Experiential Family Therapy

1
Experiential Family Therapy

• Psy 660
• Gary S. Katz, Ph.D.

2
Introduction

• The nature of experiential approaches are not
  easily learned through role playing exercises.
• We will be engaging in some experiential
  exercises today based upon your actual
  experiences as a child and adult.
• Please share ONLY as much information as you are
  comfortable sharing.
• Please keep this information within the class
  nothing is to be brought outside the room.

3
Warm-up

• Close your eyes and relax.
• Id like you to become more aware of your
  surroundings focus on
• Things you may not have heard
• Smells of which you are now aware
• The texture of things with which you are in
  contact
• Stay in this state for a few minutes.
• As we go around the room, Id like you to finish
  this sentence
• Now I am aware
• Discussion Did you become aware of things that
  you had not noticed before in this room? Did you
  discover any new awareness?

4
Experiential Exercise

• Break into groups of three or four.
• One person in each group will be the volunteer
  the other will be the therapist remaining
  individuals will be the observer.
• Therapist will read the accompanying script to
  the volunteer.
• Observers will record the responses of the
  volunteer.

5
Experiential Exercise Discussion

• Volunteers
• How vivid did the memories become for you?
• Were you able to remember things that you had not
  thought about for awhile?
• Did the process help bring up feelings about what
  happened in the past?
• Group
• What effect might a variation of this technique
  have with families in treatment?
• What types of families might be helped with
  experiential techniques? What types of families
  would this process be less effective?