No matter which theory one adopts counseling with an emphasis in marriage and family is rooted in helping the family unit function well as a whole and consequently the family members will function better as individuals. Myers and Sweeney (2008) state it best, “professional counselors (as a whole) seek to encourage wellness, a positive state of well-being, through developmental, preventive, and wellness-enhancing interventions (Myers & Sweeney, 2008, p. 482. ACA, 2005). Family therapy tends to view change in terms of the system of interaction between family members. Marriage and family counseling emphasizes family relationships as an important factor in overall health; mind, body and spirit (Gladding, 2015). The different philosophies of family …show more content…
137). Marriage and family counseling was born from many pioneers that understood the need for more than just enhancing the individual human development, but the need to enhance family communication, …show more content…
The chosen program should have 48 semester hours or 72 quarter hours of coursework (“Education Requirements”, 2015). All counselors in training must complete 2000 hours of supervised practice that should be spread out over a 2 year period. After requirements are met an application must be submitted to the state and then an exam will be taken to receive a license in the state of Colorado which is valid for a 5 year period. In addition the state of Colorado requires continuing education throughout the career of a counselor. To obtain an LMFT license in Colorado the requirements are nearly the same as the above with the exception that potential counselors must take human development, marital and family studies, and marital and family therapy during their studies. The Colorado state exam for an LMFT license is a different exam than an LPC license. At this time I plan to get both my LPC and LMFT license for the state of Colorado. I also believe it would be useful to become an approved supervisor so I too can help students fulfill their needed supervisory hours; when I am qualified to do so. Other valuable continuing education certificates such as addiction counseling, trauma and abuse therapy and horse therapy will be of extreme value and continually help me learn more about my profession. Main
Research of literature depends on the theory or topic one is researching. Research uncovers what the author knows about his or her discipline and its practices. Augustus Napier is a family therapist with vast experience in family therapeutic processes and experiential therapy with couples. In my research of his background, I reviewed his book “The Family Crucible.” In this text, Dr. Napier chronicles the therapeutic process of one fictitious family (which is a composite of real cases) experiencing marital discord. In reviewing the case studies in this book, I gained insight into his style of the therapeutic process, which exposed Dr. Napier’s framework which leads to his assumptions about marriage. The details of this case study coupled with Dr. Napier’s added paragraphs and chapters of analyses with his conclusions on the maladaptive reasons people marry other people make this resource of great qualitative value. Additionally, useful evaluative data revealing a deeper insight into Dr. Napier’s position on irreconcilable differences can be fo...
Overall, each theory is effective with the approaches and similar focuses. A marriage, couple, and family counselor is expected to understand families, show them empathy, provide positive guidance, and use effective listening skills. These strategies will not only benefit families, but it will also benefit the counselor’s practice.
Over the last 100 years, the underpinning concepts in the fields of psychology and counseling were wrought. Within this period, these concepts have transformed and evolved from somewhat crude conceptions of the psyche toward more holistic interventions and approaches. As the profession continues to move forward, adaptations of the original theorists regarding the nature of man and the development of personality continue to emerge. These adaptations, along with the integration of new concepts and ideas, continue to contribute to the field. The author describes his view of man and human nature, personality development, and explores potential implications for counseling.
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
Sprenkle, J., Davis, S. D., Lebow, J. L. (2009). Common factors in couple and family therapy: The overlooked foundation for effective practice. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
I was really nervous about doing this first practice recording. While I knew how I wanted to start the conversation, I was stressed out about the unknown that comes along with these sessions. I am constantly listening to my friends talk, but how I had to respond for the counseling session was very different than what I am typically used to. I usually give my friends my opinions and advice on how I would handle the situation. It was hard for me to just sit back and let my classmate talk. I wanted to respond to many of her statements, but I had to take a step back and really just listen. In these types of counseling sessions my thoughts and opinions are not important. Rather, the focus should only be on the person you are counseling.
In the case of Virginia and Tom the main issue underlying marital crisis that was caused by dishonoring of vows. The case outline that Virginia has discovered that her husband Tom has been having not one, but several affairs throughout the course of their marriage. According to Tom he believes that his numerous affairs did not get in the way with his wife because these acts were not meaningful. Tom thinks that his wife should not dwell in the past because he loves her and he does not want his marriage to come to an end. Tom also, explains that he was not in a committed relationship with the women he come in contact with it was only for sex. Virginia is willing to forgive her husband, but she finds it to be difficult to continue living with him because she is aware of his extra marital affairs in the past. Virginia major concern is that her husband provides no reassurance and tries to use his action as a defensive mechanism.
Baucom, D.H., Shoham, V., Mueser, K.T., Daiuto, A D., & Stickle, T R. (1998). Empirically supported couple and family interventions for marital distress and adult mental health problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psycholog...
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.
Goldenberg, H. & Goldenberg, I. (2013). Family therapy: An overview (8th ed.). Belmont CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
The psychodynamic perspective of marriage holds that stable and long-lasting relationships form and are maintained when people are relatively free of neuroses and have good ego or self-functioning (Ringstrom 159-182). In other words, it is the same factors that make for general mentally healthy functioning that make for two people functioning in a marriage in a manner that expresses love and protects its stability.
The value system with what the person was brought up will play a major role in shaping the person’s nature and behavior. Optimal functioning of relationship gets strained when individuals fail to recognize this fact. Counseling help to make fundamental changes in the perception and attitude of those involved in the relationship. They start looking and responding to the situation with different perspective and positive attitude. This helps to bring a viable solution to the concern.
What is one of the largest problems with families in the United States? One of the problems that has been growing for years now is divorce. In the United States, about forty to fifty percent of people, who get married, get divorces in their lifetime (Kazdin, 2000). When families choose to get a divorce, they are effecting everyone around them. If children are involve, the impact could be even worse. There are ways to help families to not get a divorce but not all divorces can be overturned. One of these marriage saving strategies is marriage counseling and pre-marriage counseling.
The counseling session began with the introductions where I introduced myself as the counselor and later introduced my client. This stage is important in any counseling session since it is the time of exploration and focusing according to Gerard Egan as quoted by Wright (1998) in his essay on couselling skills. It is in this session that I was able to establish rapport and trust with my client in order to come up with a working and fruitful relationship with him. During this stage I made use of skills like questioning, where I would pose a question directly to my client, sometimes I would choose to just listen to what the client wanted to speak out while in some instances I would be forced to paraphrase the question if I felt the client did not understand the question I had asked previously. There were also other times when I would reflect through silence. During such a period, I got time to study the client and the information he had given. This being a difficult area, since some clients may not be able to volunteer information to you as the counselor, I decided to assure the client of confidentiality of any information he was willing to share with me with a few exceptions which I also told him about. Being open to him about the only times the information may not be confidential was part of my building rapport and establishing trust with him. I therefore, decided to ask the client what information he wanted to share with me and lucky enough he was ready to speak to me about different issues that he was going through.
Gottman’s book The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work has, helped understand better the dynamic within my marriage. I am the type of person who does not like to speak about personal problems with anyone, let alone a stranger. My husband and I seek marriage counseling about two years ago. However, after four sessions I decided to stop attending. I felt that the listening and the expressing of our feelings was not helping in mending our relationship instead, I felt more resentful. I could not understand why I felt that way when everyone kept telling me that therapy is the best thing to do to work out our