Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Practice

What is a primary goal of psychoanalytical family therapy?

1. To enhance communication strategies

2. To provide tactical solutions

3. To free family members from unconscious restrictions

4. To strengthen family hierarchies

The correct answer is: To free family members from unconscious restrictions

A primary goal of psychoanalytical family therapy is to free family members from unconscious restrictions. This therapeutic approach is grounded in the belief that unconscious processes and unresolved conflicts significantly impact family dynamics and individual behavior. By bringing these unconscious issues to the surface, family members can gain insight into their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which helps facilitate understanding and improve relationships within the family. This increased awareness of unconscious influences can lead to healthier interaction patterns and emotional connections among family members, ultimately promoting healing and reconciliation. In contrast, while enhancing communication strategies is a valuable aspect of family therapy, it is typically a secondary goal of psychoanalytical approaches which focus more on uncovering underlying issues than on teaching communication techniques. Similarly, providing tactical solutions is more aligned with behavioral or solution-focused therapies, where the emphasis is on specific problem-solving techniques and immediate behavioral changes rather than exploring the deeper psychological roots of conflict. Strengthening family hierarchies is often contrary to the objectives of psychoanalytical therapy, which seeks to understand and reorganize dynamics rather than reinforce existing power structures within the family.