The following treatment plan will look at the Jarrett family, an upper-class family that struggles with the death of the oldest son, Buck. After the last harsh confrontation with her husband (Calvin), Beth decided to run away to Houston and leave the family. Without knowing if Beth wants to come back, Calvin and Conrad join therapy to face this delicate situation. By considering this information, our treatment plan will look at their family dynamics from three theoretical perspectives: Bowenian family therapy, Structural Family therapy, and Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy.
Step 1: Select a Problem List
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.
Calvin thinks that Beth’s unwillingness to come back and join them in therapy is a threat to their relationship. He describes himself as powerless and abandoned by her. Also, Calvin is worried about Conrad well-being. He believes Conrad is too sensitive and does not want he blames himself as the reason for the marriage crisis.
Behind the communication barrier with Beth, there are hidden problems. Conrad is still dealing with many side effects of Buck’s death, such as constant guilt, anger, and
Beth is a static and flat character; she does not change throughout the novel, and, on surface levels, does not appear to want to change. She is stuck in her ways of wanting everyone to think her life is still perfect. At a party in the beginning of the novel she avoids questions about her son or answers them falsely to keep her imperfect life hidden from the outside world. One example of this is when other guests at the party asked questions about Conrad and she states “He was sick for awhile...He’s fine, now.”(661) this is one way she tries to avoid questions. She put out a false sense of well being to allow herself to feel better about others opinions of her. The fight within herself to accept everything that has happened, Buck dying and Conrad trying to kill himself, has shut her off into isolation. This self induced isolation has lead her to believe everything Conrad did was to hurt her. In a later fight with Calvin she expresses this by “That whole vicious thing. He made it as vicious, as sickening as he
The family consists of the mother Beth, father Calvin, and their son Conrad who are living in the aftermath of the death of the oldest son Buck. Conrad, who has attempted suicide and hospitalized because he inability to overcome grief and misplaced guilt, and therapy as way to feel more in control. Beth on the other hand always favored Buck and does not connect with Conrad. Whereas, the father Calvin is trapped in trying to hold the family together, but those pressures are building and he is coming to realizations of his own.
For at least the young Ethan Frome, his desire to make others happy is a defining feature of his personality. The seemingly contented man introduced to readers contrasts with the unfortunate description of his education: “his father’s death, and the misfortunes following it, had put a premature end to Ethan’s studies…” (14). Even in his youth, Ethan prioritizes the needs and wants of others over his own. While dropping out of school was inevitable once the funds stopped flowing, his decision not to sell the family farm and remain in Starkfield is the most socially acceptable thing to do. With the whole town of Starkfield watching, Ethan accepted his duties as a son and eventual husband. These obligations corned Ethan, so much so that he was not able to elope with Mattie. Although Ethan despises his wife, his concern for her is demonstrated when he thinks: “and what of Zeena’s fate?...how could she keep the farm going?” Even when he’s about to leave her, Ethan is still worried about her prospects and position in society. In this respect, Zeena personifies all inhibitors of dreams: time, money, education and ability. Ethan’s failure to get away from Zeena is indicative of his resignation to fate.
In fact, his mother denies her loss, hoping to maintain her composure and restore her family to what it once was. She appears to have loved her elder son more and because of the suicide attempt, has now grown cold toward Conrad. She is determined to maintain the appearance of perfection and normalcy. When Conrad was in the hospital, Beth never went to see him for the four
While reading The Family Crucible, the authors made it feel like I was watching a life-time television series. There were several high points and low points during the family therapy session that left me unsure of how the show would end. This book takes you on a journey using family counseling to help a family heal and communicate better with one another. I thought it was interesting how this systematic therapy took place in a time where therapy was looked at as taboo. Many times in that era family therapy was not an option. The main focus was on the family member with the issue and not on the parents or other family members. In the book the authors used different theories and approaches during the counseling sessions which were quite interesting. This process after time enabled the family to look at the journey they were on in order to understand how the family, as a whole, should function.
The relationship between Calvin and his wife Beth is also extremely strained. Calvin, a kind and loving father and husband, spends a large part of the film playing the role of referee between Conrad and his mother. Calvin tries so desperately to mend their relationship but Beth makes it very clear that she is unable and unwilling to forgive Conrad and refuses to talk about it. It is no secret that Calvin cares vary deeply for both his wife and his son however, Beth's cold and emotionless attitude and behavior begins to change his feelings about their marriage and the love he once had for his wife. Beth's refusal and or inability to express any emotions/feelings makes her unapproachable and to some
She acts childish when dealing with problems. Although Calvin Jarrett works the hardest to keep the Jarrett family together, his communication skills lack many important techniques. He often plays the helpless story when dealing with Beth and Conrad’s abnormal relationship. He feels like too much has happened between the two and that there is nothing he can do about it, thus practicing withdrawing.
Also, after Calvin was released from the hospital because of his suicide attempt, he started to see a psychologist, Dr. Berger, who was there to help Conrad deal with his emotions and feelings and how he felt towards the accident because he felt like it was his fault that his brother was dead. Communication is an essential part of any family system, and that is why the Jarrett family did not have a great family system because no one wanted to talk about Buck's death, especially the mother. The mother refused to talk about it because she wanted to keep up with her appearance instead of healing from her son's death by talking about it with her family. The mother, Beth, started to show signs of disengagement because she was the one who never went to see the therapist because she felt like she did not have anything to say. However, this caused the relationship between Conrad and Calvin to grow closer because they wanted to talk about their feelings by talking to each other, and going to see Dr.
She refuses his help when he offers to set the table and clearly would rather do anything than take a holiday picture alone with him, as described in the fourth paragraph. When Conrad and Mr. Jarrett bring in the Christmas tree, she responds negatively to it and then very aggressively confronts Conrad about his quitting the swim team. She says how she heard it at the country club and barely gave him the chance to explain himself while he was not angry. She was not patient enough to create safety. After Conrad stormed out of the room, she refused to go up and talked to him. She could have went to his room, apologized for being so upset, clarify her intentions (e.g. “I thought you loved swimming with all of your friends, I just want to know why you decided so suddenly,”), clarify her real intentions (e.g. “I don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to do,”), and commit to a mutual purpose (e.g. “I understand, there’s a lot going on. Your father and I want you to be as comfortable as possible, just tell us next time, ok?”). If she did this, respect would have been restored and perhaps their relationship could have turned for the better right then and
In this paper I will be describing how the first two session of the Brice family went. I will talk about what systems approach to therapy was used, and will include how Whitaker and Napier conceptualized the family’s difficulties. I will also describe how this differs from an individual understanding, and will talk about what specific interventions they used to support their systemic understanding of this family.
The family is made up of five people: Claudia, the IP; Carolyn, mother; Laura, the sister; Don, the brother; and David, the father. The family is coming into therapy because there have been mounting concerns about Claudia and her behavior—acting out, staying out late, some fairly typical teenage stuff. For the purpose of this paper, I will be starting at the beginning where the family is first coming into therapy. I will first school that I will apply is Structural Family Therapy and the second school is Bowen Family Therapy.
In the system of family therapy Dr Murray Bowen developed a new approach to family therapy that was different from other family theorist because it emphasized on the family’s emotional system and its history that may be traced through the family dynamics of the parents, and grandparents. His approach looks at human emotions and the patterns that are commonly developed and similar in all family systems.
Approaches to Family Therapy: Minuchin, Haley, Bowen, & Whitaker Treating families in therapy can be a complex undertaking for a therapist, as they are dealing not only with a group of individuals but also with an overall system. Throughout history several key theorists have attempted to demystify the challenges families face and construct approaches to treatment. However, there have been key similarities and differences among the theoretical orientations along the way. While some have simply broadened or expanded from existing theories, others have stood in stark
Calvin is a 49 year old man who has a dope problem. For Calvin to get clean he is living with his sister and going to school. Calvin is also working and trying to find a job, but it is slightly difficult for him to do so. Then later in the film Calvin’s sister then gets ill and he stops his job and schooling to take care of her. His sister then passes away and he states that he did do dope one more time, but decided to not do it again and stay clean. At the end of the film Calvin was doing okay.
This family is seeking therapy assistance due to the following reasons: grief and loss encountered during Kate’s cancerous condition and after her death, the lawsuit Anna placed onto her parents, Jesse’s delinquent behavior, and the parents’ deteriorating relationship. The family is concerned with the alliances that have been building within the family and in regards to their negative communication skills. The Fitzgerald family feels that the family is becoming dysfunctional and distant. Having a positive attachment amongst each other at all times assists with minimizing issues, and it is much easier to find solutions to any problems or challenges when positive relationships emerge (Cassidy and Shaver, 2008, p. 200). This is why the Fitzgerald family is seeking help now.