The Roles Of Systems Theory In The Garcia Family

In The Family Crucible, Augustus Napier and Carl Whitaker’s form of therapy was strongly influenced by family systems theory, a burgeoning theory of the time. General systems theory examines relationships between elements that constitute a whole (Andreae, 2011, p. 243). When applied to families, this theory views the family as an emotional unit and uses systems thinking to describe the complex interactions in the unit (The

Many families of color tend to rely on each member to help with those who have health or mental health complications. They tend to take care of that member in a home setting. Mesosystems is the connection of two microsystems, a network. Examples of a person with mental illness possible mesosystem would have to look at the neighborhood, and how the person with the condition is perceive by the community can affect their level of denial and acknowledgment in their illness. If the neighborhood in which a person who suffers from a mental illness perceives mental illness negatively, families will rely more on each other or extend family to help. The location of communities mental health resources or lack of exposure to people with mental illness and treatment; can indicate how willing a person would be to seek help or if it’s possible to receive services close to home. To explain the exosystem the social workers have to look at policies or larger institution that have influence or control between microsystems. Expanding with already said factors examples of people with mental illness exosystems would be neighbors, health services, family member’s workplace and religious connections/services (church). Where the family works affect the neighborhood in which we live, how many hours we work and how much we are paid all affect the environment in which we are able to live. Macrosystems explains cultural value and

“Those who study systems theory tends to view any system as the result of a dynamic interrelationship between its component parts and its whole. They view the parts as mutually determinate with the whole. Social workers utilizing systems theory view societies and social groups as dynamic systems. They are concerned with bettering the conditions of the individuals who make up such systems.” (Flamand, 2010) Systems theory is used by many social workers. This theory helps social workers understand how the surroundings of the client’s environment

Sigleman & Rider state the interwoven relationships of school and home can be in opposition causing problems from the mesosystem to spill over into the microsystem possibly having long-term effects on functioning (2014. p. 51). The negative impacts that Cheryl felt at school created a difficult relationship with her mother due to the fact Cheryl blamed her for the move. It took her many years to trust people outside of her family and the reservation. The effects Raj will experiences will be prevalent when his children are older, due to the fact he isn’t worried about himself as much as his children and the effect he will have on their exosystem. According to Shaffer & Kipp the Ecological Systems theory considers the many different environments and impact it has on the cognitive, social, and biological difference between children (2014. pg.

The Microsystem refers to the environment that has a direct influence on an individual; school, home, place of worship, teachers, and peers are included in the Microsystem. A personal example is that my mother, an extremely prominent figure in any person’s Microsystem, noticed that I had a rather good potential for working on creative stories. As a direct influence on me, she gave me praise on the stories that I showed her and gave me encouragement to continue working on my writing. Therefore, she directly influenced my psychological development since her praise heightened my self-esteem and allowed me to have a good self-image of myself thanks to the environment I was raised in.

A person’s interaction with the environment at the macro, mezzo and micro level has a significant impact on their development. The environment and the individual is seen as a unitary system within a culture that affects each other. On the micro level, it is the interaction between individuals, for example, immediate family. On the mezzo level, it is the interaction with the neighborhood, the school, courts and other structures within the society. On the macro level, it is how cultural experiences, religious institutions and organizations affect people in society. Each of these systems contribute to how the person and the environment interacts at various level in society. Each of these three systems has impacted my own development and experiences.

I believe from an ecological perspective, what is happening here is understanding how the family is adapting to their situation and environment. It is believed that ecological perspective explains how organisms adapt to their environments. In social work practice, applying an ecological approach can be best understood as looking at persons, families, cultures, communities, and policies and to identify and intervene upon strengths and weaknesses in the transactional processes between these systems (Ecological Perspective). In an ecological perspective, it best to utilized microsystem, mesosystem, ecosystem, and macrosystem which is the most basic system. The definition of microsystem is referring to an individual's most immediate environment (Ecological Perspective). For example, this is the effects of a personality characteristics on other family members. In the case study, Billy’s personality

People develop problems for a variety of reasons and those problems serve various purposes according to the integrated family systems approach. A person can acquire emotional, behavioral or psychological problems due to family and social environment, abuse or genetics. In addition to that, being influenced by family systems a client’s presenting problem can be contributed to by their family. A person’s problem may serve a specific role in the family’s dynamics, the problem may also be inadvertently encouraged by the family, a family’s incompetence to be constructive especially during “developmental transitions” or be attributed to the family’s dysfunction (Corey, 2013, p.435) .This way of viewing problems is broad and allows to a person to be viewed as part of a family system. It is also beneficial to view problems outside of the individual because it allows the therapist to see the client for than just a medical issue to be solved. A person and their problems do not exist in a vacuum but in a world that who people especially within a family influence and impact each other.

microsystem: In preschool, I was 5 and very independent. We had just moved from Wichita, because dad finished his residency and had a job offer in Dodge City. None of my parent’s family lived near Dodge and the closest was two hours away. My mom was working part time as a stay home mom and my dad is a family practice doctor. My older brother was attending grade school and was in second or third grade. I have two younger sisters, one is three years old and the other is two years old. I was the independent child, never really needed help, I started walking months before the average infant would, I started talking before the average infant does, and I knew what I wanted and would do it myself. The microsystem consists of, “…immediate environment of children’s daily lives” and I had my own ideas of what that should be (Feldman, 20). Mom wanted to walk me up to the door for preschool and I told her that I could do it myself and she could go home and have a good day. I did not get my way and she walked me to the door.

Systems theory is a way of elaborating increasingly complex systems across a continuum that encompasses the person-in-environment (Allen & Friedman, 2011, p. 3). The systems theory enables us to understand the components and dynamics of client systems in order to interpret problems and develop balanced intervention strategies, with the primary goal of enhancing the “goodness of fit” between individuals and their environments (Allen & Friedman, 2011, p. 3). Systems theory helps to identify an organizing conceptual framework or metatheory for understanding (Allen & Friedman, 2011, p. 3). Ludwig von Bertalanffy is credited with being the originator of the form of systems theory used in social work (Allen & Friedman, 2011, p. 3). A system is defined as an organized whole made up of components that interact in a way distinct from their interaction with other entities and which endures over some period of time. Family is considered a system and the way family interact in one setting, may be different from how they act in other settings. Within the systems theory, Urie Bonfenbrenner formulated the ecological systems theory (Allen & Friedman, 2011, p. 3). The ecological systems theory holds that we encounter different environments throughout our lifespan that may influence our behavior in different ways (Ecological Systems Theory, 2008-2016). These systems include the micro system, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macro system, and the chronosystem (Ecological Systems Theory,

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.

The goal of systems theory in this case is to help Deborah transform her behaviour patterns so that they are more adaptive and productive (Family Solutions Institute, 2005). By exploring this time using a family systems perspective, Deborah will see how her current ways interacting and relating with others may be influenced by the way her entire family functioned during these difficult years (Nichols, 2011).

In ecological theory, these systems are nested with the child at the core, embedded within his/her immediate family environment. The system with the closest proximity to the child is the microsystem; this includes the child and family, peers, neighborhood and school. A critical impact on development occurs within the immediate environment of the child due to proximal

This adaptation of systems theory was coined by Dr. Murray Bowen and is referred to as Bowen’s Family Systems Theory. According to Murdock (2013), this particular adaptation of systems theory is considered one of the most reputable and well constructed compared to that of its counterparts. The author states that family systems theories can be utilized with individuals as well as with specific relationships within the family unit, however the majority of therapy is done with individual clients utilizing the context of the family unit. According to Murdock (2013), it is the family system therapist’s belief that the client can best be understood through the

Eamon presents Bronfenbrenner’s process-person-context-time model, to explain the effects that poverty has on the socioemotional development of children (Eamon, 2001). This model is broken up into five sectors, each sector having its own relationship with the individual. An individual’s immediate surroundings are labeled microsystems. Microsystems are typically comprised of home environments, schools, peers, and immediate community. The interactions that occur within a microsystem tend to be between the developing child and a teacher or the developing child and a peer, etc. These interactions help mold the way the child develops. In a home environment; there are various stressors, some discrete and others chronic. Discrete life events can interrupt the usual flow of an individual’s life and require major adjustments