Symbolic-Experiential Therapy
Chosen Therapy-Strengths and Weaknesses- When choosing the therapy modality for this family, symbolic-experiential therapy seemed to fit. I compare this family’s situation to Carl Whitaker’s reference his work as, “therapy of the absurd.” The classifications of prejudices, biases or any type of discriminatory acts are absurd to me. I had my reservations about the techniques that Carl Whitaker displayed when I watched the videos but for this family situation, I think it seems appropriate. The issues surrounding this family are complex, same-sex marriage (sexual prejudice) and require a straightforward approach. Symbolic-experiential therapy is not based on any one type of theory. Instead, the therapists as the
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Because the therapist uses the techniques of grasping thoughts and movements of the clients and interprets them through symbolism, the process is more spontaneous An example would be that of having members express their inner thoughts, not an easy task to accomplish and not easily defined. This type of therapy would need to be adjusted depending on the needs of the family and so, no one set rule would apply. Some view the types of techniques used in this therapy as offensive or without …show more content…
One of the families does not approve of the marriage because they do not approve of same-sex marriages. They never call the mother to ask about the children nor do they wish to get involve with the other family members. There is little contact or support from extended family members. The parents views are based on “old style” “old-fashioned” world views of, “the bible says…” and it is clear in their mind that men and women have a specific place and role in a families life. This is causing stress among the children as they one visited and spent time with their grandparents and undue stress and hardship on the
As a therapist, there are several different elements to be reviewed. The first step requires acknowledgement of both the times and the dynamics of the family. The setting is between the years 1989-1998. As stated above, this is an African-American family that lives in an urban town in Mississippi. In some African-American families important things are not always discussed. It is as if the method of dealing with an issue, is actually not addressing the matter at all. This creates a heavy elephant in the room. I believe that is a coping method for the family. If the family were to address the issues at hand, it would require someone or several people to admit fault. Admitting fault in some families, can be worse that not acknowledging the problem. A therapist would have more success with the client if they take these factors into
It’s important to point out that no matter how “ideal” family one is there are still things that they have to deal with and fix. Family one’s issues often come from the growing up of their children. The daughter is just starting high school and the son is in elementary school, so each of them are growing and going through things. The father and the daughter have major different outlooks on whether she should be dating or not. This issue is dealt with them talking about the problem and working through it together. There are issues between the father and mother, they do not always see eye to eye and this creates tension. The important thing here is that they do not allow their personal issues to affect their ability to do their jobs and take care of the children. The children come first. These issues could easily point to there being a family crisis but I do not agree with that. These issues are normal and have been something that all families will deal with, regardless if they’re a modern family or a family from 100 years ago. Issues are going to occur and the important part seeing them through to only learn from the
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.
In this day and age there are many variations of what constitutes a couple or family in comparison to many years ago. Long ago the idea of a ‘nuclear family’ was considered the norm; it consisted of the conventional husband, wife and children . But as our society progressed through the years this definition became less conventional and criticisms were made, this definition of ‘family’ did not account for gay unions, soul parents nor did it acknowledge the prevalence of extended family. The definition of family has changed over time, as have the socially defined roles of mothers and fathers. Within these varied family units, situations occur in which divorces and separations take place and a lot of the times these tricky situations may involve children, which can make an already tricky situation even more problematic. There are pieces of legislation which are in place which aim to protect the best interests of a child during the time their parents are going through divorce but sometimes these avenues can be more problematic and ultimately destroy unions whereas other avenues of dispute resolution such as mediation, albeit with its own criticisms, helps to keep relationships afoot in that it provides an opportunity for peaceful and mutual agreements to be made in a more laid back environment.
Moreover, the foundational approach to structural family therapy are that families’ are views as psychosocial systems, attached within social systems, which operate in a transactional patters. The transaction patterns are how, when and whom to relate, and reinforce systems. As a result each family duty are carried ou...
Today, in a world of the “postmodern family” the traditional lines of family structure are blurred. Children may come from diverse types of homes, or a couple, married or not may choose to have no children and consider themselves a family. The roots of these modern families may stem from ethnic origins, sexual orientations, or even seen as a rebellion of sorts from traditional ways. Children may live in homes of single parents, which is an exceedingly more common phenomenon as the divorce rate well publicized at around fifty percent. They may also live with homosexual parents either as a biological child of one partner or adopted by both. Also, the traditional married couple may choose to adopt locally or internationally, potentially blending ethnic backgrounds into one household. Whatever the background of the new nuclear family the challenges and experiences follow similar patterns.
Family is not determined by a person's last name or blood relations. The traditional idea of a nuclear family, consisting of a husband and wife raising one or more children together, has evolved in recent years. In this modern society, not only is it common for single parents or unmarried couples to raise a family, but, gays and lesbians are also taking part of this profound trend that is re-defining what a family is as a whole. Imagine if a person's privilege or opportunity of becoming a parent was revoked; how would this impact their life? Even though homosexuals are steadily becoming more accepted and integrated into today's prevalent culture, a disunity is posed when it comes to establishing a family of their own through adoption. Homosexual couples should be granted the same rights to adopt children like heterosexual couples can. The freedom to adopt should be equal in all aspects because there are too many children in the foster care who need a loving home, it is narrow-minded to assume that heterosexuals make better parents than homosexuals, and it is prejudice to deny homosexuals the right to adopt children based on their sexuality.
In this third and final reaction paper this writer will be discussing the following therapies; Feminist therapy, Postmodern approaches including Narrative therapy and Solution-focused therapy, as well as Family systems therapy. Throughout this class we have extensively researched, analyzed and studied many different psychotherapies. In doing so this writer has been able to gain a better understanding of the therapies that work with the age group this writer has chosen to work with, and which ones are not as beneficial. Trying to figure out this writer’s own individual style has been quite the task, in writing this final paper this writer hopes to find a combination of therapies that best represents my own personal beliefs and values.
Duty, G. (2010, December 10). Family Systems Therapy. Lecture presented at Principles of Counseling Class Notes, Bethany.
Ethnocentrism as described by Jandt is considered to be a barrier to effective intercultural communication, it is defined as negatively judging aspects of another culture by the standards of one’s own culture (Jandt, 2010, pp. 84). A blended family is at times hard to live in, especially when stepchildren are involved. As a family the stepchildren’s mother chooses to live a lifestyle as a lesbian, when that children were younger there was friction due to the disagreement with that lifestyle choice. Many judgements were passed regarding how the children were raised and if her partner should be able to parent the children due to a past of violence and anger. This has caused some disagreements in the family making people feel like they were
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.
According to Richard Charles (2001) “the effectiveness of family systems theory rests not much on empirical research but on clinical reports of positive treatment outcomes, the personal benefits experienced by the families that underwent this kind of treatment, and the elegance of Bowen’s theory” (p. 279). Bowen’s family systems theory views the family as an emotional unit and is a theory of human behavior. Systems thinking are used to describe the complex interactions in the unit. However, the client’s ability to differentiate himself/herself from the family of origin is the basis for Bowen’s family systems theory. In addition, the primary focus for growth within the emotional system is differentiation of self. Differentiation of self will be explored as well as how it relates to a church congregation.
I found your thread to be insightful. Families of adolescents of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender children are all different. Some families accept their children, while others do not. One such example is my extended family. I have two cousins who are openly gay. My dad’s step-brother and his wife did not respond well to their son “coming out” because they are devout Christians. They believe marriage is designed for one man and one woman for life. Due to his parents’ reaction, he now feels like everyone who disagrees with his sexual orientation is homophobic. My dad’s sister and her husband were more accepting of their son “coming out”. They do not treat him any differently than their other children; however, my aunt now accuses
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
Nichols, M. P. (2011). The essentials of family therapy. Boston, Ma.: Allyn and Bacon. (Original work published 5th)