Family Therapy Vs Narrative Therapy

Joseph is a 48 year old Latino male who comes into therapy at the suggestion of his wife. He tells you, “I can’t seem to get out of bed in the morning and I don’t see why I should have to”. Joseph has just been laid off from his job of 25 years as an architect. He hurt his back during a fishing trip, and, as a result, had missed a significant amount of work. He tells you “in spite of my excruciating pain, I showed up to work daily and they kept sending me home. They were afraid I would re-injure myself. I didn’t take pain medication because I wanted to work. Then they made up some excuse that my job was phased out and let me go”. During the assessment, you learn that his children are grown up and on their own. He has stopped attending

Pam will develop and utilize skills to manage her frustration with parents or others, 3 out of 4 days per week.

Even the name of this approach creates a difference between approaches of the past; in the past the people who came to therapy were called patients, but in this approach they are known as clients. This idea created an idea of equal partnership within the therapeutic relationship, rather than an expert treating a patient. Within this approach, it is the job of the client to improve his or her own life, not the job of the therapist. The therapist is there more as a guide to finding one’s true self, rather than the person in the session who is to give all of the answers away. Because of this unique relationship in each situation, there is a lack of techniques to use within the therapeutic session. The relationship itself is the variable in the process, not what the therapist says or

Emotional cut off is an extreme measure when a family member no longer interacts with the others emotionally, becoming isolated in their function and in their exchange with the rest of the family members. This concept is important to the functioning of a three generational genogram. When a family member displays emotional cut off, the anxiety of the family is spread across lesser members, with this particular member’s isolation creating even more anxiety and pressure upon the family. In extension, this cut off not only impacts the immediate family, but it disseminates itself across the generational boundaries (Dr Murray Bowen, 2014). In turn family members may try to replace this relationship with another one, creating a potential for vulnerability and let downs.

Therapists must access their own internal process such as their feelings, attitudes and moods. Therapists’, who are not receptive to the awareness of their flow of thoughts and feelings, will not be able to help clients be aware of theirs (Kahn, 1997, p. 40). Though congruence does not mean that therapists have to share personal issues with clients, a therapist must not conceal their inner process from the client, and not be defensive but transparent (Kahn, 1997, p. 41). By being open sometimes a therapist learns more not only about their client but about themselves

Theories of family therapy assist in identifying problems within the family system as well as influence the assessment process including selecting goals and objectives for treatment plans. Bowen approach to family therapy focuses in the area of decreasing the level of anxiety within the family whereas Minuchin family structural therapy analyses the structure of the family system whereas all problems reside.

According to the article there is research that demonstrates adequate reliability and validity for the MCI. It adequately measures multicultural competencies.

Consequently, this week’s interpersonal/relational wiki proves to have a strong focus on therapies that analyze the core of relationships. Thus, the similarity that stood out was the depiction of relationships. Most of the models rely heavily on a client’s relationship, either with self, family, or society. While each model focuses on one’s relationship/s, each model differs in its perception of where relationships fail, how they are empowered and what role the therapist plays. In Relational-Culture Therapy (RCT) the therapist empowers clients through growth fostering relationships; Family Systems Theory (FST) the therapist remains neutral and creates structure; Adlerian therapists model social behaviour; Gestalt therapists create space for

On Being a Therapist by Jeffrey Kottler is an excellent book that conveys what being a therapist means. After reading the first chapter, I fell in love with the book. A therapist journey, chapter one, really reels one in to why they became a therapist in the first place. I learned I wanted to become a counselor while helping out at the school in my hometown. We as counselors strive to understand the human condition. Working with clients is like playing detective, Kottler said. This is very true because we want to know why the client is feeling the way he or she does and help the client to understand that feeling. We instill hope for change and success. In the book, Kottler talks often about how we are to teach goodness, honesty and trustworthiness, which are key in the client/therapist relationships. These character traits cannot be faked or mocked. It is all about the amount of empathy the therapist contains.

By now the child will be less anxious and help them integrate more easily into their world. Image, storytelling/narrating and metaphors are used to gain this new, healthier perspective of the child. The therapist will stay within the metaphor of the child’s story to allow for dramatic distance which facilitates the child to explore how their problems have influenced their internal and external worlds. Through recreating a preferred story the child can change their own narrative. The therapist’s role in this phase is not to direct the child’s story but to act as a wittness, facilitating the child to stay in contact with the self and checking in that they are understanding the story correctly (Geldard et al, 2013). The child will now be able to separate themselves from their problems, let go of painful memories, gain some control over their world and further develop their own identity as in the case of Dibs (Axline, 1964) when he does not want doors and windows shut anymore and boldly begins to open them. Older children and adolescents who may have difficulty telling creative stories may be helped by creative media such as cards, story boards, pictures, story cubes, miniatures to represent the story may be used. It is crucial to help the child stay connected to the new preferred story and it is at this point that the therapy progresses to phase

Families, who encounter problems, whether it is in their marriage or a parental issue with a child, will pursue counseling as a way to help mend the broken family dynamic. If the family has a strong Christian belief system and worldview, they might feel more comfortable receiving therapy from a pastor in the church or from a therapist that will incorporate a Christian perspective into the therapeutic approach. The articles Counseling From The Christian Point Of View, Just What Is Christian Counseling Anyway?, and an interview with professor Chip Vining will show the different methods of a Christian approach and how to accommodate families who wish to have their counselor integrate faith as part of therapy.

Hispanic woman in her thirties recently struggling with alcohol and drug addiction since the loss of her job. Client has been living in this country for a few years and married to American-born citizen for fifteen years old. Husband travels frequently for his job which makes for little time together. The client has not attempted to make friends and feels alone. Client has made mention of waiting to go to sleep permanently. Husband has been concerned for wife’s safety and has brought her into therapy for assistance.

You might think who is this therapist and what is she doing writing a book.

Chapter 2 of White’s Maps of Narrative Practice reviews the topic of re-authoring the conversations. Re-authoring the narrative helps “people develop and tell stories about their lives, but they also help people to include some of the more neglected but potentially significant events…” (p. 61). Basically, re-authoring the narrative allows the third party to gain more information about the entire storyline including the client’s thought process (White, 2007). Throughout the chapter, White illustrates his conversations with a map to exhibit the difference between a narrative’s landscape of action versus his/her landscape of identity. The landscape of action are the actual even happening within a story line, while the landscape of identity of consciousness are factors such as understanding or knowledge that affect why the story is being told in that manner (White, 2007). Lastly, White mentions the author Jerome Bruner, a pioneer of this process, to assist White in his explanation of how texts compare to both life and engagement as writer creates his/her story.

The intervention session plans to help the family member to understand that what they have within themselves. The Wong’s family members have their own resources to grow, change, and solve problems. Like what Satir viewed family problems that are symptom of an indication of impaired communication. It will block the freedom of family members to grow and denies them an opportunity to thrive in a family environment that promotes health, well-being, and good self-esteem. The intervention plan aims to help individual family members feel good about themselves. The goal of first two sessions is to enhance the growth potential of the individual, the self-actualization. Therapy was set to integrate the needs of each individual family member for independent growth with the integrity of the family system (Satir & Baldwin, 1983). It also entails the installation of hope, helping the family and its individual members enter therapy to develop a positive feeling. Helping refocus the family off of the presenting problem or symptom and on to the strengths within the family. Like Satir’s growth-oriented approach, the intervention focuses on the transformation of the individual rather than an attempt to eliminate or extinguish