Psychodynamic Models of Family Counseling:

1. Psychodynamic Models of Family Counseling: Object Relations Therapy

2. The Theory • Views the infant’s experiences in relationship to the mother as the primary determinant fo adult personality formation (attachment) • Based on Freud’s classic psychoanalysis (drive theory) • Theory based on individual drives (motives), the development of a sense of self (wishes, fears, internal conflicts) and unconscious relationship seeking that object relations theory addresses • Attention is on the inner lives and conflicts of individual family members

3. Scharff & Scharff (Object Relations Family/Couples Therapy) • Husband and wife psychiatrists who are directors of the International Institute of Object Relatins Therapy in DC • Unconscious themes expressed in dreams and fantasies are evoked and investigated, family histories are explored and they relate to current relationships, interpretations are made to the family, insight is sought and transference and countertransference feelings are explored. • Emphasis is placed on attachment and the possible destructive effects of early separation from care givers.

4. Narrative Family Therapy • Michael White is the leading figure in narrative therapy--former Australian social worker. • Narrative therapy proposes that people attempt to make sense of their lives, arrange their experiences of events over time to arrive at a coherent account of themselves. Each narrative gives each person a sense of continuity.

5. Narrative Therapy • Each person’s story provides the principal framework for structuring therapy. • My grandmother inspired me by coming to this country penniless and succeeding in business • How my illness as a child made me feel inferior to others • How my parents’ divorce turned me against marriage • How my mother’s alcoholism frightened me about drinking

6. Narrative Therapy • Issues of power, privilege, oppression, control, ethics, and social justice remain high priorities in narrative therapy. • Narrative therapists view client stories through a political lens. • Goal of therapy is to liberate the client from forces of hopelessness. • Questions such as: What was that experience like for you? What effect did it have on your life? Why was this so important to you?

7. Narrative Therapy Strategies • Definitional ceremonies: tellings of stories by different members of family and outside witnesses • Therapeutic Letters: narrative therapists use letters sent to clients to extend therapeutic sessions • Forming Supportive Leagues: support groups