Strategic Therapy is characterized by which approach?

• A. Long-term exploration of childhood
• B. Specific directives to extinguish ineffective interactional sequences
• C. Dream interpretation as the primary method
• D. Medication management as a core component

Answer: (B)

Strategic Therapy focuses on changing how people interact in the present by using direct, problem-focused interventions. Therapists give specific directives or prescriptions intended to disrupt the enactment of the problem, with the aim of extinguishing ineffective interaction sequences and replacing them with more functional patterns. This approach works quickly by guiding family members to act in particular ways that alter the feedback loop sustaining the issue, rather than digging into past experiences or interpreting dreams. Medication management isn’t central to this therapy, since the emphasis is on communication and behavior within the system.