3.1. THEORETICAL PROVISIONS OF SOCIAL AND CLINICAL psychology FAMILIES NECESSARY FOR A SPECIALIST TO WORK WITH THE PROJECTIVE METHOD "FAMILY SOCIOGRAM"
Family definition.
Areas of her psychological study
A family- this is a cell of society (small social group) and the most important form of organizing personal life. It is based on the marital union and family ties - the relationship between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters and other relatives living together and leading a joint household [Soloviev N. Ya., 1977].
AT psychological science The family is studied primarily within the framework of social and clinical (medical) psychology.
The subject of social psychology of the family- these are psychological patterns, features of behavior, interaction and communication of people, due to their inclusion in the family as a social group, as well as the characteristics of the family as a small group.
The subject of clinical psychology of the family are the features of family functioning in their significance for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases, as well as the preservation and promotion of the health of family members [Nikolskaya I. M., / 1m) \ 2009].
The most important characteristics of a family are considered to be its functions, structure and dynamics [Eidemiller E. G., Yustitskis V., Eidemiller E. G. et al., 2003]. The functions show what the family "does" on a daily basis, the structure - how the family works, the dynamics - how it changes in the process of its development.
In addition to these characteristics, in this section we will also consider the ionic indicators of the family as a system: the structure of family (shley, external and internal boundaries, family subsystems, etc.)
family functions.
Concepts of normally functioning
And a dysfunctional family
Function- This is the life of the family, associated with the satisfaction of certain needs of its members. The fulfillment by the family of its functions is important not only for family members, but also for society as a whole.
Household function involves the satisfaction of the material needs of family members (in food, shelter, etc.). This contributes to the preservation of their physical health, the restoration of different types activity of physical forces.
Sexual-erotic function family is to satisfy sexual and erotic needs. Taking into account social norms and requirements, it is important that the family at the same time regulates sexual and erotic behavior and ensures the biological reproduction of members of society.
educational function family concerns the individual needs of a man and a woman in fatherhood and motherhood, in contact with children and in their upbringing, as well as in the fact that parents can realize themselves in children. For society, this function ensures the socialization of children and the preparation of new members of society.
emotional function family involves meeting the needs of family members for sympathy, respect, recognition, emotional support, psychological security. This preserves mental health, promotes emotional and personal stabilization.
The function of spiritual (cultural) communication associated with the need for joint leisure activities, mutual spiritual enrichment and contributes to the spiritual development of family members.
Function of primary social control ensures that family members comply with social norms. This is especially true for those who, due to age or clinical characteristics, are not able to build their own behavior in accordance with the norms of society.
The failure of the family to fulfill its basic functions leads to violations of the physical and mental health of family members, adaptation disorders, and family breakdown. For example, a violation of the sexual-erotic function not only leads to marital conflicts and divorces, but also provokes the occurrence of severe neuropsychiatric disorders in family members. Failure of parents to fulfill the function of primary social control in relation to their children can be the cause of deviant and delinquent behavior.
With this in mind, based on the concept of family functions, two main types of families are distinguished: normally functioning and dysfunctional [Eidemiller E. G., Dobryakov I. V., Nikolskaya I. M. 2003].
Normally functioning family- this is a family that responsibly and differentiatesly performs all its functions, as a result of which the need for growth and change is satisfied both for the family as a whole and for each of its members.
dysfunctional family- this is a family in which the performance of one or more functions is impaired. As a result, the needs of family members and the family as a whole are not met. This hinders the personal growth of family members, blocks the need for self-actualization, leads to the appearance of symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders in them, and the family can lead to disintegration.
Severe family dysfunction contributes to the formation family role "symptom carrier", which is assumed by the member of the family who has the lowest social status in it due to various physical or psychological reasons. In the role of a “symptom carrier”, this family member acts as an important link in the complex mechanism of pathological adaptation of both an individual with neuropsychiatric disorders and a dysfunctional family as a whole.
dysfunctional family It's a rigid family system. Regardless of changes in external and internal conditions, it stubbornly tries to maintain the usual standards of interaction between elements of its subsystems and other systems. The "carrier of the symptom" allows the family to maintain the old established relationships between its members. His symptomatic behavior is involuntary, unconscious and beyond the control of the patient. It has a relatively strong influence on other people and can be conditionally beneficial not only to the patient, but also to family members. The carrier of the symptom acts as "identified patient"- a family member whose clinical, psychological and behavioral problems force the family to unite and seek psychological help. However, if the family is regarded as a self-regulating system, and the asymptomatic is regarded as a mechanism of regulation, then if the symptom is eliminated, the entire system will be temporarily unregulated and will be forced to move to another level of functioning. A specific feature of a dysfunctional family is its rigidity, the desire to maintain the status quo, so often it will unconsciously resist change and try to keep the symptom, despite its appeal to a specialist for help.
Family structure
Structure- this is the composition of family members, as well as the totality of their relationships. In our country, the most common structure is in which a family consists of adults (husband, wife, and in some cases grandparents) and children (usually there are one or two children in a Russian family).
The structure of the family is based on two types of relationships:
domination - subordination (hierarchy, or distribution of v power);
closeness - remoteness (connection, or emotional distance between family members).
Hierarchy, or the distribution of power, shows who in the family is in charge, who is the executor, how rights and duties are distributed among family members. From the point of view of structure, families can be distinguished where leadership is concentrated in the hands of one family member, and families where equal participation of several family members in management is expressed.
According to V. N. Druzhinin, the dominant family member provides security, is responsible for maintaining normal relations between family members, determines the prospects for life and instills faith in the future. The dominance of one of the spouses is a necessary condition for the stability of the family.
In a patriarchal family, the father dominates, while in a matriarchal family, the mother dominates. In a child-centered family, the child is psychologically dominated by his needs or whims.
When determining dominance, it is important not only who dominates, but also the hierarchy of power-subordination itself (in order of dominance), for example, Father - mother - child; Father - child - mother; Mother - father - child; Mother - child - father; Child - father - mother; Child - mother - father.
Every married couple faces the problem of separation of power and the creation of a hierarchy in the family. The concept of power is associated not only with dominance, but also with caring for other family members, the responsibility for their change. Spouses share power among themselves in different ways. For example, if in a family decisions related to home and upbringing are taken by one of the spouses, then decisions related to money and relationships with friends are in the sphere of power of the other.
When living in the family of the parents of the husband or wife, dominance becomes more difficult. More often, the maternal grandmother or paternal grandfather takes power in the family. The grandmother replaces the functions of the mother in the family, which begins to perform some of the functions of the father. The father, in turn, comes into conflict with the mother and grandmother for the right to actively participate in family life.
In cases of difficulties in the relationship between parents, a son or daughter often becomes a resource in the struggle for power between spouses, who equalize parents and occupy the highest step in the family hierarchy. In the face of children's troubles, marital problems are at least temporarily removed, it becomes possible to look at themselves as the parents that their child needs. It turns into a source of special care on the part of parents, who direct all their efforts to change behavior for the better. Violations in the behavior of children can thus be seen as protective, helping to save the family from impending disaster. In other words, the child (identified patient) "as if" comes to the rescue of both parents at the same time, unaware of his significant role.
The family, devoid of the duality of the hierarchical organization, when the position of the highest level in relation to the children is returned to the parents, becomes harmonious if the mother and father work together to change the children's behavior. In a family organization, parents need to occupy a higher position in the hierarchy than children, since they are in a position of seniority and unconditional responsibility for the child.
It is assumed that in a stable family, the same subject has power and responsibility, and family members are psychologically closer to him than to each other.
It happens when one of the spouses arrogates to himself the right to single-handedly decide the main issues on which the life of the family depends, while the other becomes powerless and enters into a coalition with the child, which undermines the power of the head of the family.
Sometimes the source of power is the illness of one of the family members (depression, alcoholism, fears, psychosomatic disorders). It acts as a means to help achieve a relative balance in the possession of power.
The family will exist harmoniously in those cases when the distribution of power established in it does not interfere with the performance of its main functions aimed at meeting the needs of family members.
Connection(cohesion) is the psychological distance between family members. On the different stages life cycle of the family, it is different, reflecting the changing needs of its members. The general rule is that if the psychological distance is very close (symbiosis) or, on the contrary, very far (separation), this can lead to family dysfunction. Symbiotic relationships prevent the formation of self-images of family members and block the need in growth and change. Disunity as an autonomous existence does not allow the family to perform its main functions: emotional, spiritual (cultural) communication, primary social control, etc.
Family structure disorders make it difficult for the family to fulfill its functions or interfere with it, which also leads to the appearance of family dysfunction. For example, when the usual composition of the family changes (the death of a mother, the absence of a father, childlessness), the family is immediately placed in the “risk” group, since the performance of educational and other functions suffers. No less problems can be associated with disruption of relationships. So, too much distance between parents and children leads them to a lonely autonomous existence, gives rise to a feeling of low value and insecurity. Another example is the struggle for power between spouses, which is the first impetus for quarrels in two out of three divorced couples. Another example is the unequal distribution of domestic duties among family members, which leads to an overload of women, their unbearable psychological stress.
It should be remembered that with the development of the family, its functions naturally change: some are lost, others appear in accordance with new social conditions. As a result, the structure of the family also changes. According to sociologists, at present in our country there are simultaneously functioning trimodel family, differing in their structure: patriarchal, child-centric and matrimonial [Golod S.I., 1998]. In reality, they are mutually intertwined, however, in the practice of family counseling and psychotherapy, one can often encounter extreme variants of such families that have both sanogenic and pathogenic effects on their members.
patriarchal family the most archaic. It is characterized by relations of domination-submission: the dependence of the wife on the husband, the children on the parents, the youngest child on the eldest. And this connection is a rigid consolidation of family roles.
Marriage is outwardly stable, the family consists of several generations: grandparents, parents and children. Large families are welcome, since the household function is one of the most important for this family.
The husband is considered the main one in the family: all the economic resources of the family are concentrated in his hands, he makes all the main decisions. The wife takes the surname of her husband, obeys him and treats him with respect. Its main functions are to give birth and raise children, to run a household. The family is distinguished by parental authority and an authoritarian system of education.
The rigid hierarchical structure of the patriarchal family can lead to the fact that subordinate family members, especially the wife and children, will be dissatisfied with the distribution of power that prevents the satisfaction of their needs. As a result given family can turn into dysfunctional with all the ensuing consequences. So, for example, a problem that is relevant for many regions of our country family violence is directly related to living in a family with this structure.
Child-centric family elevates the role of privacy, intimacy and values of children. Relations between husband and wife are more or less equal, sexuality practiced in marriage is not limited to procreation. The husband and wife regulate the timing and frequency of conception and jointly decide on the number of children. Socialization takes on a different meaning, since there can be only one child in a family, who often spends most of his time with his parents, and not with his children.
He turns into an object of special parental care and enduring affection, they try to give him the best possible education. The main function of the family is educational. Parenting styles are diverse: from authoritarian to pampered. In general, children enjoy a large number material and spiritual wealth than their parents, and can act as the main meaning of the family. When children grow up, they can separate from their parents, however, having separated, they do not lose contact with the parental family. Parents provide material and moral support to their children, hoping that, if necessary, they will act towards them properly.
The central position of a child in a child-centric family can in some cases lead to the fact that he receives more power than his parents, and begins to manage them at his own discretion, dictating his will. Another problem with this family model is that too close a distance, often a symbiotic relationship between the parent(s) and the child can lead to their mutual emotional dependence. As a result, an egocentric adult child from such a family is often unable to live without the support of his parents, and parents, in turn, may prevent his separation, fearing to lose the main meaning of his existence and experiencing anxiety to remain alone, relinquishing parental obligations.
changed in the 20th century. the social status of women, her struggle for equal rights with men led to the emergence marital family model. matrimony- this is a personal interaction of a husband and wife, regulated by moral principles and their intrinsic values. Such interaction is characterized by the symmetry of rights and at the same time the asymmetry of the roles of husband and wife,
The husband's conscious encouragement of his wife's individuality is associated with an increase in the significance of her personal characteristics for him. Of particular importance for the husband was the wife's sexual expressiveness, and not only her economic and practical qualities and health, which in the past were of decisive importance when choosing a spouse.
Husband and wife ceased to unconditionally subordinate their own interests to the interests of children, sexuality ceased to be reduced to childbearing, eroticism became characteristic of marital relations in Poland. The marital model of the family has opened up wide opportunities for autonomy and self-realization for each family member: the interests of the husband and wife have become more diverse than family ones, and their needs and social circle go beyond marriage.
The frequency of regular communication of spouses with their parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and other relatives in this family is low.
In some cases, spouses may deliberately refuse to have children, believing that the appearance of a child can interfere with their close relationship, successful professional career, personal and spiritual growth.
A decrease in the sexual attractiveness of a partner and a loss of interest in him often become a factor leading to the disintegration of a married family. If a child grows up in it, then quite often close relationships between spouses and their priority lead to his autonomy and personal instability.
Family psychology - a relatively young branch of psychological knowledge, which is in its infancy. It is based on the richest practice of family psychotherapy, the experience of psychological assistance to the family and family counseling, the practice of psychological counseling of parents on the upbringing and development of children and adolescents. Distinctive feature family psychology as scientific discipline became its inextricable link with psychological practice. It was the social demand for optimizing the life of the family, increasing the efficiency of marriage and child-parent relationships, solving the problems of raising children in the family that accelerated the development and process of institutionalization of this scientific discipline. A change in the demographic situation - a drop in the birth rate and, as a result, an increase in the proportion of one-child families - leads to difficulties in personal development and insufficient communicative competence of children brought up in such families. It should be noted the unsatisfactory level of implementation by the father of the educational function in a significant number of Russian families. Along with the favorable trend of active inclusion of the father in the process of upbringing even at the stage of early childhood of the child, the tendency of the father to distance himself from the problems of upbringing, his low emotional involvement and orientation towards parenthood, which is a significant factor in achieving personal identity and psychological maturity, is equally pronounced. Migration of the population associated with employment and characteristics professional activity, led to an increase in the number of functionally single-parent families in which one of the spouses cannot constantly fulfill their roles.
The theoretical basis of family psychology was research in social psychology, personality psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, clinical psychology. Social Psychology, based on the idea of the family as a small group, studies the issues of the role structure of the family and leadership in the family, the stages of development of the family as a group, the problems of choosing a marriage partner, problems of family cohesion, conflicts in the family and ways to resolve them. Developmental psychology and age-related psychology The focus of his research was the patterns of personality development in the family at different age stages, the content, conditions and factors of socialization, the problems of raising a child in the family, and the psychological characteristics of parent-child relationships. Age-related psychological counseling aimed at monitoring the progress mental development child, prevention and correction of negative development trends, considers the family and family education as the most important component of the social situation of the child's development. Family education and pedagogy have always been the most important branch of pedagogical science. Personality psychology considers communication and interpersonal relationships in the family as the basis for personal growth and self-realization, develops forms and methods of optimization personal development person, taking into account the resources of the family. Within the framework of clinical psychology, intrafamily relations are considered as an important factor in the context of the problems of etiology, therapy and rehabilitation after overcoming mental disorders and deviations. So, the system of scientific knowledge obtained in various areas of psychological research, the experience of the practice of providing psychological assistance to the family and family counseling created the theoretical basis of modern family psychology, the urgent task of which is to integrate knowledge about the family and practical experience of working with the family into a holistic psychological discipline - family psychology. . The subject of family psychology is the functional structure of the family, the main patterns and dynamics of its development; personal development in the family.
The tasks of family psychology include:
- study of the patterns of formation and development of the functional-role structure of the family at various stages of its life cycle;
- study of the premarital period, features of the search and choice of a marriage partner;
- the study psychological features marital relations;
- study of the psychological characteristics of child-parent relationships;
- study of the role of family education in the development of a child at various age stages;
- study of non-normative family crises and development of strategies to overcome them.
The relevance of the development of a new scientific discipline - family psychology - is associated with a general deterioration in the psychological atmosphere and an increase in dysfunction and conflict in a significant part of Russian families.
The subject and tasks of family psychology
C/r describe your family according to the criteria specified in the family typology.
Lecture 1. Psychology of family relations
- The subject and tasks of family psychology.
- Theoretical basis family counseling
- Family Approaches
- Basic principles of family counseling
- The main stages of psychological counseling of the family
Development of marriage and family relations in the history of society
Three historical family types
The family as an integral system
・Family functions
Family typology
The Yugoslav writer B. Nusic gives the opinions of representatives of various professions about marriage:
Historian: "Marriage is one of the very rare historical phenomena when the winner submits to the subordinate."
Writer: "Marriage is an interesting story, and sometimes a romance with a very beautiful beginning, but often with poor content and most often with an unexpected end."
Physicist: "Marriage is such a phenomenon when two bodies, in order to acquire greater stability, have a common but imaginary point of support and therefore lose their balance very easily."
Chemist: “Marriage is a combination of two elements, each of which still retains its own characteristics. A drop of foreign acid that has entered this compound causes a reaction in it and decomposes it into its component parts.
Doctor: “Marriage is a poison that contains an antidote in itself. Patients feel best at high temperature and very badly at normal. Diet in this case does not help, as it only worsens the patient's condition.
Prosecutor: "Marriage is a temporary reconciliation of two warring parties."
Family psychology- a relatively young branch of psychological knowledge, which is in its infancy. It is based on the richest practice of family psychotherapy, the experience of psychological assistance to the family and family counseling, the practice of psychological counseling of parents on the upbringing and development of children and adolescents. A distinctive feature of family psychology as a scientific discipline is its inseparable connection with psychological practice.
Unfavorable trends:
1. socio-economic conditions: instability of the social system, low material standard of living, problems of professional employment in most regions of Russia, transformation of the traditionally established role structure of the family and the distribution of role functions between spouses.
2. the number of dysfunctional families is increasing, in which deviant behavior spouses - alcoholism, aggression, communication disorders, unsatisfied needs of partners for respect, love and recognition cause an increase in emotional and personality disorders, tension, loss of a sense of love and security, violations of personal growth and identity formation.
3. Changes in the demographic situation - a drop in the birth rate and, as a result, an increase in the proportion of one-child families - leads to difficulties in personal development and insufficient communicative competence of children brought up in such families. It should be noted the unsatisfactory level of implementation by the father of the educational function in a significant number of Russian families.
4. reduction and impoverishment of communication in the family, lack of emotional warmth, acceptance, low awareness of parents about the real needs, interests and problems of the child, lack of cooperation and cooperation in the family lead to difficulties in the development of children.
5. At the same time, we can state a trend of shifting parental functions to children's educational institutions (kindergartens, schools), as well as to specially invited staff (nannies, governesses) and, thereby, self-exclusion of parents from the process of raising a child.
The theoretical basis of family psychology was research:
- Social psychology, based on the idea of a family as a small group, studies the issues of the role structure of the family and leadership in the family, the stages of development of the family as a group, the problems of choosing a marriage partner, problems of family cohesion, conflicts in the family and ways to resolve them.
- Developmental psychology and developmental psychology have made the patterns of personality development in the family at different age stages, the content, conditions and factors of socialization, the problems of raising a child in the family, and the psychological characteristics of child-parent relationships the focus of their research.
- Age-related psychological counseling, aimed at monitoring the course of the child's mental development, preventing and correcting negative developmental trends, considers the family and family education as the most important component of the social situation of the child's development.
- Family education and pedagogy have always been the most important branch of pedagogical science.
- Personality psychology considers communication and interpersonal relationships in the family as the basis for personal growth and self-realization, develops forms and methods for optimizing a person's personal development, taking into account family resources.
- Within the framework of clinical psychology, intrafamily relations are considered as an important factor in the context of the problems of etiology, therapy and rehabilitation after overcoming mental disorders and deviations.
So, the system of scientific knowledge obtained in various fields psychological research, the experience of the practice of providing psychological assistance to the family and family counseling created the theoretical basis of modern family psychology, the urgent task of which is to integrate knowledge about the family and practical experience of working with the family into a holistic psychological discipline - family psychology.
The subject of family psychology are the functional structure of the family, the main patterns and dynamics of its development; personal development in the family.
The tasks of family psychology include:
- study of the patterns of formation and development of the functional-role structure of the family at various stages of its life cycle;
- study of the premarital period, features of the search and choice of marriage
partner - the study of the psychological characteristics of marital relations;
- study of the psychological characteristics of child-parent relationships;
study of the role of family education in the development of the child at various - age stages;
- study of non-normative family crises and development of strategies to overcome them.
Family approaches:
Psychoanalytic approach. The focus is on child-parent relationships, which determine the development of the individual and the success of her family life in the future. The unit of analysis is a personality in its relationship with a partner, the main patterns of these relationships are the Oedipus complex and the Electra complex. It is assumed that in marital relations, patients unconsciously tend to repeat the basic patterns of relationships with their own parents. Psychological work is focused on the reconstruction and recreation of the past, awareness of the repressed and repressed.
Behavioral Approach. The focus here is not on deep causes, but on the erroneous behavior and actions of family members, which act as an obstacle and an obstacle to solving problem situations. Within the framework of the behavioral approach, various forms of training work with parents have become widespread. Work with spouses is built within the framework of the theory of social exchange, according to which each individual seeks to obtain the maximum reward at the lowest cost. A feature of behavioral work with the family is the preference for dyadic interaction as a unit of psychological analysis and influence. The choice of a dyad (for comparison, in systemic family psychotherapy, work is carried out with a triad that includes spouses-parents and a child) is justified by the supremacy of the principle of social exchange in the analysis of the patterns of family functioning.
Systems approach . The family acts as a system striving for the preservation (the law of homeostasis) and the development of relationships. In its history, the family consistently and naturally goes through a series of crises (marriage, the birth of a child, the child entering school, graduation from school and self-determination, separation from parents and leaving, etc.). Each of the crises requires the reorganization and restructuring of the family system. Family dysfunction is defined as the inability of a family to meet the needs of all its members, which is reflected in the symptomatic behavior of any of them. Behavioral disorders and emotional and personal disorders of one of the family members, according to structural family psychotherapy, are an indicator of family dysfunction as a single holistic organism. The therapist's attention is focused on the processes taking place in the family at the present time, without distant excursions into the past. The way to overcome family problems is to change inadequate patterns of transactions, loosen the old family system and establish new boundaries that ensure its balanced functioning.
Despite the significant differences between the above approaches in their views on the causes and ways to overcome problems, in theoretical explanatory models, one can single out the general goals of family psychotherapy:
Increasing the plasticity of the role structure of the family - the flexibility of the distribution of roles, interchangeability; establishing a reasonable balance in resolving issues of power and dominance;
Establishing open and clear communication;
Solving family problems and reducing the severity of negative symptoms;
Creation of conditions for the development of self-concept and personal growth of all family members without exception.
Basic principles of family counseling:
The principle of voluntariness of the client's request is the most important ethical principle of family counseling. The exceptions are situations when psychological examination and influence are carried out according to a court order. During the initial appointment, it is important for the consultant to establish who initiated the consultation, how other family members reacted to this, and what is the measure of their readiness to join the common work.
Principle of confidentiality guarantees the personal and social security of contacting the client's consultation and the preservation of secrets and information obtained during the consultation. The principle of confidentiality is ensured by special procedures for storing the information received, the anonymity of the client's appeal, the professional code of ethics and can be violated only in cases where there is a threat to the life and safety of the client or third parties.
The principle of personal responsibility of the client means the recognition of the right of a personal choice by the client of one or another solution to the problem and, at the same time, responsibility for the implementation decision, its consequences and risks. reverse side The medal of this principle is the client's readiness for self-development, reflection of their family relationships, actions and their causes, "strong" and "weak" aspects of their personality.
Principle professional competence and responsibility of the consultant. Family counseling is an extremely responsible type of practical activity of a psychologist. Accordingly, the requirements for the professional training and qualifications of the consultant should provide the necessary level of competence in solving the problems of the development and functioning of the family.
The principle of stereoscopic diagnosis defines the requirement to study the psychological characteristics of the family from the standpoint of all its members, "through the eyes" of all participants in the family process. The image of family relations and family interaction for both spouses, parents and children performs an orienting function, determines the direction and content of the activity of each of the participants in such interaction. The stereoscopic nature of the diagnosis means the construction of a three-dimensional picture of the family, in which the images of the family of each of its members are correlated and the objective situation of family interaction.
The principle of family history reconstruction requires the reconstruction of the genesis of the family and the development of the history of family relations. As a rule, the reconstruction of family history is combined in family counseling with a focus on establishing causal relationships. A methodological technique that allows you to recreate the history of a family is to build a “line of its life” - all the most significant events in their chronological connection and continuity, starting with the acquaintance of future partners. It is important to identify not only the events themselves, but also the peculiarities of their perception and experience by each of the family members. The implementation of this principle stimulates the development of reflexivity of partners, opens up opportunities for joint analysis of the problem situation, its interpretation and decision-making.
The principle of collaborative decision making is a logical continuation of the principles of personal responsibility of the client and the professional competence and responsibility of the consultant. Decisions and recommendations cannot be given to the client in finished form - this is the main postulate of psychological counseling. Here are the reasons for the need to reject ready-made recommendations:
The development of recommendations and decision-making should be carried out in joint activities, where the function of the consultant is to organize the orientation of the client in a problem situation; the allocation of essential conditions for its resolution; identifying their meaning and personal meaning; choosing a solution from a range of jointly built options for possible actions and their consequences; finally, in the development of a plan for the implementation of the decision.
The principle of involving a wide social environment involves reliance on social, interpersonal and intra-family resources to help the family in solving emerging problems.
The principle of complexity in working with the family. It is obvious that family problems do not always close in the circle of the psychological problems of the family context. Because of this, specialists in family psychology and family counseling, as a rule, work in close contact with developmental and child psychologists, social workers, teachers and educators, doctors, family therapists, lawyers, and sexologists.
The principle of unity of diagnostics and correction means that any diagnostic procedure has an undoubted corrective value, is a type of psychological impact that has a certain effect on the individual and family. The performance of any of the proposed tasks, whether it is a projective task, filling out questionnaires or a diagnostic interview, leads to an increase in the client's level of awareness of family problems, the conditions that give rise to them, and their consequences for family functioning. The corrective influence and its effect, in turn, provides important diagnostic information for testing hypotheses about the causes of difficulties in family life.
The principle of structuring positions in the consulting process. The following options for the ratio of positions can be distinguished: “on an equal footing”, “consultant from above”, and “client from above”. The option “on an equal footing” implies equal cooperation between the consultant and the client, in which the consultant has the necessary competence and provides the necessary and sufficient information to the client to organize the process of making an informed decision, and the client is the bearer of a problem that reflects family dysfunction. The “consultant from above” option assumes an unequal directive-dependency relationship, when the consultant is directive, is the bearer of unique knowledge, assumes full decision-making and responsibility, and the client is dependent and implements a subordination attitude and delegates the right to make a decision to the consultant. The “client from above” option expresses the pragmatic orientation of the client, who assumes that paying for the services of a consultant opens up the possibility for him to dictate his requirements and wishes regarding the impact and influence on third parties. Here the client already comes with a ready-made solution to the problem, and the consultant is delegated the responsibility to justify this solution and provide the conditions for its implementation.
The principle of identifying the subtext of the client's appeal. When determining the subtext of the complaint, attention should be paid to the nature of the client's motivational orientation and his relationship with the consultant. There are three options for client orientation: business (adequate or inadequate - with an exaggeration of the strength and capabilities of the consultant), rental (aimed at obtaining benefits and profits from consulting), gaming (aimed at testing the consultant and checking his competence.
Olga Alexandrovna Karabanova. Psychology of FAMILY RELATIONS AND BASIS OF FAMILY COUNSELING
Series PSYCHOLOGIA UNIVERSALIS
Founded by the Gardariki publishing house in 2000
MOSCOW, GARDARIKI 2005
Recommended by the Council for Psychology of the UMO for classical university education as a teaching aid for students of higher educational institutions students in the direction and specialties of psychology.
AT study guide the problems of the genesis, development and functioning of the family as an integral system in the unity of its structural and functional components are considered. The main characteristics of marital relations (emotional ties, role structure of the family, features of communication, cohesion), harmonious and disharmonious families are given. Particular attention is paid to parent-child relationships and the problems of raising children in the family, emotional relations between parents and children, including the specifics of maternal and paternal love, the attachment of the child, and the parameters of family education.
Addressed to students of psychological and pedagogical universities, professionals working with families, practical psychologists, teachers, social workers, as well as parents.
INTRODUCTION
The subject and tasks of family psychology
Family psychology is a relatively young branch of psychological knowledge, which is in its infancy. It is based on the richest practice of family psychotherapy, the experience of psychological assistance to the family and family counseling, the practice of psychological counseling of parents on the upbringing and development of children and adolescents. A distinctive feature of family psychology as a scientific discipline has become its inseparable connection with psychological practice. It was the social demand for optimizing the life of the family, increasing the efficiency of marriage and child-parent relationships, solving the problems of raising children in the family that accelerated the development and process of institutionalization of this scientific discipline.
Over the past decade, a number of disturbing trends have emerged that testify to crisis phenomena in the life of the family, affecting both marital and parent-child relationships. The relevance of the development of a new scientific discipline - family psychology - is associated with a general deterioration in the psychological atmosphere and an increase in dysfunction and conflict in a significant part of Russian families. These unfavorable trends are explained by socio-economic conditions: the instability of the social system, the low material standard of living, the problems of professional employment in most regions of Russia, the transformation of the traditionally established role structure of the family and the distribution of role functions between spouses. The number of dysfunctional families is increasing, in which the deviant behavior of spouses - alcoholism, aggression, - communication disorders, unmet needs of partners for respect, love and recognition cause an increase in emotional and personal disorders, tension, loss of a sense of love and security, violations of personal growth and identity formation .
A change in the demographic situation - a drop in the birth rate and, as a result, an increase in the proportion of one-child families - leads to difficulties in personal development and insufficient communicative competence of children brought up in such families. It should be noted the unsatisfactory level of implementation by the father of the educational function in a significant number of Russian families. Along with the favorable trend of active inclusion of the father in the process of upbringing even at the stage of early childhood of the child, the tendency of the father to distance himself from the problems of upbringing, his low emotional involvement and orientation towards parenthood, which is a significant factor in achieving personal identity and psychological maturity, is equally pronounced. Migration of the population associated with employment and the peculiarities of professional activity has led to an increase in the number of functionally single-parent families in which one of the spouses cannot constantly fulfill their roles.
The disharmony of the system of family education is a fairly common symptom of the dysfunction of the modern Russian family, where the actual indicators of the disharmony of the family style of education should be considered the increase in cases of child abuse, hypoprotection and conflicting education.
The increase in the number of divorces - at least 1/3 of families that are married, breaks up - has become one of the most acute social problems. The cost of divorce is extremely high. In terms of stress, divorce occupies one of the first places among difficult life events. The result of divorce and family breakdown is the formation of an incomplete family, mainly of the maternal type. In a significant number of cases in such a family, there is a role overload of the mother and, as a result, a decrease in the effectiveness of education. The psychological consequences of divorce and the upbringing of children in an incomplete family are violations of the development of the self-concept, violations of the formation of gender-role identity, affective disorders, and violations of communication with peers and in the family.
Another social problem is the growing number of informal (civil) marriages. Between 1980 and 2000, the number of common-law marriages increased sixfold; 30% of men aged 18 to 30 live in a civil marriage, 85% get married in the future, and only 40% of marriages remain. The main reason for preferring civil marriages is the unwillingness of spouses to take full responsibility for the family, partner and children. Because of this, a family living in a civil marriage is quite often characterized by destructiveness, conflict, and a low level of security.
Another one social problem associated with an increase in the number of children left without parental care, in particular, a sharp increase in social orphanhood (with living parents). Today, there are more than 500,000 such orphans. The reasons for social orphanhood are an increase in cases of deprivation of parental rights (about 25%), parents abandoning a child and transferring parental rights to the state (60%), temporary placement of children by parents in orphanages and children's homes due to difficult material and economic situation of the family (15%). In the case of deprivation of parental rights in the vast majority of families (more than 90%), the father and mother suffer from alcoholism. Voluntary abandonment of parenthood is most often due to the illness of the child, difficult material and living conditions, usually in an incomplete family. The number of homeless children is increasing. Thus, an insufficiently thought-out system of housing privatization has led to a sharp increase in homeless children. The expansion of the network of social rehabilitation centers and social shelters makes it possible, to a certain extent, to provide the necessary level of protection and social adaptation such children, however, neither the number of such institutions, nor the level of psychological assistance provided to pupils in these centers can be considered sufficient and satisfactory to ensure the conditions for their full mental development.
Reduction and impoverishment of communication in the family, lack of emotional warmth, acceptance, low awareness of parents about the real needs, interests and problems of the child, lack of cooperation and cooperation in the family lead to difficulties in the development of children. At the same time, we can state a trend of shifting parental functions to children's educational institutions (kindergartens, schools), as well as to specially invited staff (nannies, governesses) and, thereby, self-exclusion of parents from the process of raising a child.
The theoretical basis of family psychology was research in social psychology, personality psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, and clinical psychology. Social psychology, based on the idea of a family as a small group, studies the issues of the role structure of the family and leadership in the family, the stages of development of the family as a group, the problems of choosing a marriage partner, problems of family cohesion, conflicts in the family and ways to resolve them. Developmental psychology and developmental psychology have made the patterns of personality development in the family at different age stages, the content, conditions and factors of socialization, the problems of raising a child in the family, and the psychological characteristics of child-parent relationships the focus of their research. Age-related psychological counseling, aimed at monitoring the course of the child's mental development, preventing and correcting negative developmental trends, considers the family and family education as the most important component of the social situation of the child's development. Family education and pedagogy have always been the most important branch of pedagogical science. Personality psychology considers communication and interpersonal relationships in the family as the basis for personal growth and self-realization, develops forms and methods for optimizing a person's personal development, taking into account family resources. Within the framework of clinical psychology, intrafamily relations are considered as an important factor in the context of the problems of etiology, therapy and rehabilitation after overcoming mental disorders and deviations. So, the system of scientific knowledge obtained in various areas of psychological research, the experience of the practice of providing psychological assistance to the family and family counseling have created theoretical basis of modern family psychology, whose actual task is to integrate knowledge about the family and practical experience of working with the family into a holistic psychological discipline - family psychology.
The subject of family psychology are the functional structure of the family, the main patterns and dynamics of its development; personal development in the family.
Tasks of family psychology include:
- study of the patterns of formation and development of the functional-role structure of the family at various stages of its life cycle;
- study of the premarital period, features of the search and choice of a marriage partner;
- the study of the psychological characteristics of marital relations;
- study of the psychological characteristics of child-parent relationships;
- study of the role of family education in the development of a child at various age stages;
- study of non-normative family crises and development of strategies to overcome them.
Practical application of knowledge in the field of family psychology involves the following activities of a family psychologist and family consultant:
- psychological counseling on marriage issues, including the choice of a marriage partner and marriage;
- counseling on marital relations (diagnostics, correction, prevention);
- psychological help family in crisis situations and divorces;
- counseling, diagnosis, prevention and correction of child-parent relationships;
- psychological counseling on the upbringing and development of children and adolescents (diagnostics, prevention, correction of disorders and deviations in development);
- psychological counseling on the problems of raising children at risk and gifted children;
- psychological assistance in matters of adoption and upbringing of adopted children;
- psychological prevention of deviations and developmental disorders in children and adolescents brought up “without a family” (in conditions of deprivation of communication with a close adult);
- psychological counseling and support of pregnancy and childbirth;
- psychological support of the formation of parenthood.
Questions and tasks
Continuation. - Imagine yourself a different child or the same one, but who ended up in a different family. It's a completely different atmosphere here. You feel naturalness, honesty and love. You feel that your soul, heart and mind are in perfect harmony. People around you express their love, respect for each other. Here you will always be listened to, and you will listen with interest to others. You are considered, you can openly show your joy and pain, you do not need to hide. Talking about failure, you are not afraid that you will be ridiculed, because. everyone in this family understands that along with the risk, with trying something new in life, you can make a mistake, which only means that you grow and develop. The people in this family look different. Their movements are graceful and free, their facial expressions are peaceful. People look at each other, and not through each other or at the floor, they are sincere and natural in their relationship with each other. Members of this family feel so free with each other that they are not shy about talking about their feelings. Everything can be expressed - disappointment, fear, pain, anger, criticism, as well as a joke and praise. This family is capable of productive and coordinated planning of its life, however, when the life situation changes, these changes are calmly assessed and the plan is flexibly transformed, corresponding to new conditions. Members of this family are able to respond without panic to various changes in life. In this family, it is clearly seen that human life and people's feelings are the most important, much more important than anything else. Parents feel like inspirational leaders, not authority figures. Their actions do not match their words. Parents know that initially children cannot be bad. They never react to the behavior of the child in a way that humiliates his dignity. On the contrary, they ask about what is happening, listen, try to better understand and delve into the experience of the child, taking into account the natural desire of the child to learn new things and be good. You feel like a full-fledged person in this family, loved, valuable in itself, needed, surrounded by people who expect love, recognition and respect from you.
Theory. There are two types of systems: closed and open. The main differences between them are determined by the nature of the reaction to internal and external changes. In a closed system, its parts are fixedly connected. In any case, the exchange of information between the elements does not occur, regardless of where the information comes from - from the outside or from the inside. Open - one in which the parts are interconnected, mobile, receptive to each other and allow information to pass inside it or go beyond it. V. Satir believes that a closed system operates in dysfunctional families, and open - in harmonious.
Schemes of functioning of systems:
closed system
In closed systems, a sense of self-worth is secondary to power and performance; actions depend on the whim of the boss / authority / senior; any change must be resisted.
open system
In open systems, a sense of self-worth is primary, power and performance are secondary; actions reflect the principles of man; changes are welcome, considered natural and desirable.
Topic: Basic theoretical provisions about the family as a psychological category.
Theory. As mentioned earlier, the family in systemic family therapy is seen as a system. And each system, as you know, has its own dynamics - the ability to change. The functions and structure of the family may change depending on the stages of its life. Change is something that every family has. The family is the only social group that has adapted to the many events that follow each other in such a small living space over such a short time.
Based on the study of the structure and dynamics of the family, psychologists and sociologists distinguish such concepts as types and types of families.
Typology of family models.
According to the size of the family, they are divided into:
- Nuclear - consist of adults and children who depend on them (two generations). They can be complete (both parents) and incomplete (one of the parents is missing). Incomplete are divided into actually incomplete (as a result of divorce / widowhood) and maternal (illegitimate birth and upbringing of children).
- Extended - include the nuclear family and relatives (three generations: grandparents, grandchildren, sisters, brothers, etc.).
- Binuclear - when, after a divorce, parents create new families, as a result of this, the child has, as it were, two pairs of parents between whom relationships are maintained. The child periodically lives with one or the other, sometimes two families spend their free time together.
According to the consistency of the role positions of men and women:
- The patriarchal (dominator) family is a male leader, his power over all family members is unlimited. Also called traditional.
- Matriarchal (matrimonial) - authoritarianism comes from the feminine.
- Egalitarian (partnership or biarchy) - power is evenly distributed between a man and a woman, built on the interchangeability of role positions.
- Child-centered - the child is psychologically dominant, his needs are whims. The main task of parents is to ensure the "happiness of the child." Symbiosis of an adult and a child. As a result of upbringing in such a family, the child develops an inflated self-esteem, a sense of personal significance, but the likelihood of conflict with the environment outside the family increases. Therefore, children from such families may assess the world as hostile.
Comparison of normative attitudes of gender-role behavior in families:
Dominant family |
Partner family |
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By blood ties:
- native family
- Foster family or foster family.
V.S.Torokhty distinguishes families according to the following features:
According to the number of children (childless/interventile, one-child, small, large).
By the quality and atmosphere in the family (prosperous, stable, pedagogically weak, unstable, disorganized).
By the nature of psychological health (healthy, neurotic, victimogenic).
According to the national composition (monoethnic and polyethnic).
Theory. The most common classification of interaction styles in the family.
Liberal style (permissive) - the absence in the family of any relationship between parents and children: the alienation of parents from children, their complete indifference to the affairs and feelings of children. Such parents are prone to one of the well-known polar types of relationships - to hypoprotection (insufficient love, its absence). They hardly care about their child. They leave everything to chance, not revealing interest in relation to the child. The basis of fatherhood is a sense of duty, duty. There is almost no emotional warmth in the relationship with the child. In the parental relationship, ignoring the needs of the child predominates because of the depth in personal affairs and experiences. The child is left to himself. Hidden hypo-custody may take place (that is, control and care for the child are formal), but in this case, the parents do not satisfy one of the most important needs of the child - the need for love and acceptance. Children tend to: a feeling of "acquired insecurity" (hopelessness and humility, which is acquired when the child does not feel the possibility of control over recurring troubles), which, with further development, leads to the appearance of apathy and even depression, to avoid contact with new people, to a general distrust of people. These children are characterized by antisocial behavior. Lack of parental care is a very traumatic factor. Children may have a low level of intelligence, especially non-verbal, emotional immaturity, lack of intelligibility in contacts with others (they quickly become attached and quickly wean). Often they are aggressive towards their peers, deprived of social activity.
Authoritarian style (controlling). Includes significant restrictions on the behavior of children, a clear explanation to the child of the content of the restrictions. Such parents constantly make different (sometimes quite difficult to fulfill) requirements for the child. There is hypercontrol. At the same time, parents do not notice the dominance of their behavior, or perceive it as normal and natural: “I only wish her well” or “I know better how to behave in such situations.” This can be called hyperprotection or symbiosis: an obsessive desire to keep, bind a child to oneself, deprive him of independence due to the fear that some kind of grief may happen to the child in the future. In this case, the decrease in the possibilities and abilities of the child leads the parents to maximum control and limitation. Such parents give preference to such kind of influence as order and violence. Children are fearful, lack of initiative, indecisive, unsure of themselves and their abilities, with poor self-control of behavior, inactive or vice versa with tough self-guidance. Negative mood prevails. It is difficult for them to establish contact with peers. In relationships with their parents, such children can be hypocritical, lie, sometimes show outright hatred. In an authoritarian family, respect for the authority of elders is brought up. The main requirement is submission. The result of the child's socialization in such a family is the ability to easily "join" the vertically organized social structure. Children easily learn traditional norms, but have difficulty in forming personal families. Lack of initiative, inflexible, act on the basis of ideas about how it should be.
Democratic style (style of consent). It is determined by the following parameters: a high level of verbal communication between parents and children, the involvement of children in the discussion of family problems, issues (their opinion is taken into account), the willingness of parents to help if necessary, along with faith in the success of the child’s independent activity, limiting personal subjectivity in the vision of a child. Such parents bring up in children: independence, teach to define personal values, and to think independently. Relationships in such families involve cooperation, mutual assistance, a developed culture of feelings and emotions, as well as real and complete equality of all participants in the family union. Children are distinguished by social activity, the presence of an internal locus of control, and easily come into contact with peers. A good mood prevails in children, they are self-confident, with developed self-control of behavior, they strive for research, search, and do not avoid new situations. The goal is mutual trust, acceptance and autonomy of its members.
Topic: Family development.
Theory. Each group has its own "point of origin", the primary reason for the association. The family in this case is no exception. In this case, we are interested in what brought the spouses together and how the initial expectations are realized, what factors determine them, and on what principles marital relations are currently built. Interpersonal attractiveness is supported by factors that are of particular value to this or that individual or give him certain hopes that social contact with this partner will be favorable [Mikula, 1977].
One of the theories explaining the principles of choosing a marriage partner is the complex theory of Murstein (1976). According to this theory, three factors, three forces of attraction, act in the choice: motives, merits and role. These forces act sequentially in three phases, their value changes in each phase. What passes through the filter passes into the next phase.
In the first phase (motivation), such factors as external attractiveness and demeanor play a significant role. It is also important how these characteristics are evaluated by others. The meaning of a drive is thus relative within a given situation.
In the second phase (dignity), the center of gravity shifts mainly to the area of similarity of interests, points of view, scale of values. Partners at a meeting get to know each other, receive information about the interests, the scale of values of each of them. If significant discrepancies are revealed here and the identified shortcomings are not compensated by any advantages, the partners disperse, believing that they are not suitable for each other.