Reasons for Chosen Approach In treatment for Santos family, the most effective approach is Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), due to the presenting problem, agency resources and family members’ involvement, developmental age of the client, and cultural considerations. As described earlier, the presenting problem was Ana’s recent emotional outbursts and patterns of negative behaviors. In the beginning of treatment, a targeted goal for intervention was improving Ana’s emotional regulation and self-soothing skills. EFFT was an ideal intervention because it primarily focuses on processing and identifying emotions. Emotions communicate to the self and others what a person needs and is motivated to move toward (Bowlby, 1969). EFFT will also …show more content…
Ana’s relationship with her main caregiver, mom, was seen as a main concern. The development of a secure relationship between child and caregiver is universal across various cultures (Santiseban et al, 2012). Attachment is important not only in terms of those characteristics that are internalized by the child that shape personality, but also in terms of the quality of support and connection that will be evident in the family over the person’s lifetime. Family therapists work to interpret the interpersonal interactions between two different individuals’ internalized working attachment models. EFFT works to address the attachment concerns present in the Santos …show more content…
Family therapy is not always an available option for many clients because of inadequately trained social services or the family members are not able to attend sessions. The agency has been involved with the Santos family, especially mom. It was able to provide time, transportation to home, and art supplies needed for EFFT interventions. EFFT is also appropriate for the client’s developmental age. As a 10 year-old girl, Ana falls into Piaget’s Concrete Operational stage. During ages 7-11, children have developed mastery over operations that involve logic and reasoning (Rogers, 2013). Ana has developed conversational skills and flexible thinking. Ana’s developmental stage is appropriate for the EFFT model because she able to engage in emotional regulation activities and contribute in conversation. It is also important to acknowledge the cultural context of the Santos family when applying best-fit treatment models. EFFT, a form of family therapy, is encouraged as form of counseling because of Latino culture. Familiso in the Latino culture regards family relationships in high value (Bean, Perry & Bedell, 2001). Individual identities are seen as directly related to family systems. The emphasis of family encourages the use of family therapy for the Santos. Evidence
Experiential Family Therapy is a therapy that encourages patients to address subconscious issues through actions, and role playing. It is a treatment that is used for a group of people in order to determine the source of problem in the family (Gurman and Kniskern, 2014). Experiential Family Therapy has its strengths and weaknesses. One of the strengths of this therapy is that, it focuses on the present and patients are able to express their emotions on what is happening to them presently. The client will have time to share everything about his/her life experiences one on one without any fears. As a result, it helps the client in the healing process because, he/she is able to express their feelings freely and come out of the problem. Therefore, in this type of therapy, the clients are deeply involved in solving their issues. It helps clients to scrutinize their individual connections and to initiate a self-discovery through therapy, on how their relationships influence their current behaviors (Gurman and Kniskern, 2014). By examining their personal relationships through experiential family therapy, family members are able to
Mental health counselors must first assess the family’s problems. Assessment begins with a history of the presenting problem, which includes making notes of exact dates and checking them for their relationship to events in the extended family, becoming aware of the history of the family, including the history of the parents’ courtship, their marriage, and childrearing years (et, al., 2017, p77). The counselor must be aware of where the family has lived, the history of the spouse’s births, sibling positions, and significant parts of their childhood history, and the functionality of their parents, which should be recorded in a genogram covering at least 3 generations (et, al., 2017, p77). The mental health counselor also must always practice confidentiality, and cultural competence in dealing with
A systems based treatment plan is necessary when working with this family and a systemic assessment is needed to accomplish this. “A systemic assessment will typically reveal that marital and/or parenting issues are contributing to the presenting problem” (Gehart, p. 37, 2016). The therapist will start by using a genogram. A genogram was used to analyze the Andersen family, as it is a structured way of collecting information about the family. It allows the therapist to gather details and “identifies not only problematic intergenerational patterns, but also alternate ways for relating and handling problems” (Gehart, 2014, p. 237). A genogram is a visual representation of the family and their history that will display
Gladding, S. T. (2010). Family therapy: History, theory, and practice (5th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Emotionally focused therapy is designed to be short-term in structure. Developed principally by Dr. Susan Johnson, the main target of this type of therapy is couples and is focused on expressing emotions. The primary goal of emotionally focused therapy is to create a safe and long-lasting bond between romantic partners and family members while expanding and restructuring significant emotional responses. Partakers in emotionally focused therapy are emboldened to express their thoughts and emotions in a safe environment without fear of judgment. In this paper, we will discuss a therapy session between Sue Johnson and a couple, Leslie and Scott.
The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they
Attachments are formed with parents; this contributes to give a sense of who we are and who we will become in later life. However where these attachments are broken the child needs to have a secure attachment established with an alternative adult care giver,...
Conflicts within relationships are inevitable and some conflict can help strengthen a relationship; however, in marriages and families, many people fail to work through their conflict, which results in unhealthy patterns of behavior. Over time, if left unresolved, these patterns of behavior can lead to a breaking of the relationship. Furthermore, most people do not set out seeking conflict within relationships, but rather they lack the emotional maturity to move through conflict. In fact, it is not the differences between the two parties that create the conflict, but rather the emotional reaction to their differences. Therefore, an intervention is required to begin the healing process of working through conflict. Often a pastor or counselor
Miguel and Rosa have agreed to address the following issues during their treatment. First, they will develop appropriate strategies for managing anger. Second, increase their understanding of ADD and parenting techniques. Third, expand the current support network of their family. We will begin their process by implementing the Brief Strategic Family Therapy model. This therapy allows the family to address their issues collectively and individually. With this approach Miguel and Rosa will address their maladaptive behavior, by developing good communication skills and by helping them to define the family strengths. This therapy will also address Christopher’s aggressive and antisocial behavior, by coaching him in a new behavior. This style therapy along with couple’s therapy and support groups will provide Miguel and Rosa with the tools needed to promote health communication in their relationship, also with how to communicate with their
Acknowledging, the importance of attachment has been in helpful development of couples therapy, in particular to Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), “where it helps explain how even healthy adults need to depend on each other,” (Nichols, 2013, p. 62). EFT is an empirically validated experiential therapy model that works with emotion to create change. EFT therapists use “attachment theory to deconstruct the familiar dynamic in which one partner criticizes and complains while the other gets defensive and withdraws,” (Nichols, 2013, p.63). Research has demonstrated the importance of attachment in individuals. It is not solely a childhood trait attachment is a trait that individuals carry for the rest of their lives. Nonetheless, it is important to work on the attachments with families and couples in order to alleviate some of the negative interactions that arise from feeling a fear of losing the attachment with
Duty, G. (2010, December 10). Family Systems Therapy. Lecture presented at Principles of Counseling Class Notes, Bethany.
Attachment theory is the idea that a child needs to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregiver. The theory proved that attachment is necessary to ensure successful social and emotional development in an infant. It is critical for this to occur in the child’s early infant years. However, failed to prove that this nurturing can only be given by a mother (Birns, 1999, p. 13). Many aspects of this theory grew out of psychoanalyst, John Bowlby’s research. There are several other factors that needed to be taken into account before the social worker reached a conclusion; such as issues surrounding poverty, social class and temperament. These factors, as well as an explanation of insecure attachment will be further explored in this paper.
A therapist will face problems, issues and client troubles everyday. The professional must understand how their client relates to the world around them. These feelings and ideas affect how the client sees the problem and how they respond to their situation. Their actions, in turn, have bearing on individual thoughts, needs, and emotions. The therapist must be aware of the client's history, values, and culture in order to provide effective therapy. This paper will outline and provide information as to the importance of cultural competence and diversity in family therapy.
Nichols, M. P. (2010). Family therapy concepts and methods (9 ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
intervention. Families in Society. Vol. 88, pg. 42. Proquest Direct database. Retrieved February 25, 2015.