Family Case Study

Societal emotional processes are an expanded view of the family projection process, but with society as the influence on the family. Bowenian therapists view social expectations, sexism, class prejudice, racism, ethnic discrimination and gender roles as contributors to pressures certain families have to contend with; the coping strategies employed from past generations are transmitted down to the children in the same way (Nichols, 2013). These strategies can be either adaptive or maladaptive to the emotional well-being of the family. Bowen believed, however, that families who were healthier in differentiation were better adjusted to deal with these factors (Nichols, 2013). The application to the family in the case study presented is that Brittany is described as a tomboy, going against societal expectations. She apparently has the ability to pursue things that are of interest to her, or she is overcompensating for her father because she feels a lack of her mother’s attention and possibly senses disdain for Ronnie participating with the grandmother-in other words, Britney may be attempting to act as the “replacement son” for Dad’s affections; more
Much like the nuclear family process, the “problem” child is triangulated in order to balance a family dyad. The target child will likely internalize the problem as fact, and this could lead to difficulties throughout their life. Differentiation would need occur in counter to the family’s perception of the family member, an almost impossible task (Wilke, Wilke, & Viglione, 2015). Kristen has labeled her children, she stated that Ronnie is aggressive, Britany is a tomboy, Sophie is “out-of-control”, and Tonya is a know-it-all. These descriptions could stick, and hinder the children’s sense of self-worth, sense of identity, and emotional