Intervention skills: Facilitating family change
Change skills
1. Break maladaptive interaction patterns
2. Clarity problematic consequences
3. Alter affective blocks
4. Initiate cognitive restructuring
5. Implement new adaptive patterns
6. Mobilize external resources as required
Break Maladaptive Patterns
• Intervene to control maladaptive patterns by restructuring family interaction verbally or physically
• When appropriate, facilitate the adaptive expression of anger of one family member in order to block the recurrent problematic behavior of another
Clarify problematic consequences
• Confront family members on the problematic consequences of their own behaviors
• Provide verbal or nonverbal support before and after direct confrontation whenever possible
Alter Affective Blocks
• Convey the importance of expressing and clarifying affective experience in order to better comprehend the maintenance of overt behavior patterns.
• Remove inappropriate affective blocks by encouraging open discussion of the emotional turmoil of family members; validate their experience, clarify the content, and provide support
Initiate Cognitive Restructuring
• Call into question collective beliefs, values, or goals that appear to be problematic and initiate open discussion and reevaluation of relevant issues.
• To prevent new affect from blocking further progress, encourage the expression and discharge of emotion (especially through laughing or crying) while modifying a previous cognitive set.
• Provide appropriate new information or a reformulation as required to develop more adaptive comprehension
• Encourage family members to consider new ideas further and to continue to discuss specific issues at home in order to reach a reality-based consensus.
Implement New Adaptive Patterns
• Using behavioral principles, apply social reinforcements to strengthen appropriate behaviors at any ti me during the sessions and encourage family