A woman named Jen is having relational problems with her family and the church where she volunteers, both stemming from her new relationship with Ben. Her family has made it clear that Ben is not welcome at gatherings, and there is heavy tension when she spends time with them alone. Her church has advised that she needs to end the relationship if she is to continue volunteering as it is against the lifestyle agreement that she has signed. Jen is excited about finding new love and genuinely wants the support of her friends and family, and wants them to feel happy for her. The stress is causing her deep anxiety, she has stopped going to church, seeing her friends, and is starting to isolate herself. She feels lonely, conflicted and …show more content…
With Ben’s divorce nearly final, Jen does not understand the issue, and is hurt that her parents feel she should hold out for reconciliation despite the level of betrayal of her spouse. Her sense of worth and self-esteem is on the floor. She perceives her parent’s position that she should fight harder to save her marriage as them condoning what her spouse has done, contributing to her belief that she must not hold much value as a person. As her counsellor, I want to make sure that Jen is given the opportunity to express everything she feels in a safe and comfortable environment. It is a priority that she sees me as being on her side and that she does not feel judged for what she shares. She is a Christian, which makes bringing Jesus into her counselling much easier. Reconciliation to God is my main goal as her counsellor, but my first steps are to find out what help, if any, she has sought to process the actions of her husband, discover what she perceives the current issue to be, ask what her counselling goals are, and determine what outcome she is hoping for. For instance, is she strictly looking to vent and / or be validated? Does she want restoration with her family and her church? Is she looking for someone to validate her argument as to why her choices should be supported and / or is she just looking for relief from her anger and anxiety? I want her to feel empowered to
While both authors stand on the idea of marriage changing in roles, Hope Edelman in “ The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was,” inserts her view about marriage in her own experience that shows her attitude on marriage mainly through her husband leaving all the responsibility toward her. When parents are not there for their kids, often times kids feel unattached with their parents creating a weaker bond. Edelman’s frustration came from having a dream of marrying happily to having it demolished.
Jody’s pride, materialism, and urge to dominant had turned him into a cold, bitter old man that was on his dying bed with kidney problems [Page 85]. This was the only time Janie had to tell him about the independence she had longed for during their marriage [Page 85]. She knows that Jody was a good husband in the aspects that he provided for her and had power. These were the things that Nanny Crawford had wanted for her. However, Janie the things she wanted which were love and independence in love. She also gained wisdom from her and Joe’s long time together. Janie did not have to leave Jody to get out of this marriage, because he died immediately after she told him all the problems she felt had been in their marriage.
Her relationship with her dad reaches a conflict when she accuses him of taking her money from her and Lori’s piggy bank, and when he denies it, they get frustrated with him and the conditions they’re living in. Although they’ve had good experiences with their dad, the support given by him starts to deteriorate and they are desperate to turn it around. Because of this, Lori claims that she will never get out of Welch with Jeannette thinking that “..if Lori never got out of Welch, neither would I” (229). Another example of the tense relationship between her dad was when he brought up plans of “The Glass Castle” once more when Jeannette was set on going to New York City. Her dad tries to bring back the plans that she had been excited about early in her childhood, but she overcomes the previous joy she had and is now realistic about outcome of The Glass Castle, saying that it will probably never be built (238). Her relationship with her mother has also been changed, with Jeannette being more conscious about what her mom is doing as she settled later in life in New York City with Jeannette telling her mom that she wants to change her life and make it better. Her mom immediately rejects this and states that she is fine and that Jeannette is the one that needs help since her values are all confused, which conflicts the relationship between them as they both feel that the other has
FAMILY SITUATION: A very harsh family life, broken in parts, but close in others. Has an uncle that holds too close of a relationship with her
Jennifer had discovered that her husband was committing infidelity which left her depressed. His actions made a huge impact on their relationship and their getting
Anna is a 56 year old single adult who has an alcoholic addiction; she lives by herself in a one bedroom flat. Anna suffers from depression and anxiety. Care staff attends to Annas needs four times a day to ensure she is maintaining her personal hygiene, eating nutritional meals and administering her medications correctly. Anna is independent and goes out locally and shops by herself. Due to Anna’s past she has never felt the need to marry or settle down, she did however have a child in her adolescent stage, unfortunately due to Anna being addicted to heroin and alcohol it was best that the child was taken into care. Anna tends to bring up her daughter when intoxicated and tends to get very emotional and aggressive towards her and others. Anna attends counselling twice a week to help cope and deal with the unfortunate events that have happened in her life, through this she has gained a few friends that she likes to meet occasionally depending on her mood.
After the death of her husband, Mother struggles to keep her family together by providing the support and guidance they need, and encouraging them to use good judgment and think of the family as a whole before making their decisions. As the family faces various obstacles, each seemingly more severe than the last, Mother begins
Smells of fried chicken, collard greens, and peach cobbler wafted up from the Church kitchen and filled the sanctuary in preparation for the wedding celebration and mingle with the scent of purple, pink, and white flowers. White ribbons hung neatly at the end of each bench, pink to mark the bride's side of the church, and white to mark the groom's. Two teenage girls, meeting each other for the first time just a week previous, sat motionless on a front pew on the groom's side of the church, aware that they were strangely connected to each other and that this day marked the addition of new foreign relationships. As both stared blankly forward at the spectacle unfolding before them, the bride in her white gown, the groom in his tux, the pageantry, the play, one of them expelled a deep sigh that resonated for the both of them as she matter-of-factually stated, “Gee, I hope this one works.” The other girl nodded in agreement. The marriage resulting from that wedding only lasted for three years, and the groom would go on to marry again. The nodding head girl was me and the prophetic girl was my step-sister from one of my father's previous marriages. Divorce is considered one of the most stressful and traumatic events in a person's life. In the Extended Family Life Cycle, Constance Ahrons outlines the effects of Divorce on a family system and on the individuals within that system.
May’s looks will catch your eye, but Jenn will hold it. Again, another reference to my sister and I as young women. She has sharp cheekbones, and serious eyes. She’s a determined woman with a plan. God help the man or woman who crosses her path. She’s more likely grimacing than smiling, frowning than grinning, but her heart is pure gold. Personality: Jenn is def the more dominant sister. She has control issues stemming from childhood sexual abuse. Her mother whored her out for drugs. She remembers every lick of it. Jenn is compelled to right the wrongs inflicted upon her and May, to fix their damaged lives, no matter what the cost. Her love and devotion for May drives her to risk everything to save her sister from their messed up lives. Unfortunately, this stress eventually gets to her, snapping her sanity. She chooses to be blind to it. Bit by bit, she lets go. The “letting go” phrase has multiple connotations. The obvious meaning is going cuckoo for coco puffs, but I hope the audience catches the deeper significance: there is nothing in the world like releasing your past, all your worries, all your stress. You may as well be tap-dancing on top of the world… the problem comes when you lose yourself. It’s a delicate balance. Here is where Jenn and May differ again: Jenn holds onto the past, May lets it go. Jenn tries to maintain a grip on reality, and as a result looses it. May doesn’t care. She accepts things for what they are. And
Therefore, her decision to seek counseling implies that she longs to regain her emotional stability which would make her more resilient in handling challenges associated with single parenting. In other words, the client wants to feel ‘whole’ again to be able to tackle issues efficiently and enjoy her life.
Jaecy’s mother is currently in an unhappy marriage. It could be easily assumed that she is feeling pressure to balance home and work life while providing for her three children. The added pressure of attempting to work things out with her husband could also be a major factor. However, this is all entirely conjecture and she is not a client so the counselor cannot confirm if her inclinations are correct. What the counselor does know about Jaecy’s mother is that she is concerned about Jaecy’s decline in academic performance and withdrawal from social
Failing is a form of failure or a fault of individuals; it is also a weakness of a person’s ability of doing something. In the novel, “You or Someone like You”, Chandler Burr writes how a marriage that has a normal and simple life goes through hard times and sometimes, even reaches the point to make an important decision about choosing the success in life or the most desirable thing in each couple’s life: marriage. However, Howard Rosenbaum’s friends refer his wife, Anne Rosenbaum, to start her own book club; Anne’s book club becomes Hollywood A-lister; and Anne sacrifices everything she has achieved in life to save her marriage. Fame, fortune, and newfound friendships are not bad to have in every one’s life but because of these things, marriage is the main thing that is at risk when someone has those things in life. One’s has to choose either marriage or success that has achieved in life.
For Nadine and many others, the consequence is abandonment. Nadine’s failure to fit into the behavior standards set for women result in her inability to form a peer cluster throughout her youth. Likewise, after failing to sacrifice herself for her friends and family, Nadine’s mother, brother, best friend and love interest have all abandoned her. Furthermore, Nadine’s father’s death was a kind of abandonment, and unfortunately, this trauma heightens Nadine’s sensitivity to betrayal in her relationships. Clark explains that “the consequences of ripped-apart family system remain a constant source of brokenness throughout one’s life” (48). Moreover, Nadine, like other adolescents, feels pressure to meet the unrealistic expectations assigned to her in part because she is immersed in a larger “culture of abandonment” in which social institutions and adults abandon their responsibilities to adolescents, and instead, they assume that adolescents should fulfill roles that serve adult interests (Clark 27) . Nadine’s mother demonstrates this attitude because she believes that her teens should sit on a pedestal to serve her emotional needs. Unfortunately, for Nadine and many other teens, a willingness to meet these conflicting expectations will not automatically lead to their independent flourishing and success; More often than not, it leads to a sacrifice of intrinsic motivation and
Client is a 58 year-old Caucasian female who presents with difficulties due to relationship conflict. Client has recently broken up with her boyfriend of 8 years. Her boyfriend broke up with her by informing her that he was going on a date with another woman. Shortly after this first date, the woman began spending the night with him. The client knows this because she lives 3 houses down the block from her ex-boyfriend. The proximity of their living is creating an additional complication for the client in terms of moving on from the breakup. Client sees her ex-boyfriend on a daily basis, which is a painful reminder of the unwanted, hurtful break-up. She is often unable to resist initiating contact with him which complicates the situation. Client misses the small daily interactions they once shared and finds herself trapped “in a loop in her head” thinking about him. Client describes organizing a sleeping area in her attic where she is able to spend time without being hyper-aware of her ex-boyfriend’s activities. Otherwise, client attempts to spend as much time as possible at work to avoid her home. The new girlfriend spends a significant amount of time at the ex-boyfriend’s house which reminds the client of how she has been replaced and reinforces her sense of isolation.
As I hung up the phone, my gloomy mood started to dissipate. I wish my former counselor heard this call. We had been talking for the last three weeks about ways to possibly save the marriage, but at this visit I tell her that he moved out and I was ready to accept that the marriage is over.We discussed many things during that office visit; however, right before I left she looked at me and said, “You are single now. The women in your church will see you as a threat to their marriage. A support system is important, but you probably need to find it elsewhere.”