Which approach involves developing systemic hypotheses through circular questioning?

Which approach involves developing systemic hypotheses through circular questioning?

• A. Milan Assessment
• B. Milan symptom development
• C. Behavioral tasks
• D. Extinction

Answer: (A)

Circular questioning is a hallmark of Milan systemic therapy. It invites each family member to imagine and describe what another person might say, think, or do in a given situation, which brings multiple viewpoints into the room. This approach helps the therapist surface patterns of interaction, such as feedback loops and circular causality, that maintain the problem within the family system rather than blaming a single member. By guiding these lines of inquiry, the clinician develops systemic hypotheses about how the family operates, how different members influence one another, and how changes in one part of the system ripple through others. This is the essence of the Milan Assessment. The other options don’t center this process: Milan symptom development focuses more on the symptoms themselves, behavioral tasks are about measuring observable behavior in controlled settings, and extinction is a behavior-change technique that reduces a response by removing reinforcement.

Circular questioning is a hallmark of Milan systemic therapy. It invites each family member to imagine and describe what another person might say, think, or do in a given situation, which brings multiple viewpoints into the room. This approach helps the therapist surface patterns of interaction, such as feedback loops and circular causality, that maintain the problem within the family system rather than blaming a single member. By guiding these lines of inquiry, the clinician develops systemic hypotheses about how the family operates, how different members influence one another, and how changes in one part of the system ripple through others. This is the essence of the Milan Assessment. The other options don’t center this process: Milan symptom development focuses more on the symptoms themselves, behavioral tasks are about measuring observable behavior in controlled settings, and extinction is a behavior-change technique that reduces a response by removing reinforcement.