The thought of completing a genogram on my family was interesting because the majority of my family lives in Liberia. I have an aunt that lives here but we have an estranged relationship and we don’t communicate. The person I could have told me everything about my paternal family was my grandmother. However, my grandmother passed away in 2000 from high blood pressure. My grandparents had six children and the youngest daughter became my source for the information I needed. Doing this genogram has been very difficult for me because I learned that maternal grandparents are deceased and my aunts and uncle are also deceased. My mother is the only living family member that I know of. I never got the opportunity to have a relationship with my mother’s side of the family. My paternal grandfather died the years I was born which explains why I don’t remember him. I was told that he was sick and got paralyzed before his death. There is no substance abuse and mental in my family. However, high blood pressure runs in my family because it was the cause of my grandmother’s death like I mention above. I have two uncles and an aunt that are currently dealing with high blood pressure and my father has diabetes. Growing up, my parental family were very close and we had great communication. However, since my grandmother passed away, we have experience estranged in some relationships. I always thought my aunt Victoria raised me since I was born, but I didn’t go to live with her until I was 9 years old. I was informed that I was with my mother up to the age of 2 years, then I went to live my paternal grandmother until 9 years old. Sometimes when a child is raised by someone other than their mother, they think their mother didn’t want them. I used to ... ... middle of paper ... ...larity. Working with my family, the therapist will need to join with my family and build a therapeutic rapport because I need to know they can trust the therapist. Each member of my family have to feel like the therapist is working with them if not change will not occur. The use of family mapping will help distinguish the types of boundaries that exist among my family. With the disengagement within my family subsystems, using the enactment technique will illustrate the interaction among family members. I am close to the siblings that I grew up with and my father his siblings were very close. With that being said, I will like to see the dynamic between my aunts and uncles when they are all in the same room together after years of being apart. I chose structural family therapy because at the end of the therapy session, I want the restructuring of my family structure.
Gladding, S. T. (2010). Family therapy: History, theory, and practice (5th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Family Subsystem Genogram Helen Buckman is one of four children of Frank and Martha Buckman. Helen is a bank manager. She has two children, Julie and Garry. Julie is seventeen and Garry is fourteen. She is divorced from her husband Ed, who is a dentist.
Family therapy differs from other kinds of therapy in the most basic premise that the unity of the problem is not one person but two or more. This is not a patient whose evil is stimulated by others but a symptomatic behavior product of a relationship between two or more people (Danny Wedding, Raymond J. Corsini ( 2013). Find the problem that the family wants to correct and identify in a clear manner. Initially, as a therapist trying to change the low expectations of the family to one where change within the family and theorize on what can happen. Using a genogram will be useful to analyze the addresses and relationships of each person in the
Experiential family therapy is one that believes the root cause of the problems in the families is a result of emotional suppression. This theory is focused on freedom experiencing emotions in the here-and-now. Experiential family therapists believe clients should seek self-fulfillment and focus on individual’s roles in the family rather than on the family as a whole. In order to promote growth, the individual and family must both grow. Once families are emotionally healthy, healthy attachments can then be made. I am drawn to this approach because of its focus on the individual. I believe that if individuals are healthy, family roles will become clearer and the system as a whole will become healthier. It is similar to when a spoiled piece of fruit makes it into a fruit salad, the entire salad is then ruined; however, if the entire salad is healthy, everyone will enjoy it. (Nichols, 2014, p. 130-132)
Structural family therapist have exemplified within the context relational therapies that uncovers stressors in relationship between individuals (Vetere, 2001). Structural family therapy has been known to be called “interventive approach” because of the “intensity” to encourage clients to change (Hammond & Nichols, 2014).
Family history possesses valuable information about a person’s past and future life. It can be used as a powerful screening tool to help conduct decisions about genetic testing for you and family members at risk. Family history can identify potential health problems that an individual has an increased risk for in their lifetime. With early identification, you can begin taking steps to reduce the risk with things such as lifestyle changes of diet and exercise. In many cases, just by adopting a healthier lifestyle can reduce your risk for diseases that run in your family.
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.
...n all family members get involved in trying to help. By the individual’s family being apart of their therapy session, it shows how much their family members care for them and want them to get help with whatever issues they may be having. This is very important because it is a sign of love and it is showing the support that they have for one another. Therapist have also found that during strategic family therapy, they can help all family members with helping to encourage each other as well as create rules and interactions that are psychological healthy for all family members who are involved. It will make it easier for the family members to all get along and understand each other. When one person in the family is having issues, the other members should take the time to talk to one another and help each other out, especially the family member who is in need of help.
She has a history of hypertension, high cholesterol, acid reflux disease, kidney stones, arthritis and bone spurs on her right shoulder. Additionally, my grandmother has had her gallbladder removed at the age of 51 years old. She has been pregnant two times and has two children, my mother and my uncle. She entered menopause at the age of 42 years old. My maternal grandfather, who is 76 years old, was born in Romania. He has a history of kidney stones and hypertension and was diagnosed with a horseshoe kidney. Additionally, my grandfather also had to have surgery for cataracts. My paternal grandmother, died at 78 years old, of a heart attack. She was born in Romania. Her medical history only of consisted of hypertension. She was pregnant only once and had one son, my father. My paternal grandfather, who is 86 years old, was born in Romania. He has a history of colon cancer and no other known medical issues. All my grandparents have no issues with mental conditions. My ethnic background is Romanian and my family never had growth or development
In this genogram reflection, I discuss the ongoing issue of trust between my parents and me. In distinguishing between my parent's view and my own, my purpose is to highlight my experiences of the family issue. I will explore how my family trust issues impact my personal and professional life. The reflection is structured as follows. After providing a contextual summary of my experience, I will examine how trust issues facilitate and impede my clinical work. Trusting my parents is one of my most difficult struggles in life. I do not trust my parents because of past abuse, manipulation, and disregard for my feelings. I have only revealed my mother's illness to three people in my life. In the interest of providing adequate family context, I will reveal my mother's borderline personality
After completing my family genogram, I was able to notice the history of a couple of patterns of fusion in particular. One of the relational patterns that stood out was emotional abuse which for the sake of this assignment I have only traced it back three generations, starting with my paternal grandfather Marciano, who endured the aftermath of the WWII and who conceived out of wedlock (COW) from Spanish and Mestizo parents and who married a woman Fidelina, of Chinese and Indian origin, born in El Salvador like him. Based on anecdotal accounts, Marciano was particularly emotionally abusive towards Rosa, my mother, who is also the first born of the couple and COW. Marciano had very high standards of beauty and intellect, which often triggered name calling, insults, and other forms of humiliation aimed towards my mother, causing her to feel belittled and resent his treatment towards her.
Understanding the components of building an effective helping relationship is fundamental. The therapeutic alliance evolves from an effective helping relationship. In family therapy the alliance, exist among the individuals, subgroups, and whole family. It is imperative for the family and clinician to have a positive relationship in order progress towards resolution of the presenting problem. In the alliance, the clinician and family work as a team. The alliance can have an impact on the outcome of therapy. Positive alliances increase the likelihood of resolution and positive outcome in therapy. A negative alliance will yield a less than expectable outcome. The therapeutic alliance hinges on the bond that is created between the client and clinician. Having a positive therapeutic alliance and solid theoretical rationale a family therapist can join hands with his or her client(s) and together can achieve goals.
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.
While the genogram helped me to understand the family’s dynamics, I found that I needed more information than what it provided to fully understand. Through family stories, I learned of Ginny’s, alcoholism and subsequent suicide attempts. My paternal grandfather, Jack, was not
Above is my immediate family, which is graphed by simple facts into this genogram. All of the information that was included into this genogram was known information. Since all of these family members are still alive, it made it easier to compile this information. Each specific family has its own dynamic. With my parents and brother, we are not that tight-knit; I don’t share every inch of my life and haven’t for many years, but equally they do not ask. Whereas, my mother and her brother along with her parents are very tight knit. They share everything and do a lot of things together, while being more conservative with their actions and behavior. They are always on their best behavior. On the flip side, my father and his parents and