity can be verbal but it often is manifested affectively or behaviorally
Emphasis placed on the present

Theoretical Formulations
 Root cause of family problems is emotional suppression.

 Parents regulate their children’s actions by controlling their feelings; as a result, children learn to blunt their
emotional experience to avoid criticism.
 From this perspective, attempts to bring about positive change in families are more likely to be successful if family
members first get in touch with their real feelings- their hopes and desire as well as their fears and anxieties.
 Treatment is designed to help family members find fulfilling roles for themselves

 The assumption is that opening up individuals to their experience is a prerequisite to breaking new ground for the
family group.
 When people express their vulnerability directly, they are likely to elicit a compassionate response from their
partners.
 Normal Family Development

 When people are allowed to follow their own instincts they tend to flourish.
 Parents appreciate their children, accept their feelings, and validate their experience.
 Healthy families offer its members the freedom to be themselves.

 Problems arise when the innate tendency to actualize oneself is suppressed by social forces.

 Society enforces repression to tame people’s instincts through repressing them and make them fit for
group living.
 Family myths, tendency of families to assert a false reality (i.e. harmony) and then to focus on one “bad”
member.
Mystification, the process of distorting a child’s experience by denying it or labeling it.
 Development of behavior Disorder
 Denial of impulses and suppression of feeling are the root of family problems.
 Dysfunctional families:
 fearful of conflict
 cling to routines
 lack of warmth
 parents find children to be annoying
 Dishonest ways to communicate:
 Blaming
 Placating (conciliating/soothing)
 Being irrelevant
 Super reasonable
 Attachment injuries: traumatic occurrences that damage the bond between partners and, if not resolved,
maintain negative cycles and attachment insecurities.
 GOALS OF THERAPY

 The way to emotional health is to uncover deeper levels of experiencing emotions.

 Therapist attempt to make three changes within the family system

 First, each member of the family should be able to report congruently, completely, and honestly on what he sees

and hears, feels and thinks, about themselves and others, in the presence of others.

 Second, each person should be addressed and related to in terms of their uniqueness so that decisions are made

in terms of exploration and negotiation rather than in terms of power.

 Third, differentness must be openly acknowledged and used for growth

Role of the Therapist

• Assist family members to discover their individuality and find fulfilling rules for themselves

• Establish an environment that communicates warmth, acceptance, respect, and hope

• Help family members to clarify goals and to use their natural abilities

• Likely to behave as real, authentic people

 THERAPY / TECHNIQUES
 Evocative Techniques: Family sculpting technique

 Family sculpting technique: a nonverbal method whereby a family member is asked to physically place
other family members in positions in relation to one another. Bringing family r/ps to life in play
-.
 Family puppet interviews (FPI) technique:
 Ask a family member to make up a story using puppets. It is useful in determining conflicts and
alliances; a technique that uses a puppet and observing the interaction b/n parents and children as
they select puppets, plan a story w/c gives clues about communication, behavioral patterns, etc

 Animal attribution- A story-telling technique that requires family members to attribute an animal
counterpart to each member of the family and then tell a short story about the animal protagonists
(characteristics).
E.g. Lion……..brave; Monkey………playful; Ox……strong; Mule…..stubborn; buffalo….caring
 Family Art Therapy technique:
 The creative process to help improve the mental health of clients
 one major Therapy technique is “Conjoint (combined) Family Drawings:
 “Draw me a picture of your family, make sure everyone is in the picture, have everyone doing
something.”
 Following this would be discussion by the family and the therapist of what was drawn and why, what
these may show of how different family member’s perceive the family, and possible alternative patterns
the family might wish to explore.
 Play Therapy:
 Generally for children ages 3 to 11, although adults can benefit also.

 Using playhouses (a small house for children to play in) to assist children in expressing their thoughts and
emotions.
 Empty chair technique: a method used in Gestalt therapy, designed to allow the client to work through
interpersonal or internal conflict, to address emotional content surrounding those not present in the therapy.

 Touch and proximity: Infants’ specific motivation for social proximity and contact, over and above
 Pros and Cons of Experiential Family Therapy
 Pros:
Helps individual discover inner thoughts, feelings, and fears
Committed to emotional well-being
Discussing feelings can help family members get pass the defensiveness
Help families re-connect and relate on a more genuine level
 Cons:
Limited appreciation for role of family structure
Less concerned with problem solving

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