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What Makes Susie Cry? A Symptom‐Context Study of Family Therapy
Author(s) -
CRITSCHRISTOPH PAUL,
LUBORSKY LESTER,
GAY ELLEN,
TODD THOMAS,
BARBER JACQUES P.,
LUBORSKY ELLEN
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
family process
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.011
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1545-5300
pISSN - 0014-7370
DOI - 10.1111/j.1545-5300.1991.00337.x
Subject(s) - crying , hostility , psychology , context (archaeology) , family therapy , session (web analytics) , discriminant function analysis , developmental psychology , social environment , aggression , social relation , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , social psychology , paleontology , machine learning , world wide web , computer science , political science , law , biology
The aim of this investigation was to examine the context of recurrent crying episodes during family therapy sessions. We tested the relative contribution of social versus individual intrapsychic variables within a 10‐session, videotaped, structural family therapy. Segments of therapy before crying episodes when compared with control (non‐crying) segments were found to have higher levels of the following variables: involvement with others in the room, rejection, and concern about supplies. Two family variables were also higher before crying episodes: family discussion about patient, and patient receives hostility. A stepwise discriminant function analysis using these variables indicated that family discussion about the patient was most important in signaling onset of crying. The results are discussed in terms of individual and family theories of symptom formation as illuminated through this case study.