Week7Vargas

.docx

School

Grand Canyon University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

INORGANIC

Subject

Arts Humanities

Date

Feb 20, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by dhoang8618

1 Vargas Family Case Study: Seventh Session Hang D. Hoang College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University Counseling Couples and Families Dr. Liesl Hecht 11/28/2022

Vargas Family Case Study: Seventh Session During the seventh session the Vargas family is in clear distress as evidenced by the incident regarding their nephew Geoff who nearly overdosed. Elizabeth debriefs within the session that Geoff’s mother and grandmother have approached the school counselor and have voiced that they find them unhelpful. In a similar fashion to her own family Elizabeth notes that Kate, Geoff’s mother tries to parent in a different approach than that of her husband Tim- who decided to take him off on a week-long trip to camp despite protests from the mother. Elizabeth requests for an entire family group session. According to Goldenberg, Stanton, and Goldenberg (2016), narrative therapy achieves change through consideration of different ways of examining meaning of lives, values, and assumptions and see how preconceived stories play a vital way of how people see themselves and their issues. By implementing the use of narrative therapy, a family can learn to rewrite their future store lines and reshape their lives into more positive directives that can assign meaning to life experiences and new behaviors. The following paper will discuss presenting problems within the Vargas family dynamic, narrative therapy interventions that can be utilized, and the role of a counselor during intervention. Two Presenting Problems In the seventh session there are two main presenting conflicts that are continuations of the previous sessions- the first is the communication that is present within the family dynamic. There is a pattern of communication where the family addresses one another after they make the initial step towards communication with an outside party- and sees some family members as more problematic rather than directing the conversation towards the maladaptive behaviors or patterns. The second is the family adaptation and management of heavier emotions including grief- Geoff 2

is having a hard time dealing with his father’s passing and his parents are not on the same page on how to deal or cope with the outcome as well as the consequential behavior that occurred after. In large part- his behaviors are minimized as seen by the ‘surprise’ the family felt when told that Geoff attempted to overdose but felt that his behaviors were considered ‘normal effects of grief,’ (GCU, 2021). There is evidence of lack of boundaries- when the grandmother (Linda) addresses the counselor herself without acknowledging the parents beforehand. How Problems Are Maintained According to the past session data, there are multiple instances that portray the communication and boundaries issues that are identified within the current session. According to Kiser, Baumgardner and Dorado (2010), indicate that when there is significant trauma that occurs within a family- the experience creates a family identity in which stories develop from. Trauma can become the dominant narrative in these situations- in the case of the Vargas family Geoff the son has attempted suicide, which creates a family bond but also determines whether future experiences will dismember the conscious family perception or envelop the narrative. Narrative therapy focuses on changing the story to create more helpful stories while bringing awareness towards which narrative is prioritized within each individual and brings conscious change to re-authoring identifies and future situations that occur (Rivera, 2020). As evidenced in the Vargas case both Elizabeth and Katie both share a narrative within their mind of the men within their family dynamics, by establishing more definitive family boundaries and keeping the focus on the situation rather than personal negative feelings about themselves or other members the problems will continue to exist. According to Goldenberg, Stanton, and Goldenberg (2016) when the established dominant story continues to show nonconformity and replace nonconstructive or negative views change will not occur. Once different meanings and 3

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help