The Smiths are a family of five. The parents are Mary and David and their children; Amanda, Jen, and John. The family personality has changed over time. The family as a unit is somewhat chaotic. No one in the family seems to get along with one another with the exception of Mary and her daughter, Amanda. When they initially arrived at the office, they did not seem to interact with one another and were not necessarily friendly. I would definitely consider this family to be dysfunctional. They seem to lack respect and accountability for the misdoings. Their physical appearance is normal or average, they seem like a well-off family. David, the father, has a good job that can provide for his family, especially since his wife is ill and does not work. The parents lack thw ability to parent their children as one unit, due to their dysfunctional relationship. They do not have the ability to communicate as husband and wife. David is almost estranged from his family because he takes on enormous workloads that has a significant negative impact on the family. Their lack of a connection causes some of the family members to act out, or not …show more content…
Their basic form of communication is arguing and disrespect. David and Mary have a dysfunctional marriage that is evident through their communication style. They blame one another for all the wrongs in the family and there is never any appreciation for the work the other puts in. David’s account of his wife is completely negative and somewhat derogatory. He has stated that his wife is paranoid, has eating problems, has a spending problem, and cannot relate to her son. David has mentioned all these issues to the therapist, but does not necessarily voice them to his wife. David is also one to bra, he is arrogant and wants everyone to see him in the light he sees himself. He asserts his intelligence in order to make himself feel better than others, which is what he constantly does to his
What exactly is dysfunctional? Who wrote the rules for proper family or societal behavior? How does one know exactly what the proper reaction is? Every family has its crazy members and every city it’s insane citizens, but many do a great job of covering it up. Especially when it comes to being high in social standing.
According to smith and Hamon (2012), Families are considered as a whole in society. However, they believed that couples have many components in which makes up the family, if one component is missing, the family as a whole can get unbalance (Smith & Hamon, 2012). In the Brice’s family, communication was the component that was missing. The couple was not able to communicate their differences, which was what caused Carolyn and David to verbally insult each other. Smith and Hamon (2012), also explain that a person who expresses his or her feeling is considered as someone who is breaking the functions of their family system; especially if the person is focusing on the individual who is causing the problem, rather than the problem itself. In the Brice family, Carolyn could be considered the one that cause the dysfunction in the family structure because she was focusing on David as the problem of their marriage, rather than focusing of the elements that are causing their problems. Smith and Hamon (2012) explain that individuals should focus on how to solve a problem, rather than trying to find who is causing the
Pelzer informs the reader that his family was like that of “the ‘Brady Bunch’ of the 1960’s” and that “[their] every whim was fulfilled with love and care’ (Pelzer, 15). They would often go on vacation where his mother was known as the “mastermind” due to her excessive planning of fun activities upon their travels (Pelzer,19). As if “Everyday seemed sprinkled with magic,” things started to take a turn for the worse David himself states, “ My relationship with my mom drastically changed from discipline that developed into a kind of lifestyle that grew out of control. It became so bad at times. I had no strength to crawl away-even if it meant saving my life” (Pelzer, 19-20). David had the misfortune of having to endure emotional abuse from his mother. Emotional abuse can be defined as “rejection, terrorization, isolation, exploitation, degradation, ridicule, or failure to provide emotional support, love and affection” (Papalia & Feldman p. 161). An Example of such abuse that David had experienced, was when his mother degraded him by referring to him as an “it”. Proclaiming his own mother as, “the Bitch,” David’s experiences emotional maltreatment as his mother screams, “you’re a nobody! An It! You are non-existent! You are a bastard child! I hate you! And I wish you were dead! Dead! Did you hear me? Dead!”(Pelzer, 140). This quote is an example of emotional maltreatment
David finds it difficult communicating with her hence, attempts to express his feelings by writing to her but at the same time he fears that she won’t be able to apprehend what he is trying to
Napier provides a crucial exploration of the therapy of a family struggling with battles for the structure of their family and battles to define and grow their relationships with one another. Napier and Whitaker seamlessly and purposely work with each family member, educating and
The interviewed family comprises of five individuals. T.G. and M.G. are heterosexual couple who have been married for 14 years and together have three children. M.G. is a 35 years old female and is currently unemployed and is a stay at home mom. T.G. is a 37 year old male who works fulltime in constructions. J.G. is a 14 year old heterosexual female who attends high school and is the eldest child. C.G. is an 11 year old heterosexual male who attends middle school and is heavily involved in sports and after school activities. A.G is a two month old female who does not attend daycare and remains mostly in the care of her mother.
Arthur Miller, author of Death of a Salesman, describes a family that exemplifies a failure of the 1940s. The Loman family ultimately falls to pieces after it is evident they cannot handle the pressure in their lives. As the Lomans continue to live their life readers see the root of their issues. Some readers say that their downfall is a result of their insecurities. Strain put on the Loman family leads to their demise; this pressure stems from high expectations, unhealthy relationships, and from societal norms.
A family assessment is a process for gathering and organizing information in ways that can help a family prevent and or solve problems. The goal is to obtain a full understanding and unbiased view of the strengths and problems. A good assessment is about relationship building, engaging families in an exploration of their strengths, values and goals to build mutual trust and respect. Then when problems do arise, this relationship can be the foundation of open communication allowing the doors to open for identification of additional supports needed to reduce or eliminate the factors causing harm.
The television sitcom Modern Family produced by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd shows the many different types of a modern American family. According to Andrew Hampp, “The show is among the most-viewed scripted programs in prime time in its second season, averaging 11 million viewers during original airings and often ranked as the most DVRed program most weeks” (2). The television show is a frequently watched show and is liked by many viewers. Modern Family's storyline helps the families of viewers by being an influential and relatable show to different types of families. The show is about the lives of three different families that are all related. In the show there are Jay and Gloria, an intergenerational couple with two sons-- Manny (from Gloria’s previous relationship) and Joe, their new baby. Jay’s adult son Cameron is married to his gay partner Mitchell, and they adopted Lily from Vietnam. Finally, Jay’s daughter Claire is married to her heterosexual partner named Phil and they have three children. The show is influential to our culture today because it shows these different types of families and addresses controversial themes such as gay adoption, the different family connections and communications, intergenerational coupling, and acceptance of diversity within an extended family. The family is easy to relate to while watching because it is based off of real family situations.
Families are described in all shapes and sizes in books of literature. The perfect family, the loving family, the illiterate family, and more significantly, the dysfunctional family are all found in literature. The dictionary definition of a dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict often occurs in an in orderly fashion, thus leading children to grow up with the understanding that such an arrangement is normal rather than dysfunctional. Even though the background or story behind the dysfunctional families in works of literature are different they all share a few traits and aspects in common. Dysfunctional families in literature each follow a road map that involves three distinct traits. These aspects are; how others, society and the outside world view the dysfunction, the unfolding of the shaping process and how each character responds to the dysfunction whether through overcoming it or letting it destroy them. Each of these points are functions of a dysfunctional family found in many works of literature and thus they shape literature and the reading world to what it is today. As Dr. David Stoop quotes, “We are what we learn” and in dysfunctional families there is room for learning, improvement and destruction.
Functional assessment of a family deals with how the individuals of the family essentially behave in relation to one another and is broken down by instrumental functioning and expressive functioning.
Above is my immediate family, which is graphed by simple facts into this genogram. All of the information that was included into this genogram was known information. Since all of these family members are still alive, it made it easier to compile this information. Each specific family has its own dynamic. With my parents and brother, we are not that tight-knit; I don’t share every inch of my life and haven’t for many years, but equally they do not ask. Whereas, my mother and her brother along with her parents are very tight knit. They share everything and do a lot of things together, while being more conservative with their actions and behavior. They are always on their best behavior. On the flip side, my father and his parents and
My family has never been surrounded by a white picket fence. The song “Family Portrait” explains the dilemmas that the writer, Alecia Beth Moore, better known as Pink, experienced during her parents ' divorce. The song portrays the negative effects a separation or divorce can amplify onto a young child. My parents are still married, yet they continue to debate about pointless topics. As a result of these quarrels, my parents separated when I was 9 years old, my father remained in New York while my mother, sister and I settled in Florida. We have never been your ideal family, we argue, criticize, and disappoint one another, even if we do love one another. The message that is being shown is that in their family portrait, outsiders see a perfect, loving family, when in reality, her parents are continuously in a battle in which
Psychology has long been concerned with the family and its influence in the lives of individuals. What happens in families would appear to be of importance to those who work within the field of psychology. This essay will give an overview of divorce as one of the major factors that can impact a family. It is believed that this information can be of use to those who are interested in the well being of families. “Currently, within the United States, there are now about a million divorces a year with nearly 50% of marriages ending in divorce” (Markman, Stanley, & Blumberg, 1994). A divorce represents a problem of immense concern just on the basis of the numbers of people who are influenced by its occurrence. For the purposes of this paper, in order to increase further understanding about divorce, a review of factors that have found to be associated with divorce will be provided. This will be followed by a discussion on the divorce process in which some of the issues and problems associated with divorce will be addressed.
As Proverbs 6:20 says “My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.” The book The Successful Family” written by Ellen G. White, it highlights certain principles, morals and values which are vital for the successful development of the family unit. The book is made up of sections designated to each member of the family, in which each person has different responsibilities which must be carried out in order for the unit to work, these sections also help us to understand each member of the family as unique individuals, who have various needs and feelings