The Peterson family on May 5th 2007 took the initiative to gain therapeutic services for their troubled son David. Throughout the therapeutic process, all family members became actively involved. Three primary family therapeutic approaches for treatment were eventually chosen by the therapist with the application of three interventions within each approach. The approaches included; Cognitive Behavioral approach, Narrative Based Therapeutic approach, and a Psychoeducational Therapeutic approach. These purposely chosen constructs were applied to the Peterson family system and with their help the Peterson family was able to assist their son David with his behavior issues. Agency Context The current agency, in which the Peterson family sought assistance, was the Summit Agency. Summit is an inner city agency located within the college district of Philadelphia. It is a high end agency that …show more content…
Much of the clientele within the Summit Agency could be considered mid to upper class. The agency is primarily funded by direct payment from clients who are seeking highly qualified PhD. and Masters level clinicians to assist with their family issues and by private donations given by local university professors and staff. Presenting Problem The presenting problem according to the Peterson family has been clarified by Mr. and Mrs. Peterson as the behavior of their 16 yr. old son David. For the last two months David has been acting out in school and been disrespectful at home. Rule breaking, disrespecting teachers, and detentions have remained consistent parts of David's behaviors. This type of behavior for the Peterson family is unacceptable and has resulted in the Peterson family seeking assistance for their son's behavior. Mr. Peterson
George A. is a 9-year-old boy that attends a middle school in Quincy, MA. Prior to attending this school, George was placed in a substantially separate classroom for two years. As his first completed year as a mainstreamed student, his teachers are concerned. His grades are poor and his behavior is disruptive and inappropriate. George is known for his deviousness, lack of self-control, and disruptiveness during class. George is not qualify for Special Ed. academic services and his teachers believe he is fully capable of completing his work, but chooses not to.
As a social worker it is often complex to determine which theory to employ in practice, each client will warrant for an in-debt assessment of the presenting problem and goals the client desires to achieve. This paper will explore one family intervention model that can be applied to the Taylor family. The two theories analyzed are Cognitive Behavioral Family Theory, (CBFT) and Structural Family Theory (SFT); both theories can be utilized when assisting individuals or families. The social worker will focus on the Cognitive Behavioral Family Therapy model when applying treatment and interventions to the Taylor family case.
Nieter et al. (2013) looked at PCIT with community families and whether the behaviors of the children changed after the 12 sessions. The sample of 27 families was in low socioeconomic statuses, and the children were between 2-8 years of age. Only 17 of these families completed the entire treatment. The families that were in the PCIT program exemplified that the parents and/or caregivers gained skills to help their children’s behavior. The caregivers also in the experimental (PCIT) group believed that their children’s behavior improved by the end of treatment and the parents’ stress level decreased as well. Not only did the children’s behavior improve, but the parents also felt like they did not exhibit inappropriate behaviors (e.g. critical statements) as much and used more prosocial behaviors. The study’s results also may show that the fact that the treatment was in a group setting may have been beneficial, because it provides a support system, and they are able to problem solve together. Even after treatment ended, the parents reported that they kept in contact, creating a strong community. However, on the other hand, the problem with the group setting was the because there were so many groups, each caregiver only received 10-15 minutes of coaching which is shorter than the individual sessions. Thus, the therapists could not ensure that each family fully mastered each session before moving on to the
Family therapy differs from other kinds of therapy in the most basic premise that the unity of the problem is not one person but two or more. This is not a patient whose evil is stimulated by others but a symptomatic behavior product of a relationship between two or more people (Danny Wedding, Raymond J. Corsini ( 2013). Find the problem that the family wants to correct and identify in a clear manner. Initially, as a therapist trying to change the low expectations of the family to one where change within the family and theorize on what can happen. Using a genogram will be useful to analyze the addresses and relationships of each person in the
Practicing and researching solution-focused family therapy is growing and becoming more prevalent in the helping profession (Gingerich, Kim, Geert, Stams, & Macdonald, 2012; Kim & Franklin, 2015). As such, solution-focused family therapy is now considered an evidence-based therapeutic approach for all helping professionals. Additionally, solution-focused family therapy is proven to be flexible and portable to a range of therapeutic settings including behavioral health and community counseling clinics, school counseling, alcohol and drug treatment facilities, and coaching. While, solution-focused family therapy is greatly recognized as a useful evidence-based approach, there is a lack of research on the process
Nichols, M. P. (2010). Family therapy concepts and methods (9 ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
I found that Virginia Satir’s Experiential Family Therapy is the most interesting and important theory for especially youth. Family has a strong connection to youth’s mental condition. I strongly agree that Satir’s way of practice, which is “bringing the father into therapy,” and she “focused on the development of self-esteem in the family members and helped them to communicate directly and openly with each other,” is effective to the patient’s unfathomable depth.
Gladding, S. T. (2010). Ch9.Family therapy: History, theory, and practice (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Chapter 9, “Psychodynamic and Bowen Family Therapies”
“Cognitive-behavior therapy refers to those approaches inspired by the work of Albert Ellis (1962) and Aaron Beck (1976) that emphasize the need for attitude change to promote and maintain behavior modification” (Nichols, 2013, p.185). A fictitious case study will next be presented in order to describe ways in which cognitive behavioral therapy can be used to treat the family members given their presenting problems.
Looking at recent publications, one has the impression that family therapy is a new concoction from the psychotherapist's alchemic kitchen. It is met with diverse reactions. Some regard it suspiciously, seeing it as a deviation from traditional therapeutic methods; others praise it as an important advance in the treatment of psychoses. Still others view it as a special method for dealing with children.
The research complied for this report was gathered from various Journals dedicated to the discourse surrounding the practices of narrative therapy and family therapy. Search terms used to collect relevant articles were ‘narrative therapy’, ‘Michael White’ and ‘externalising’. The results from these terms were extensive and required narrowing further by way of peer reviewed status, content type and discipline. Data gathered was then critically analysed to explicate firstly, the socially constructed knowledge surrounding the process of narrative therapy, and the technique of externalising. Secondly, any discrepancies or conflicts in the discourse related to the application of the externalising technique. And lastly, the successes, efficacy, and limitations of externalising as a technique. There was no primary research conducted in the process of compiling this report.
For this reason, some of the brief therapies, such as strategic family therapy or solution-focused therapy, that focus on rapid change without much attention to understanding, might be more appropriate. However, I believe these brief therapies do not give clients enough time to really parse out their problem. I am wary of counseling that limits clients’ ability to tell their stories fully, which seems like just one more way of silencing people, oppressing them, and keeping them in line. In working with my clients I want to collectively understand how problem-saturated stories developed, the cultural, familial, or biological factors that might be involved, and the availability of choices. I believe that narrative therapy is the most flexible approach in this respect because although not brief, it is efficient and seems to be effective long-term, although more research is needed, which is challenging because of the subjective nature of this approach (Madigan, 2011). In my therapy practice, I want to leave clients feeling hopeful and liberated by helping them to see the problem as separate from their identities and as only one story to choose from several, and by acknowledging the contextual factors contributing to the
Nichols, M. P. (2011). The essentials of family therapy. Boston, Ma.: Allyn and Bacon. (Original work published 5th)
Goldenberg, H. & Goldenberg, I. (2013). Family therapy: An overview (8th ed.). Belmont CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
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.