Domain D1 · The Practice of Systemic Therapy · 16% of the exam
The Practice of Systemic Therapy: systems theory, the therapeutic relationship, and the family model landscape
Outline: draftBy The Licensure Professor
Study material in progress. This is a lesson outline, not finished lesson text. Nothing on this page is official exam content. Items were written for this site and checked against published sources. They have not yet been reviewed by a licensed marriage and family therapist.
Learning objectives
- Explain core systemic concepts: circular causality, homeostasis, feedback, boundaries, and subsystems.
- Compare the major family therapy models and what each treats as the unit of change.
- Describe how a therapist joins with a client system and builds and repairs the alliance.
- Explain how context, culture, and power shape systemic work.
Key terms
- Circular causality
- Homeostasis
- Feedback loop
- Boundaries
- Subsystem
- Enmeshment and disengagement
- Joining
- Differentiation of self
- Triangulation
- Second-order cybernetics
- Alliance
Suggested sources
- Nichols, M. P., & Davis, S. D. (2020). Family therapy: Concepts and methods (12th ed.). Pearson.
- Goldenberg, H., Stanton, M., & Goldenberg, I. (2017). Family therapy: An overview (9th ed.). Cengage.
- Kerr, M. E., & Bowen, M. (1988). Family evaluation: An approach based on Bowen theory. W. W. Norton.
- Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Harvard University Press.
- American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. (2026). AAMFT code of ethics (effective January 1, 2026). https://www.aamft.org/common/Uploaded%20files/Legal%20Ethics/AAMFT%20Code%20of%20Ethics.pdf
- Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards. (2026). AMFTRB MFT national examination handbook for candidates (2027 ed.). https://ptcny.com/pdf/AMFTRB.pdf
Ethics content on this section follows the AAMFT Code of Ethics (American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy).