A family came in for therapy. There are five people in this family. There are two teenage girls, an 18-year-old male, and a mother and a father. Lately, one of the girls is no longer attending school, she is also withdrawing from friends. She has been disrespectful towards dad. She has been posting lewd pictures on social media, and there are people in the neighborhood telling the parents that they have seen one of their daughters drinking when with their friends. From a life cycle frame, the parents are at the stage when they are launching adult children. Their first child is about to leave the home, and the second and third children are following the first. This stage can be complicated because the family structure is being disrupted. The children are handing disruptions in the family system, and the family will need to learn how to handle these disruptions. The parents are going to need to count on each other to get through this stage. If the parents have not gone through the …show more content…
The girls may get emotional easily, and some girls may get depressed or angry easily. The therapist intervention that can be used is couples counseling. Individual counseling will help, also. But couples counseling would be beneficial with these clients. It would also be beneficial to address issues with the members of the entire family. The therapist can address the emotional issues that the parents would have while the older son is leaving the home. The therapist can also address issues with anger, worrying, and irritability. The therapist can also address those feelings of the parents feeling isolated, and hopelessness. The goal of the therapist is to prevent relationship breakdown, and relationship distress. The therapist can work on the client's communication skills, remove conflict, and increase commitment levels in the parental subsystem (Schofield, Mumford, Jurkovic, & Jurkovic,
Family therapy is often needed when families go through transitions such as separations between parents and divorce. According to research, “the power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interactions” (Nichols, & Davis, p.18), as problems need to be addressed at their source. The children who are the most vulnerable, when parents decide to separate, exhibit symptoms which are exaggerations of their parent’s problems (Nichols, & Davis, p.18). Frank and Walt Berkman are the examples of how children cope and adapt to the stressors of family separations such as marital separations and
Structural therapy focuses on the family as a whole. It is concerned about how the issues effect the family relationships and connections. This theory concentrates on how well the understanding is amongst the family members and counselor. The members of the family are prompted to understand how the issues were created, where did the issues come from, when the issues started effecting their family, and what the family needs to overcome their issues. Its focus is to help others understand and improve negative behavior. The structural therapy concentrates on the interaction and boundaries of families with separating the whole family into smaller groups. The subsystems will create a clearer understanding of what issues are hurting their family environment (Gladding, S. T. 2010). The counselor is concerned about the members interaction because this reveals how strong the relationships and connections are in the home. The boundaries are important because they create an understanding that there are limits and order, and the boundaries can be diffused, rigid, or clear (Gladding, S. T. 2010). The counselor is expected to identify techniques so members can understand which boundaries are clear, positive, and healthy (Gladding, S. T. 2010).
Lastly, there is family therapy, and in my opinion the most important. This is essential for both the patient and members of their family to understand and learn how to cope with this behavior. This style of therapy will teach family members not to be co-dependent and allow the patient to take responsibility for their actions.
Rosa and Miguel are experiencing relationship problems due to developmental and financial stressors. This has created a turbulent home environment. Miguel’s verbal abuse and open hostility has Rosa emotionally overwhelmed. He is not physically abusive; however, his anger is upsetting the household. The children are also displaying emotional and physical stress related symptoms. Rosa and Miguel come from emotionally unstable homes, which has impacted their ability to communicate and manage their emotions. Due their inability to communicate in a productive manner, they have sought help to resolve their problems. Both have expressed the concern that they are repeating the harmful behavior they experienced as children. They
The conventional view of family therapy is a narrow one. According to this view, therapy treats an entire group - at least father, mother, and child - not just an individual patient. In the therapeutic situation, these family members present a major component of their everyday life.
Substance use affects not only the individual who is using but the whole family unit. The family can be an important key factor in an individual's life when they choose to seek treatment. The family can help the individual who is addicted or they can negatively contribute to them relapsing. Family therapy is treatment that can reduce substance use and improve the family dynamics in a household. Brief Strategic Family Therapy is a common therapy used to treat substance use in families. This paper will explain why family therapy is important. It will also explain what Brief Strategic Family Therapy is and the process that families go through in it.
Structural family therapist have exemplified within the context relational therapies that uncovers stressors in relationship between individuals (Vetere, 2001). Structural family therapy has been known to be called “interventive approach” because of the “intensity” to encourage clients to change (Hammond & Nichols, 2014).
159). And in the case of family-development theory, the family is viewed through eight distinct, yet sequential stages which includes the premarital, marital dyad through to the retirement milestone. With this developmental theory, the family must succeed in achieving a significant benchmark before they can move onto the next level. For example, when a dyad gives birth to a child, they then move into the triad stage with the major task being that they will need to adjust to the new child before they can move onto the next stage as a completed family. Therefore, there are initiating events that move us into the next stages and major tasks to work through while in the varying
My theoretical approach to family therapy is very integrative as I believe families cannot be described nor treated from a single-school approach. I view humans through a humanistic and existential lens but am more technically structural and solution-based. With this integrative approach, I believe I will be the most effective in helping families grow and reach their goals.
Therapy at home is just a beginning and other methods should be used at school and with a counselor. The mother will be taught to teach her son modeling behavior. When the son becomes anxious, the mother should remain calm. Reminding the child he has survived these scenarios before, and providing the mother with relaxation tips that she can use with Ben when he is feeling anxious. Encouraging the child to participate in activities outside and praising him often. The mother can also read books to Ben that describe different range of emotions and explain what each emotion feels like and explain they are normal emotions. Teaching Ben to talk about these emotions can be an effective strategy, however there are other interventions that will be taken effect in order to ensure that it is working. At school the teachers will be implementing interventions as well. At first, the student can begin attending school with shorter days, and increase gradually. Provide the student with a safe place and a person, in case he begins to feel anxious. Teaching Ben relaxation techniques to help him deal with his anxiety.
The goal of therapy is about encouraging the affected individual to feel more independent as well as exhibiting a more active involvement in relationships, to include forming more healthy interdependent relationships. Medications used for these patients are mainly used to manage depression and anxiety symptoms.
A family of five including a father Tom, mother Fran, two sons Arthur 9 and Collin 2, and daughter Jennifer 4 was court ordered to attend therapy from the result on charges of child neglect. The family charges were based on inappropriate living environment and resulted to temporary losing custody on Arthur and Jennifer, however Collin remain in protected custody from the results of illness. After the return of Arthur and Jennifer, the children have displayed defiant behavior including constantly fighting each other and arguing. Their behavior is the results of an attempt to gain attention of their parents after living with strangers. The temporary disconnection with their family has resulted in a disruption in self-control and social skills.
The actual first stage of the family life cycle is the family of origin experiences. During this phase the main task are building of a solid foundation, and maintaining relationships with parents, siblings, and peers. The family of origin is basically the family you grew up in, which is the center of what shapes who we are. A healthy family of origin exhibits a strong foundation that will be the center piece of that family unit. If effective the family will have a strong sense of togetherness, communication, separateness, and connectedness. This all helps the family to establish healthy boundaries between parents and their children, as well as resolve conflicts in a healthier and productive way. It is stated that when parents exhibit emotions like warmth and caring connections, it tends to promote individuality and
Whether it is a divorce or remarriage, many times a child will not be able to adjust easily to their new family structure. When this occurs, professional help may be needed to allow the parent or child to resume their lives in a normal manner. If a child suddenly begins to struggle in school, lose friends, or begins to become self-destructive, a parent should immediately seek psychological help for their child (Berger 187). This may be found in the form of a counselor, psychologist, or even the family doctor. Counseling or medication will often radically improve a child's disposition. Once again, it will not be easy for a parent to confront a child on his or her problems, but the sooner a parent realizes there is a problem and takes action upon it, the sooner the child will recover.
The family life cycle goes through stages that is important to the development and growth in the cycle. The family cycle experiences independence, intimacy, marriage, parenting, the empty nest syndrome and the retirement stage. The family life cycle in some families is not always easy or runs smoothly; however, in each stage there will be challenges. These challenges allow the family to develop new skills and gain deeper perspectives that will help them to work through all the changes the family will go through.