What is triangulation in family therapy?
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Triangulation occurs when an outside person intervenes or is drawn into a conflicted or stressful relationship in an attempt to ease tension and facilitate communication. This situation is often seen in family therapy.
How can families prevent triangulation?
Teach your children to go directly to the person they have an issue with. Set an example by doing that yourself. Avoid venting to one family member about another. Learn and practice healthy boundaries and assertive communication skills.
What does triangulation mean in a relationship?
Triangulation is a manipulation tactic where one person will not communicate directly with another person, instead using a third person to relay communication to the second, thus forming a triangle.
Why do narcissists love triangulation?
Why do people with NPD use triangulation? People who have narcissistic personality disorder frequently use triangulation to enhance their feelings of superiority, raise their self-esteem, devalue other people, and keep potential competitors off-balance.
How do you identify triangulation?
Triangulation happens when one or both of the people involved in the conflict try to pull a third person into the dynamic, often with the goal of:
- deflecting some of the tension.
- creating another conflict to take the spotlight off the original issue.
- reinforcing their sense of rightness or superiority.
Why do families triangulate?
Triangulation means that a third person either within the family or someone from outside, is brought in and selected as a way to protect the integrity of the family by ending any perceived threat to the system.
Why do parents triangulate?
Conceptually, “triangulation occurs when two people in a family bring in a third party to dissolve stress, anxiety or tension that exists between them” (Charles, 2001, p. 281).
Why do mothers triangulate?
This leaves her at the centre of the web. This triangulation gives the mother lots of power, of course, and means that she controls the flow of information, the interpretation of that information, and the nuances of it.
What is triangulation behavior?
Triangulation, a form of manipulation, describes a person’s use of threats of exclusion or manipulation. The goal is to divide and conquer. It involves the use of indirect communication, often behind someone’s back. In the list of toxic behaviors, triangulation may be the most well-known.