Social Constructionist Model

For this assignment, two different theoretical approaches will be discussed, Bowenian family therapy and structural family therapy, and they will be used individually to construct a treatment plan to help clients reach their goals. Within each treatment plan discussed, short-term and long-term goals of therapy will be established and the family’s presenting problems will be defined. Two techniques that will be assigned to help them reach their therapeutic goals and any expected outcome from using those techniques will be discussed.

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).

This paper will use the book The Family Crucible to demonstrate the authors’ family systems approach to therapy. Narrative theory is compared and contrasted with family systems theory, and is ultimately integrated into my own theoretical foundation for practice as a social worker.

The social construction theory is based on the reality that the society has created that may seem obvious to a person who agrees to it. In other words, our life experiences and interaction towards others is the way we create our reality through social interaction. This means that we were not born with this sense of knowledge, but was taught through social interaction and our life experiences (Orem 2001a, 7). Social construction is based on the categories of difference which are race, gender, and social class (Ore, 2011a: 8).

This paper evaluates the Structural Family Therapy model and its impact on the Emotionally Focused Therapy by Sue Johnson. This paper will discuss the concepts of therapy utilized within the Structural Family Therapy model and how Sue Johnson utilized many of its methods when constructing Emotionally Focused Therapy model. The history of family therapy will be evaluated and the goals of family therapy. Research has proven that due to these clinical practices, families and couples are allowed to evolved issues in which they face into healthy relationships by evaluating patterns in behaviors and past events in their lives. Therapy focuses on the correction of the dysfunctional family as a cohesive unit and does not place focus on the individual. Therefore we find the psychotherapy as a family unit deems to be more effective than previous practices of an isolated session with only the patient and therapist.

Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy employed to assist members of a family in improving communication systems, conflict resolution, and to help the family to deal with certain problems that manifest in the behavior of members. In most cases, deviance in a family member is an indication of underlying family dysfunctions. This paper looks the counselling procedure that can be applied to help the Kline family solve their problems. It answers certain questions including those of the expected challenges during therapy and ways of dealing with the challenges.

Calvin and Conrad express their concerns in term of lack of relationship with Beth. Conrad thinks he is responsible and guilty in regarding of her mother’s decision to leave to Texas. He also blames her mother to be neglectful, hostile, and coward. Besides, Conrad mentions that he is unable to re-establish friendships with Joe, Kevin, and other members of the swimming team.

Conrad felt as if his mother didn’t truly care for him because she traveled around the world while he stayed at the hospital. This method of avoidance kept her from confronting the issue. At a Christmas party that Beth and Calvin were at, Calvin was drinking and talking to a lady and admits that Conrad is seeing a psychiatrist. Seeing this interaction, Beth is very mad because she doesn’t want to expose their personal life. In the car, she shares her frustration with Calvin in an angry tone. Beth is a very stubborn person that struggle facing her vulnerability. A better way to handle this would have been to open up to her husband and son. If she visited Conrad in the hospital, she would’ve been able to shift her attention off the death of her older son to the health of Conrad.

Narrative therapy focuses on helping clients gain access to preferred story lines about their lives and identities and takes the place of previous negative and self-defeating narratives about themselves. An overview of the Social Construction Model, Narrative Therapy, is presented, as well as poststrucuralism, deconstructionism, self-narratives, cultural narratives, therapeutic conversations, ceremonies, letters and leagues in addition to several facets of narrative therapy. Personal integration of faith in this family

In the Structural Family Therapy model, therapy is not focused solely on the individual, but upon the person within the family system (Colapinto, 1982; Minuchin, 1974). The major idea behind viewing the family in this way is that “an individual’s symptoms are best understood when examined in the context of the family interactional patterns,” (Gladding, 1998, p. 210). In SFT, there are two basic assumptions: 1) families possess the skills to solve their own problems; and 2) family members usually are acting with good intentions, and as such, no

For several weeks, Conrad avoids telling his parents that he quit the swim team. When a friend of Beth's lets her know of the news, she gets angry with Conrad: "I wish I knew, Conrad, why it is so important for you to try and hurt me" (110). As a result of Conrad and Beth's lack of communication, they have a difficult time understanding and sympathizing with one another. Beth believes everything Conrad does is in an attempt to hurt her, and Conrad thinks his mother hates him. Something similar happens between Beth and Calvin. The both of them stand on opposite sides of the fence. Calvin wants to talk about the family problems, while Beth wants to leave them in the past. Calvin cares for Conrad in the way a parent should, while Beth doesn't care enough and believes the care Cal has for Conrad is a lack of love for her. This poses many issues in their marriage, and leads to Beth eventually leaving Calvin. Without an established community, communication within the Jarrett household could not properly occur. This contributes in this family's ability to fully

Beth, Conrad’s mother, from “Ordinary People” had a distinct personality that made her sometimes seem selfish, private, and unconcerned about her son. Her family experienced the tragedy of the death of her oldest son Buck and Conran’s attempt to take his life. These situations shaped her personality and made her question her ability and the affect she had on her family. Beth didn’t share details about the lives of her family; she felt it was an invasion of privacy. Beth felt as if Conrad was tried to kill her too by making her watch his suffering, which led to her insecurity and grief. Beth wasn’t involved in her

Narrative therapy is a social constructive philosophical approach to psychotherapy that has been developed to help clients deconstruct their negative and self-defeating life stories while rebuilding healthy and positive life stories through the use of various techniques. This paper will discuss the leading figures, some concepts and techniques, ethics, some similarities and dissimilarities of other theories compared to Narrative therapy. This paper will also address my personal integration of faith regarding the theory of Narrative therapy.

Conrad's father does most of the worrying because he blames himself for Conrad's suicide attempt. Though the logical part of Cal's brain tells him it wasn't his fault he still believes that he should have paid more attention to Conrad. Conrad's mother, Beth, on the other hand thinks that Cal worries too much about Conrad. Beth thinks that Conrad is just trying to hurt her. Conrad tells Beth that he would tell her more about him if he thought she "gave a damn." Conrad tells Beth that he thinks she is the one trying to hurt him. Conrad finally releases all of his emotions when his mother confronts him about his quitting the swimming team. Conrad tells Beth how what he thinks of her visiting other countries instead of visiting him at the mental institution. After the fight, Conrad tells his father "She hates me. There's nothing I can do about it." Beth is a very unforgiving person, and Conrad doesn't think that she will ever forgive him for his suicide attempt.

Social constructivism’s origins are largely attributed to Lev Vygotsky (1978). Vygotsky believed that social constructivism is the idea that learning occurs when people are socially active; in other words, learning is created through our interaction with others. In a constructivist style classroom, the focus shifts from the teacher teaching the students to the students teaching each other and having more control over what they learn by asking questions and coming up with their own conclusion on things (2016). This style of teaching can be very successful when the teacher provides enough scaffolding. In a typical classroom, you have a teacher standing in the front of the room lecturing to students while they sit and take notes on the information being given so they can spit it back up for a test they will have at the end of the unit. In the constructivist style classroom, the students are pushed to be more active and engaged in their learning process (Education Theory). The teacher creates an environment where students are urged to speak up and share what they think and have the class run more on a student run process. The teacher’s role in this style is not to sit and lecture information but rather engage students actively to find this information on their own and discover it so that it creates more meaning and provides a better understanding. The main goal in this type of learning environment is problem solving. This style of teaching promotes self-guidance and can even