Introduction The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the Millers and our meeting on the 20th of January at the Family & Community Support Services Association Of Alberta. This paper will also include the reason for the family’s referral to our agency, a presentation of their concerns, their family history/dynamic and the situational factors they face. Additionally, I will also include my summary of the family and the intervention plan I formulated for them, as well as some resources they can use to aid their situation. Reason for referral The reason for our client’s referral to the social work department was due to Lori's fear of following down the same path as her mother in staying content with her husband’s behaviour. Lori’s …show more content…
Lori’s sons, Kyle and Brandon both experienced and witnessed abuse from their father Max, who is currently serving time for his abusive actions. Before our meeting, Lori disclosed that Brandon is suffering from drug abuse due to his depression and that she is trying her best to keep him safe but is unsure of what to do to help …show more content…
Having a family member leave home is always going to be difficult however it is even more damaging to the family and to the member who left when it is due to conflict (McGoldrick & Carter, 1999, p. 4). The fact of the matter, cutting out family can negatively impact their identity (McGoldrick & Carter, 1999, p. 4). This is to say that a family must find a resolution to the conflict to reduce any lasting damage to themselves and other family members. A pattern of abuse in Lori’s life also appears to be a life cycle issue. As Lori grew up she witnessed the abuse of her mother by her father and the pattern occurs when she began her relationship with Max. Likewise, this cycle continued as Lori ended up in an emotionally controlling relationship with James. Nevertheless, this does not mean that Lori’s experience growing up made her choose her partners but that there is just a pattern of abusive relationships in her life. Moreover, this pattern is displayed in Kyle’s and Brandon’s life as well as in Lori’s life, as they all faced physical abuse from their fathers, which negatively affected them which seems worth
The challenges that the social worker identified and the impact the abuse could have on Brandon include the trauma and abuse, illness and struggle may be injurious, but they may also be sources of challenge and opportunity. Every environment is full of resources. Resources can provide great strengths. One of social workers’ major roles is to link clients with the resources they need to empower them to improve their lives (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman,
option, she decides to pursue another avenue. She first tries to attempt to see if it would be possible for Mr. Kirby to return home to his son’s house instead. However, all assessments of this possible route are ended with an excuse on the son’s part. It is at this point that the social worker then presents the option of an assisted care facility to the son, which is met with possible hope mixed with guilt (Goodyer, 2010). It is important to note that the options the social worker presents to the son are realistic. She makes sure to not give false hope of an easy road to get home health assistance, which is an vital part in ensuring that an informed decision is made. However, the fact that she completely writes off Mr. Kirby’s family as an avenue for help or strength is not
Society considers divorce as a failure and a destruction to a family unit when in reality divorce should be considered normal considering that the majority of families are blended or single parent homes. Barbara Kingsolver, an american novelist and essayist states her thoughts about divorce, blended and broken families in her essay titled “Stone Soup.” She argues that no family is perfect and that all families have problems. She uses examples, statistics and metaphors to persuade her readers of what a true family is. She informs us based on her own life experiences: her values, changes, and choices which ended in her divorce.
For Bowen, the family is the unit of observation and the emphasis is put on emotional forces that are common to all families, this helps to reduce the significance of which family member is causing the problem. Bowens approach to change is understood within the context of striving to understand life’s forces, the very principal that gives coherence to Bowens approach to therapy. (Friedman, 1991). When attempting to achieve change within a client the source of the issue is less important, but rather trying to locate the systematic forces within a family as well as those that are transmitted from generation...
... Joyce Dorado. "Who Are We, But For The Stories We Tell: Family Stories And Healing." Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, And Policy 2.3 (2010): 243-249. PsycARTICLES. Web. 2 May 2014.
The Andersens are completely cognizant of the fact that there is a problem and that it goes beyond Riley’s recent change in behavior. They exhibit a genuine desire to work with the therapist and do whatever it takes to illicit the necessary changes. There are no issues with drugs, alcohol, or abuse and each family member deeply loves and cares form the others. There are however, some issues with Bill and Jill’s worldview on how a family is supposed to work, boundaries, and problems with
The clients goals are to be reunited with her children, maintain housing, and to attend parenting to strengthen her skills and the bond with her children. Client is doing well: abstaining from drinking and complying with and attending program, no longer with abusive boyfriend, willing to work hard. Key players agree on goals for the most part. Goals represent a change on the micro level. Identified objectives are to develop her parenting skills and strengthen the bond with her children, maintain sobriety, and to develop healthier coping skills, develop positive self-esteem.
Shaniya Robinson arrives at the County Human Services Authority for her monthly appointment with her social worker. Ms. Robinson is a 25 year old African American female who is receiving treatment for schizophrenia from the adult behavioral health services program. During a session the client reports that she is under a great deal of stress because she is having difficulty adjusting to being a new mother. Her five month old baby girl Shanice is teething and cries frequently. Ms. Robinson is also struggling financially because she is currently unemployed; her mental illness makes it difficult to sustain employment long term. And she does not receive support from the child’s father on a consistent basis. The combination of these interactional difficulties is weighing heavily on the client who reports an increase in positive and negative symptoms (i.e. auditory hallucinations and social withdrawal). Because the client does not have insurance she disclosed to her social worker that she self-medicates using marijuana in an effort to manage symptoms. More noteworthy, the client explains that she uses the same method to soothe the baby by blowing marijuana smoke in the infant's face. It is certain that Ms. Robinson divulged such information for several reasons, she wants help and she believes that any information she shares within the context of her sessions are confidential.
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 correlation of child abuse and youth runaway are good examples of how the excessive drinking of Michael’s mother and her verbal/physical abuse led him to a pattern of running away from home since. This behavior not only led to him becoming homeless, but it also played a role in Michael feeling victimized by the police due to his economic status. It is safe to assume Michael’s behavior of running away and dropping out of high school is a positive correlation of the consequences and disadvantages of having four or more ACEs. These behavioral patterns Michael way of dealing with toxic stress at home and coping with the lack of support and closeness he was missing from his
Fred, Wilma, and Rose present an interesting perspective when looking at their family through a Structural Family Systems Theory. When trying to work with the family a social worker will utilize Functional Family Therapy in order to understand their structure and maybe ameliorate some of the family’s problems. Using Rose and her family as the clients it will be able explain what interventions we can use when we learn the constructs of the theory.
Structural Family Therapy offers a framework that provides order and meaning within the family connections (Nichols, 2013). Divorce for a family is considered a significant transition for all parties involved. When counseling a family going through divorce the structural family therapist’s job is to build an alliance with the family and obtain information about the structure. The structure of the family consists of the roles, interactions, organization, and hierarchy. Family therapy yields the belief that changing the organization of the family leads to change in the individual members. The structural family therapist often will try to become part of the family to gain a perspective of their issues as whole so not to place the focus on one individual. Joining is an empathetic approach in helping families explain and break down their individual stories without uncomfortable challenge or unnecessary confrontation (Nichols, 2013). It is important to note that family dysfunction that often leads to divorce is not attributed to one individual, but the entire family system. In structural family therapy, part of dealing with the issue of divorce in the family is to focus on the interactions between all the family members both positive and negative. Through these interactions the therapist can discover where the conflicts arise, which will in turn help the therapist understand how these negative interaction affect the family. Family therapy in these cases allows for repair of long-standing interactional patterns in which divorce is just one of a series of ongoing transactions that are disruptive to the child’s development (Kaplan, 1977, p.75). The structural family therapist often has the family play out these family interactions via enactments so that he can get a firsthand look at maladaptive patterns, roles, and
Task-based Interventions. If I had to opportunity to work with this family long-term, I would encourage a number of task-based interventions, or homework, for various family members and myself. I would encourage both Kadisha and Anthony to look for employment, and I would encourage all family members, if they were willing, to keep a small journal around to record notes on what is going well for the family, what presents a challenge, and how they can work together for the benefit of the children. My tasks would include 1) researching GED programs and their cost in/around Sauk Village, 2) contacting Kadisha’s AOD worker to inquire about making a referral for outpatient substance abuse treatment in/around Sauk Village, and 3) researching a new
Furthermore, “the central premise of this theory is that one must resolve all emotional issues with the family of origin, rather than reject reactively or accept passively that family, before one can become a mature and healthy individual” (Charles, 2001, p. 280). Bowen believed that the change in the self occurred through the change in relationships with others, so he encouraged the client to reconnect with the nuclear family members and resolve all emotional issues with them. This is because Bowen believed that unresolved conflicts with the family of origin would catch up with the client and affect his or her present relationships. Also, conflicts do not exist in the person, but in the family system. The necessary changes must take place in the self as well as in the larger system.
intervention. Families in Society. Vol. 88, pg. 42. Proquest Direct database. Retrieved February 25, 2015.