A Reflection On The Family

Family is something that plays a tremendous role in our life. Even though the structure of families has changed over the years, it is important to acknowledge that there many families out there whether they are traditional families, nuclear family, stepfamilies or others which tend to have different types of problems in their families. Therefore, many families attempt to go to family therapy in order for them to obtain help in solving the different types of issues they might have at home. As stated in the book Family Therapy by Michael P. Nichols (2013), “The power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interaction… What keeps people stuck in their inability to see their own participation in the problems that plague them. With eyes fixed firmly on what recalcitrant others are doing, it’s hard for most people to see the patterns that bind them together. The family therapist’s job is to give them a wake-up call” (2013).

Family System Strengths: The third part of the assessment shows different aspects of day to day Hyppolite life and their functions. Various sections contribute to the well-being of individuals members and family as a while unit. There are 16 traits and attributes listed.

Communicational patterns are strong within the family communicating, interacting, and listening to each other. Mom and Dad have open communication between them and with the children. No dysfunctional communication observed. The decision-making process is between Mom and Dad. The role structure is as equal as can be; Mom works full time and has two part time jobs because Dad is unemployed so Dad has a larger care-giving role. Family values are based upon strong Christian faith. Family attends church every week and children are enrolled in private religious school. Prayer is said before each meal and at bedtime. The family shares a strong religious core with tradition, values, and beliefs.

The idea of family is a central theme in Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun. Hansberry alludes to the Old Testament book of Ruth in her play to magnify “the value of having a home and family”(Ardolino 181). The Younger family faces hardships that in the moment seem to tear them apart from one another, but through everything, they stick together. The importance of family is amplified by the choices of Walter and Beneatha because they appear to initiate fatal cracks in the Younger family’s foundation, but Mama is the cement who encourages her family to pull together as one unit. The hardships of the family help develop a sense of unity for the Younger household.

There are a few family assessment tools that can be used to assess families, each assessment has different aims and scope. That being said, the one I have chosen today is the Australian Family Strengths Nursing Assessment Guide also known as AFSNAG. The Australian Family Strengths Nursing Assessment guide helps families identify and develop their strengths that can change the family functioning and increases family resilience. (Patterson 2002) is a range of questions across the 8 important qualities of the Australian family strengths (Appendix 1) that allows the nurses can ask the family members to identify their strengths and also weaker areas that they can improve on as a family. The 8 important qualities of family strengths Australians have identifies are Togetherness, Sharing activities, Affection, Support, Communication, Acceptance, Commitment and Resilience. (Smith LM 2008)

Based on the theories and models I reviewed the first non-developmental theories that have helped assist me in understanding my family is the Structural- Functional Theory. According to Friedman, Bowden, and Jones (2003), the Structural- Functional framework is built on the basis that family represents a social system and therefore you must examine a families interactions within their societal construct (p.70). Identifying how a family interacts with one another and how their relationships with healthcare providers, schools, family, members of society, and other organizations, which can help a nurse determine what areas may need strengthening. According to Friedman et al., (2003) “this approach characterizes the family as open to outside influences, yet at the same time, is concerned with maintaining its boundaries”(p.70). Thus, allowing adaptability among the family units as an individual institution in their society. The theories primary assumptions include a family as a social system that has functional requirements and that function similarly to most small groups, as families are social

A second characteristic that may be helpful is a parenting class. Twice a month, the Housing Authority has a speaker or workshop that will assist parents with working with their children. Through Structural Family Therapy, the family will establish a set of rules for their daily functioning, and these rules will form its own structure. A therapist that is employing Structural Family Therapy must assess the family’s interactions, figure out who is the family’s hierarchy, the alliance within the family, such as the mother and son against the father or siblings, or siblings against siblings or another sibling

“The Psychodynamics of the Family”, taken from The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender, published in 1978, remains one of Nancy Chodorow most influential works.

As the father of modern family studies, Whittaker, J. K. and J. Garbarino. (1983) observed, 'We know too much about the family to be able to study it both objectively and easily 'Some family needs could be considered as being met through a combination of expressive and instrumental functions, such as child care, and health-related supports. This applies on both Case Studies.

Communication patterns within the family need substantial work, often the communication between family members is not clear nor firm, children do not respond favorably to feedback, there is not much listening and frequent feelings of judgment occur. M is very emotional and cries often when speaking with her daughters, M and S do not communicate often other than to discuss bills or their daughters. S makes most of the decisions in the house, and it is evident J and L have a higher respect for S. M continues to attend church, and would like the family to attend

Family is of great importance to having a functional or dysfunctional development; it will help or impede the child to have a support system in place.

Positive family dynamics boil down to how they treat and interact with one another. If a child like Melinda had an undesired homelife, then coming home to an unhappy household would not put her in a happy state of mind. On the other hand, if she came home to a joyful and pleasing household, this would give Melinda the chace to pick up that joy in herself. Conversations between family members can help the emotional and mental state of mind.(...) If

2012). In marriage matters, this are issues that needs to be discussed to ensure the young couples don’t get into troubles with themselves and that they get the best out of their relationships (McNulty, et al. 2012). Family psychology should be improved in the ways of how the psychologists approach the audience and how well they deliver the message. One may have a very good message with them for the family members, but without the needed skills and competency to deliver it to the audience, it becomes of no use. A good relationship between the parties should be maintained which ensures that the process is effective (Karst, et al. 2012). More programs should be set aside to ensure the message is reached to the audience who are the family members.

When I consider family systems, I am reminded of a metaphor I heard while in undergraduate school about a mobile. A mobile is used to soothe an infant, normally placed above a crib or basinet. Each of its parts are in balance, when working correctly, however if one section becomes off balance the objects become out of sync. This is true with families. If each member of the family unit is doing their part, there is complete balance or homeostasis (Henson). This balance is viewed as a healthy family system. However, if one part of the unit becomes off balance, it disrupts the whole unit causing an unhealthy response with possible long term consequences. As families grow, each member plays an equally important role in the family unit. Children learn quickly the importance of relationships and adapt quickly to their environment. No one can deny the family unit is the most complex system in existence.

In The Way We Never Were, Stephanie Coontz suggests that society romanticizes past generations of family life and points out that these memories are merely myths that prevent us from “dealing more effectively with the problems facing today’s families” (Coontz x). Coontz proposes that researchers can take empirical data and create misleading causality for that data, thus feeding cultural myth and/or experience. Coontz believes that “an overemphasis on personal responsibility for strengthening family values encourages a way of thinking that leads to moralizing rather than mobilizing for concrete reforms” (Coontz 22). She calls on us to direct our attention to social reforms, which can be accomplished by avoiding victim-blaming