A marriage is the creation of a new family by bringing together two distinct people from individual and very distinctly different backgrounds. The bringing together of two different people often can cause conflict. Merging families can also create a harmonious relationship of balance and teamwork if both of their differences and similarities compliment each other. After conducting an interview with Darlene and Mike Smith it became very evident that theirs was a seemingly balanced and harmonious relationship. The interview asked questions about how things like their backgrounds, challenges together, boundaries, family interactions, and spirituality have developed into a family and marriage relationship that successfully navigates through life together.
Background
The Process of the Interview
The couple walked into the interview with a very happy demeanor, which seemed to set the tone for the remainder of our conversation. Their happiness clearly showed by sitting very close to each other on the couch with their arms around each other. Mike shared jokingly that he felt like he was in a shrink’s office because of the blue couch. His lightheartedness helped keep things comfortable. The interview began by asking them some detailed background information about their individual family upbringing and experiences. Out of respect to their time constraints they were each given a printed out a copy of the interview schedule and asked to spend a few minutes answering the individual background questions. Portions of the background questions were retrieved from “Life Review Interview Questions (Lewis and Massing 2000). They then shared what they deemed relevant from their answers. After some discussion about background section, the interview...
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...limentary individuals. Having clearly defined family boundaries, complimenting each other’s strengths and weaknesses, while being guided by and supported in Christian faith, they continue to navigate through life together.
Works Cited
Bradbury, T., Engl, J., Hahlweg, K., Rogge, D., & Thurmaier F. (2006) Predicting Marital
Distress and Dissolution: Refining the Two-Factor Hypothesis. Journal of Family
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Keller, James F. Prest, Layne A., (1993) Spirituality and Family Therapy: Spiritual Beliefs, ` Myths, and Metaphors. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Vol. 19 No. 2,137-148.
Lewis R. Massing P. (2000). Life Review Interview Questions, Learning Place Online.com
O’Brien, M. Peyton, V. (2002). Parenting Attitudes and Marital Intimacy: A Longitudinal Analysis. Journal of Family Psychology Vol. 16 No. 2, 118-127.
Marriage is a commitment that couples vow to love each other, and committed during their toughest times. Chris Offutt, the author of the short story called "Aunt Granny Lith" explains the trials and choices in a marriage between the couple Beth and Casey. Three parts in marriage are vital: communication, trust in one another, and unconditional love. All three elements will lead to a successful marriage. Marriage is what you put into your relationship not what you can get out of it. It is a team effort. Couples shouldn 't give 50/50 they should give 100/100 effort into marriage. Offutt describes these three parts throughout the story.
Human beings are not isolated individuals. We do not wander through a landscape of trees and dunes alone, reveling in our own thoughts. Rather, we need relationships with other human beings to give us a sense of support and guidance. We are social beings, who need talk and company almost as much as we need food and sleep. We need others so much, that we have developed a custom that will insure company: marriage. Marriage assures each of us of company and association, even if it is not always positive and helpful. Unfortunately, the great majority of marriages are not paragons of support. Instead, they hold danger and barbs for both members. Only the best marriages improve both partners. So when we look at all three of Janie’s marriages, only her marriage to Teacake shows the support, guidance, and love.
McClish, Mark. “Susan Smith” http://www.statementanalysis.com/susan-smith/ Advanced Interviewing Concepts. May 6, 2002. Web, Feb. 7, 2012
DeVault, C., Cohen, T., & Strong, B. (2011). The marriage and family experience: Intimate relationships in a changing society. (11th ed., pgs. 400-426). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth cengage learning.
Research of literature depends on the theory or topic one is researching. Research uncovers what the author knows about his or her discipline and its practices. Augustus Napier is a family therapist with vast experience in family therapeutic processes and experiential therapy with couples. In my research of his background, I reviewed his book “The Family Crucible.” In this text, Dr. Napier chronicles the therapeutic process of one fictitious family (which is a composite of real cases) experiencing marital discord. In reviewing the case studies in this book, I gained insight into his style of the therapeutic process, which exposed Dr. Napier’s framework which leads to his assumptions about marriage. The details of this case study coupled with Dr. Napier’s added paragraphs and chapters of analyses with his conclusions on the maladaptive reasons people marry other people make this resource of great qualitative value. Additionally, useful evaluative data revealing a deeper insight into Dr. Napier’s position on irreconcilable differences can be fo...
Within his book The Smart Stepfamily: 7 Steps to a Healthy Family, Ron Deal (2014) presents a realistic approach to strengthening stepfamilies through focusing on each individual family member’s needs. Real-world scenarios along with integrating family therapy and biblical truth are used in exploring the many issues that stepfamilies resolve. The crux of Deal’s advice is the need to modify expectations from forming a rapidly blended family to integrating a slow-cooked approach that allows for the time and the coarse hardships that are experienced in developing a healthy stepfamily relationships.
Richardson, R. W. (2005). Bowen Family Systems Theory and congregational life. Review & Expositor, 102(3), 379-402.
Having a family is no easy task, especially when you are faced with many challenges that are unforeseen. Sometimes one imagines or hopes for an ideal family. The ideal family would consist of a spouse, one or two kids and live happily with little to no conflicts. The reality is that even if one tries to avoid conflict by all possible means, conflict is inevitable. Stressors and strengths within a family can be seen in almost every situation. Although stressors tend to be more noticeable than the strengths. Some of which will be discussed later on, although it will be mainly focused on the strength and stressors faced after a divorce for children. But if one focuses on the stressors more than the strengths, one will only see stressors rather than solutions.
Works Cited Kunz, Jenifer. Think Marriages & Families. Boston: Pearson, 2011. http://www.prs Print. The. Laquer, Estin, Ann.
Lamanna, M. A., & Riedmann, A. (2012). Marriages, Families, and Relationships. (11 ed., p. 36).
" Family Relations 52.4 (2003): 363-72. Print. Hanson, Richard R. "Optimizing Marital Success: The Conscious Couple Uniting Process. "
Martha and Richard Korneisel have been marriage mentors for three years through both Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and Nazareth Lutheran Church. Together they guide engaged couples through conflict scenarios and future-planning discussions, stressing concepts such as communication, patience and understanding. The church views marriage as a permanent bond of unconditional love, so much so that the Bible even speaks of man and woman becoming one body when they are united in marriage.
I interviewed a fifty-five year old female named Theresa Geis. She is married to Robert Geis and they have four daughters including me. They reside in Denver, Colorado with one daughter still in the house. Theresa graduated with a master’s degree in teaching with a focus in special education. She grew up in Greeley, CO but enjoys Denver and where she is currently at. Theresa and Robert have had the same house in Denver for twenty-one years now and have recently bought a cabin in Estes Park which is on the border of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Life story interview/ project was design for you to get to know a random stranger or a close friends. You would asked general questions about the person life, school, work and family, therefore many will open up to you but a lot of people would not. Before you did the interview you had taken a NIH certification make sure you understand how to do the interview. You had recorded it, transmitted it, coded it and then present it to the class. Once everything was done you learned something new about this person or you may look at their cultural a different way.
The study I am conducting is a phenomenological study. Thus, when I interviewed my participant this weekend, I couldn’t help, but be a little worried I was not staying true to the phenomenological approach. My participant had a hard time being sequential, and organized in his interview. At times I had to ask clarifying questions instead of staying quiet like I should have. Therefore, when I read page eighty- one I am a little confused about telling the participants the two broad and general questions that were asked in the reading. Are we allowed to ask these during the interview or are these the question you asked us to ask in the separate interviews? The reason I ask is because even though these two questions seem b...