Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Therapist Development Center Practice Exam

What intervention is most likely used by a therapist employing a structural approach to address a family's issues?

1. Genogram

2. Paradoxical directive

3. Enactment

4. Circular questioning

The correct answer is: Enactment

A therapist employing a structural approach focuses on understanding and altering family dynamics and hierarchies to improve relationships and communication within the family. Enactment is a key intervention in this model, as it involves having family members act out their interactions within the therapy session. This allows the therapist to observe these interactions in real-time and to facilitate changes in behavior and communication patterns. Through enactment, the therapist can help families become aware of dysfunctional patterns, clarify roles, and practice new, healthier ways of interacting. This method exemplifies the structural therapy principle of modifying family dynamics by directly engaging family members in the therapeutic process, thus fostering insight and change. In contrast, while other interventions like genograms, paradoxical directives, and circular questioning have their own merits and applications in therapy, they do not specifically align with the structural approach's primary focus on family interactions and organization in the same way as enactment does.