Introduction The father-child relationship is crucial to a child's emotional, social, and cognitive development. This paper presents a case study of Vincent and his 6-year-old daughter, Annie, navigating a recent divorce and custody battle. It explores how Vincent's emotional availability affects Annie's development, drawing on literature to inform treatment strategies and examine trauma's impact. Vignette Case Background and Factual Summary Vincent, a 38-year-old financial analyst who immigrated from El Salvador, is entangled in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife, Maya, who is of Mexican and Italian descent, over their daughter, Annie. Since their divorce four months ago, Maya has been obstructing Vincent's visitation rights, which has …show more content…
Developmental Information Annie, in early childhood, is in Erikson's "initiative vs. guilt" stage, crucial for developing security and strong attachment bonds. The trauma of her parents' divorce and custody battle, coupled with her father's emotional unavailability, hindered her progress. Vincent’s unresolved childhood issues and current stressors strain his relationship with Annie. Psychological Assessment Annie shows separation anxiety, clinginess, difficulty sleeping alone, irritability, and tantrums. She experiences grief and confusion from her parents' divorce, struggling to express emotions verbally. Her development appears age-appropriate, but emotional distress may impact her focus and learning. Similarly, Vincent appears stressed, overwhelmed, and fatigued, experiencing significant grief and feelings of inadequacy. His parenting style lacks emotional responsiveness, influenced by his childhood experiences and current stressors, making it difficult to set boundaries and provide consistent …show more content…
Treatment Considerations The treatment addresses the emotional and psychological needs of both Annie and Vincent. Individual therapy helps Annie process her grief, separation anxiety, and behavior issues, utilizing play therapy to facilitate emotional expression. Additionally, parent-child therapy enhances bonding and communication between them, using stimulatory contact to promote interaction and provide essential sensory or emotional stimulation. For example, during playtime, Vincent plays catch with her and cheers enthusiastically when she succeeds, boosting Annie’s self-esteem, strengthening their bond, and creating a positive environment for her emotional well-being. Support for Vincent includes counseling for grief, feelings of inadequacy, and unresolved childhood issues, alongside parenting skills training, and assistance in expressing his emotions. Finally, family therapy builds a support network, addresses complex trauma, and breaks the cycle of emotional unavailability, fostering a supportive and positive family environment for both Annie and Vincent. Conclusion The case of Vincent and Annie demonstrates the significant influence a father's relationship can have on early
Erik Erikson developed the psychosocial theory, and “he describes our social experiences during our whole life span using eight different stages” (Cherry 2015). The first four stages are “trust vs. mistrust; which describes how the child needs to be able to trust their adult figures, autonomy vs. shame and doubt; which is about person control, initiative vs. guilt; which is about children learning to lead others, industry vs. inferiority; which is about gaining a sense of pride in things” (Cherry 2015). The final four stages are “identity vs. confusion; which begins the sense of self, intimacy vs. isolation; which explores personal relationships, generativity vs. stagnation; which focuses on career and family, and the final stage being integrity vs. despair; which describes reflecting back on life” (Cherry
Erickson’s Theory has 8 stages (Schriver, 2011). The following text will give the developmental crisis of each stage and relate it to Shannon’s life personally. In Erikson’s Theory developmental crisis “did not mean an impending catastrophe as much as it meant “a turning point, a crucial period of increased vulnerability and heightened potential”” (Schriver, 2011). The first stage of Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development is Trust vs. mistrust (0-1 year) and its crisis is “in establishing trust” (Schriver, 2011). Shannon had developed trust early on in her life due to the loving, caring, and nurturing home she grew up in. She had a sense of physical comfort which eliminated fear and allowed trust. The second stage is Autonomy vs. shame (1-3 years) and the crisis is “parental restrictions vs. autonomy” (Schriver, 2011). Growing up Shannon started learning to walk at 11 months which is a normal age for children to emerge into that. Due to her parents being supportive, it allowed Shannon to start exploring her curiosities and still be loved while doing so. The third stage is Initiative vs. guilt (3-6 years) and the crisis is “in taking initiative without experiencing guilt” (Schriver, 2011). This again correlates to the supportiveness of Shannon’s parents which allows her to be her own person and encourages her to experience her life in her own way. The fourth stage is Industry vs. inferiority (6-12 years) and the crisis is “in striving for competence” (Schriver, 2011). Shannon had a great group of friends growing up and that gave her the inclusion she needed to feel equal to her peers and not inferior to anyone. The fifth stage is Identity vs. role confusion and the crisis is “uncertainty about the future and the child’s role in it” (Schriver, 2011). At this time in Shannon’s life she had already strengthened her hope (trust), will, purpose, and
He implemented eight psychosocial stages which includes trust versus mistrust. One example of the specified inclusions are infants. In order to come to a resolution for these feelings of insecurity, infants look towards their care givers for care and stability to fulfill their desired needs. With autonomy versus shame stage, children begin to assert their independence, utilizing their skills otherwise they will end up doubting their abilities. Initiative versus guilt is another stage where pre-scholars develop initiative by devising and carrying out bold plans. These people plan activities, developing a sense of initiative with others therefore feeling secure in their ability to lead and make decisions. The identity versus role confusion stage is noted as Erikson’s most popular. He characterized adolescence as a crucial and critical time of identity development. To achieve a sense of identity some adolescents attempt to define and explore who they are regarding their career choice, religion, political views, sexual orientation etc., figuring out a way to fit into society. According to Erikson, “the adolescent mind is essentially a mind or moratorium, a psychosocial stage between the morality learned by the child, and the ethics to be developed by the adult” (Erikson, 1963, p.245. As they go through the different sexual and
Erikson’s psychosocial stages generally occur with important age related events, presenting the individual with a conflict, or question to be answered. For example, the first stage (birth to two years of age) presents a crisis of trust vs. mistrust coinciding with the important event of feeding. In this stage a child develops a sense of competence (or lack of) over their ability to trust others.
The emotional support children receive from their parents in the early years of their lives can make an everlasting impact in how their fears develop and persist over the course of their lives. Take, for instance, a considerably difficult a child who received a nurturing amount of support from his parents in contrast with another little boy who was physically reprimanded for his antsy behavior. The first boy’s parent’s found tactful ways to allow their child to better handle his fears, consequently allowing him to forge a more functional life in the future. In opposition, the other child’s father, who hit him in efforts to stop his anxiety, ironically contributed to the child’s unwanted behavior, causing him to become more disruptive and disturbed in the
Criticisms of attachment theory have come mainly from the feminist schools of thought since the theory has been used to argue that no woman with a young child should work outside the home or spend time away from her baby (Goodsell and Meldrum, 2010). Children’s experience and development also depend on what happens after early years, whether bad or good later in life may change a child’s emotional development, e.g. lack of basic needs, diet, education, stimulation such as play might affect a child’s development (Rutter, 1981) Difference in cultures have to be taken into consideration as well. A study by Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) provided contradictory evidence from Bowlby’s attachment theory. They noted attachment was more prominent at eight months, and afterwards children became attached to more than one person. By one year six months only 13%of infants had one attachment. This study by Schafer and Emmerson (1964) concluded care giver can be male or female and mothering can be a shared responsibility. Social workers should therefore understand that parents are not totally responsible for the way the children develop. They did give them their genes and therefore do have some influence. Attachment theory also fails to consider the fact that the father and siblings, and other close relatives can also
Erik Erikson formulated a model to understand the developmental tasks involved in the social and emotional development of children and teenagers which continues into adulthood. Each stage is regarded by Erikson as a “psychosocial crisis,” which arises and demands resolution before the next stage can be satisfactorily negotiated. Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a
Erik H. Erikson was a significant psychologist that greatly changed the field of child development. In the 1950’s, Erikson advanced a Freudian approach in development. He viewed that social development as a series of eight challenges that people have to overcome. Each challenge has an outcome that’s either favorable or unfavorable. The outcome drastically affects a person’s personality. For example, in a favorable outcome, the result can leave a positive feeling. With a positive outlook, it’s easier for a person to cope with challenges in life. An unfavorable outcome can leave a person at a disadvantaged for the future. During the first couple challenges, Erikson believed that the caregiver has a great impact on a child’s development (Romero).
Facts about psychosocial development are that there are eight sages in Erikson’s theory. The eight stages range from infancy to adult and include the following; Trust vs. Mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and ego integrity vs. despair. Since my paper is subjected on early childhood I will discuss Erikson’s theory on early child hood psychosocial development. Erikson’s theory suggests that kids ages 3 – 5 are developing initiative vs. guilt. At this stage preschoolers children learn to take responsibility for their own behavior s they develop self-control (Cicceralli & White, 2015, p.304). When they are at this stage they love to try everything on their own, and when they succeed at what they are try they feel like a “big” girl or boy. When they succeed they will take the initiative to try more but when they don’t succeed they feel let down and you have to give a little pep talk to encourage them to keep trying. I watch my four-year-old daughter try everything these days. She doesn’t shy away from try to do everything by herself it can be any where from getting dress to bathing. When she succeeds at the task you don’t have to tell her she’s a big girl shell beat you to it. Now some task I’ll watch her try to do and if she starts to have a hard time she tries to wine about it, but I encourage he to keep trying and tell her what adjustments to make. Its great seeing her want to take that step towards being this independent little kid because there isn’t much she
Exposure to violence in the first years of life brings about helplessness and terror which can be attributed to the lack of protection received by the parent. The child can no longer trust their parent as a protector (Lieberman 2007). This lack of trust early in life can bring about serious problems later in life, as there is no resolution to the first psychosocial crisis, trust vs. mistrust. For these children exposed to domestic violence, the imaginary monsters that children perceive are not only symbolic representations or a dream. The monsters that children who witness domestic violence have to deal with carry the reflection of their parents. Children who witness domestic violence face a dilemma because the children’s parents are at their most frightening exactly when the child needs them the most. The security of the child is shatter...
The way we are brought up as a child can have an impact on how we perceive things in our adulthood, which sometimes can have a negative outcome resulting in severe or mild trauma, or a positive outcome. This is the case in Arturo Islas’ The Rain God. Through the perspective of psychoanalytic criticism, Juanita’s father caused her scarring trauma that affected her relationship with her husband and family members.
Erikson believed that a person's personality is determined by how he deals with particular problems during specific stages during his life. A brief outline of the six relevant stages which would be encountered in this article (the first six stages) would go as follows. First, would be Trust verses Mistrust. This stage takes place during the first twelve to eighteen months of a child's life. During this time the girl in the article lost her father and her mother showed no compassion for her. Her mother brought home boyfriends who were not only unsupportive but actually made sexual advances toward her on some occasions.
While looking into this particular topic, children are very dependent on their parents in their everyday life; they are the ones who have raised them from birth. Would you not consider the child whenever a parent wants to integrate an argument in front of the child, leading to physical violence? Looking through the child’s perspective, the child has many different emotions running through his mind and body when seeing his own biological parents constantly fighting. Although the child itself is not engaging in child abuse from the father, the child is still experiencing emotional abuse through witnessing these altercations. Children can be affected in numerous ways by witnessing these arguments. Witnessing the arguments from the same roo...
Erikson believes that during this stage, children will seek approval from others by displaying skills that are valued by others. Additionally, he believes that if this initiative continues, the child will develop confidence in their ability to achieve their goals. During the first few stages of both theories, we see challenges in the development of the child and we also see challenges that a child might face during some, if not all, forms of attachment theory. For example, a parent ignoring the child and speaking to them in a negative manner during insecure-avoidant attachment can be challenging for a child and lead to insecurities and the feeling of not being loved and/or wanted.
In this paper I am going to be talking about social and emotional development in my niece Loren. Social Development involves learning the values, knowledge and skills that enable children to relate to others effectively and to contribute in positive ways to family, school and the community (https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/families/about-friendship/social-development/social-development-children’s-social-development). I will also be talking about her emotional development. Emotional development is the emergence of a child 's experience, expression, understanding, and regulation of emotions from birth through late adolescence. It also comprises how growth and changes in these processes concerning emotions occur (http://www.education.com/reference/article/emotional-development/).