The Multigenerational Family Therapy Case Study

It is evident that in order to help and take care of others sufficiently, one has to take care of themselves. “The fact that impaired counselors are more likely to harm clients has been established. Similarly, well counselors are more likely to help clients become more well” (as cited in Lawson & Myers, 2011, p. 163). One of the main goals of counseling is to help the client. That goal will be hard to achieve if the counselor is not practicing appropriate self- care. “Counselors have long understood that burnout is a potential risk inherent in the counseling profession” (Lawson & Myers, 2011, p. 164). Burnout is not the only risk. Counselors take in a lot of pain, suffering, anger, and sadness from their clients. “In terms of professional

“The goal of this approach is to differentiate self within a system and to understand one’s family origin” (Corey, p. 407). In other words, “Bowen theory hypothesizes that the functioning of families is enhanced with viable emotional contact between its multigenerational members” (Klever, 2015, p.1). Bowen focused on two concepts, differentiation and triangulation. Differentiation means emotionally disconnecting from the family and triangulation means involving a third person into the family problems (Corey). This theory views emotional problems as being transferable from generation to generation until resolved effectively (Corey). Structural family therapy was developed by Salvador Minuchin (1974). “The central idea was that an individual’s symptoms are best understood from the vantage point of interactional patterns, or sequences, within a family” (Corey, p. 408). In order for an individual’s symptoms to be reduced or eliminated, structural changes must occur in the family (Corey). The goals of structural family therapy are to reduce symptoms of dysfunction and to establish appropriate boundaries so that structural change can occur.