Post University Triangles Bowen Family Systems Theory Perspectives Responses

Discussion #1 Alliance

Gloria M.

The therapeutic relationship alludes to the connection between a medical services provider and their client (Rait, 2000). The therapeutic alliance is central to couples and family therapy even though the formal concept of therapeutic alliance has yet to be used extensively in the family therapy field according to research (Rait, 2000). It is the methods by which a specialist and a client plan to engage with one another in order to foster beneficial change in the client. According to research, a few of the more essential elements of a beneficial alliance consists of the collaborative agreement on the goals of treatment, agreement on the daily tasks and the development of a positive bond (Rita & Rabellino, 2011). In fact, the positive relationship is probably the most essential element of therapy in the sense that research suggests that the quality of the clients relationship with their therapists is a reliable predictor of positive clinical outcomes, independent of the variety of psychotherapy approaches and outcome measurements (Rita & Rabellino, 2011).

This is essential information because it allocates for the, sometimes overlooked reality that like every other relationship in this world, therapists must develop a safety and comfort zone with their respective clients in order to promote the optimal efficiency.Couples and family alliance with the therapists differs from individual alliance of psychotherapy in the sense that couples and family therapists are challenged with the task of maintaining multiple alliances, sometimes with very different provisions in one overall case/setting (Rait, 2000). Managing one individual in terms of a therapeutic relationship can pose several ethical issues for a professional, so it is evident how multiple relationships surrounding one overall dynamic situation and/or case could be even more challenging. When trying to administer experiential and transgenerational models of practice along with the development of achieving close and harmonious relationships whereas the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings and communicate well there are endless violations to be conscious of. One of the most common ethical issues faced by mental health counselors concerns maintaining boundaries. While studying ethics it may be easy to disregard this ethic by convincing yourself that you will not get caught up in the inappropriate behavior of violating boundaries, however in a real life setting you may be faced with many gray lines whereas the boundaries being cross by either the client or you may not be as crystal clear as you may have initially perceived them to be. Altogether, couple and family specialists arguably face more moral difficulties than exclusively oriented counselors, yet implicit rules and morals have not generally been of direct help.

As mentioned before, there are often times where it seems as if the principles lack the specificity to really attend to the issues at hand. Confidentiality breaches, consent, violations of clients boundaries and/or the client violating your boundaries can either be very simple and clear occurrences or a build up of small, seemingly innocent instances which evolve into real ethical or even legal infractionsIn short, some ethical consideration pertaining to family therapy which may hinder sessions is the professional’s skills/ability, excluding personal input/problems and even respecting the patient’s differences. Nobody likes to admit when they’re under qualified but in this specific profession incompetence can be severely damaging in terms of mental progression as well as relapse (ACA, 2014).

One central moral obligation to clients concerns the promotion of (ACA, 2014). This is reflected in various expert regions, however begins with the specialist’s ability and intellectual skills (Rita & Rabellino, 2011).Strangely enough, couple and family treatment is usually polished by advisors with almost no particular training and that is concerning knowing all of the possible pitfalls one can get entangled in. It is by all accounts assumed that on the off chance that one is exclusively prepared in family therapy, that it is not only appropriate but safe to intake additional members. Nothing could be further from reality. Issues encompassing connections (savagery and misuse, family law matters, sexual concerns, disloyalty and different double-crossings, serious connection disturbances) all render this work profoundly intricate and specific. Without constant preparation, obligations of care can easily become violated. In the event that you were looking for help for your own personal relationship, what capabilities would you look for in your specialist? It is sometimes a common reality that professionals may regularly give less to their clients than we would need for ourselves.Incompetence can easily arise in family therapy because it’s a simple reality that many families have different origins and traditions that mold their perceptions and also differ from your’s.

What is even more intriguing is the fact that within one family unit there may be several different aspects of tradition and perceptions which not only differ from yours but from one another’s as well. In this event, the challenge then becomes following presumably the most vital ethical standard which is not to impose harm onto any of your clients by failing to respect their individual morals (ACA, 2014). In fact, imposing harm onto the client goes far beyond rejecting their views. It can be achieved in terms of confidentiality violations, failure to provide neutrality when managing dual relations, informed consent violations and more (ACA, 2014)!

References

American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-e…Rait, D. S. (2000). The therapeutic alliance in couples and family therapy. Journal of clinical psychology, 56(2), 211-224.Rita, B. A., and Rabellino D. (2011). Therapeutic Alliance and Outcome of Psychotherapy: Historical Excursus Measurements, and Prospects for Research. 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00270

Samantha S.

Dr. January and Class,

As counselors, it is important to establish client engagement as it is an essential component to effective therapy. This is because clients who are engaged are more likely to bond with their counselor (Thompson, Bender, Lantry, & Flynn, 2007). From the article, “Engaged clients are more likely to bond with therapists and counselors, endorse treatment goals, particigpate to a greater degree, remain in treatment longer, and report higher levels of satisfaction” (Thompson et al., 2007). In order to get a client engaged, the client and therapist need to develop a therapeutic alliance. The experiential model uses tools and activities, such as role-play, crafts, music, or other forms of recreation to re-experience an emotional experience from a past or recent relationship (Psychology Today, 2020).Carl Whitaker is responsible for the finding of the symbolic-experimental approach to family therapy. Essentially, Whittaker took the approach of “acknowledging the role of the entire family in the therapeutic process…Rather than scapegoating one family member or even a specific family problem, experiential family therapy looks at the entire family system” (Good Therapy Team, 2015, para. 4).

Furthermore, his humanistic approach allows the therapist to get to understand each and every family member’s emotions (Good Therapy, 2015). With Whitaker’s approach to family therapy, there are a few important factors to know. Fidrst of all, there is going to be reciprocity of therapist and family. In other words, the therapist has to come to a realization of what their own issues are in order to help the family with their problems. Secondly, the goal of family therapy is to trigger the anxieties of the family members in order to help them change in the long run. From the book, “The goal of therapy is to trigger anxiety in the family, which it can use as energy to change; the therapist has to separate his or her own anxiety from the family’s; the therapist cannot make the family change; change must come out of the family’s own desperation and motivation” (Hecker & Wetchler, 2015, pg. 234). In order for therapists to be able to help their clients/families, they need to understand what is causing their anxiety and other emotions.

The other approach, known as the transgenerational approach is centered around the past and how it affects the present.Essentially, the transgenerational approach to therapy focuses on identifying the patterns of behavior across generations within a family. Furthermore, with this model, therapists are interested in helping their clients form healthy patterns of behaviors as well as healthy responses to stress. Understanding how the family has responded to crises in the past can provide insight into the struggles currently being experienced by the family. Likewise, future dysfunction can be anticipated by understanding generational reactions to stressful situations” (Ballard & Fazio-Griffith, 2016, para. 1).

In other words, the therapist wants to get to know the family as a whole, including two generations. This means that the therapist will work with all members of the family to try to get a real feel for how they handle issues as a family. This student is now going to discuss the potential ethical challenges when developing rapport.One ethical challenge that can arise in family therapy is self-disclosure. This is because counselors might feel inclined to share their personal experiences in order to grow closer with their clients. However, self-disclosure is a touchy factor in counselor because counselors need to know when an appropriate time is to self-disclose without it harming the client(s).Another ethical challenge might be informed consent because parents may want to sign of on a treatment plan for their children, but the children might not agree to it. However, this is when the rules of authority come into play, which basically states that individuals under the age of eighteen are not eligible to make decisions for themselves.The ethical challenge of self-disclosure can be avoided by only using self-disclosure after it is evaluated by a supervisor.

After all, counselors should not disclose unless they believe it will benefit the outcome of the treatment of their clients. This is related to the ethical code regarding the avoidance of imposing harm on clients. From the code of ethics ” Counselors are aware of—and avoid imposing—their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Counselors respect the diversity of clients, trainees, and research participants and seek training in areas in which they are at risk of imposing their values onto clients, especially when the counselor’s values are inconsistent with the client’s goals or are discriminatory in nature” (American Counseling Association, 2014, pg. 5). With that being said, this student would ensure she does not impose her values on to her clients. She will continually respect her clients, even if they have values that are different from her own. In regards to informed consent, this student would certainly want to establish a strong, trusting relationship with her clients before a solid plan of treatment was implemented. This is because there might be more of a chance that the children in the family will be on board with the plan if they feel connected to the counselor in one way or another.

References

American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-e…Ballard, M. B., & Fazio-Griffith, L. (2016, February 2). Transgenerational Family Therapy: A Case Study of a Couple in Crisis . SAGE Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1066480716628564?journalCode=tfja.Good Therapy Team. (2015, July 27). Carl Whitaker (1912-1995). Carl Whitaker Biography. https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/carl-whitaker.html.Hecker, L., & Wetchler, J. L. (2015). An introduction to marriage and family therapy. New York: Routledge.Psychology Today. (2020). Experiential Therapy. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/experiential-therapy.Thompson, S. J., Bender, K., Lantry, J., & Flynn, P. M. (2007, June). Treatment Engagement: Building Therapeutic Alliance in Home-Based Treatment with Adolescents and their Families. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885699/.

Discussion #2 Experiential Model

Javail M.

Hello everyone,

While reading the C code of ethics, I found two ethical considerations that may arise when working with families in turmoil or with a missing parent. Experimental family therapy uses techniques that involve the counselor speaking their thoughts and opinions about a situation based on the personal and professional experience, which could cause issues if the counselor is unable to avoid imposing their personal beliefs or if they cannot respect the diversity of their clients. Speaking their personal views could be risky to the therapeutic process because the counselors views may not align with the families. (American Counseling Association, 2014).

The second ethical consideration that needed to be considered is the counselors competency within this form of therapy because of the importance of the therapeutic relationship counselors need to be sure they’re respecting their personal and professional boundaries as well as the clients. Section A.6.d states that When counselors change a role from the original or most recent contracted relationship, they obtain informed consent from the client and explain the client’s right to refuse services related to the change. This would include the counselor’s role changing from an evaluative role to a therapeutic role, vice versa, and changing from a counselor to a mediator role, or vice versa. Clients must be fully informed of the role changes and potential consequences. (American Counseling Association, 2014).

Welfel’s Ethical Decision Making model1. Develop ethical sensitivity; as I mentioned above, counselors need to be mindful of the diversity of their clients and their ability to provide clients with non-judgmental care that could potentially risk the therapeutic relationship, and the counselor needs to ensure that they are competent enough to provide treatment without infusing their personal beliefs in a way that is contrary to the client. The example that pops in mind is the counselor’s thoughts on a nuclear family being the model for all families and somehow implying that the family is “broken” because a member is missing, or because the family is in turmoil, the parents are somehow incapable of rising—a healthy family.2. Clarify Facts, Stakeholders, and Sociocultural Context of the Case. For the examples I used above, I would speak to the family bout the specifics of where they feel the turmoil started or what they feel caused. the turmoil and work to understand it from briefly speaking to each member about their perspective on the issue related to their role in the family. In the missing family member’s case, Id clarifies with the family who is missing and why they are missing. Families in this generation aren’t always “Man, wife, children” In some cases, the children are adopted and have same-sex parents, and knowing that would help move the dialogue towards a greater understanding of the perceived role of the present and missing parent. I’d also want to know the socio-cultural context because depending on the family, racism, poverty, physical or mental illness, and other aspects present in the family’s dysfunctional dynamics.3. Define the Central Issues and the Available Options. This is where I will start to look at the ethical concerns to ensure there’s no need to breach confidentiality that I don’t need to get other parties involved. Welfel mentions this being the time when counselors need to identify of they need to involve the police, hospitals, or child services as a few examples, but the Code of conduct also mentions consent when advocating for the family need to help them. So in instances where sociocultural issues such as poverty come into play, as the counselor, if I want to reach out to third party services like food banks, shelters, etc. on my client’s behalf I would ask their permission, explain the benefits and potential consequences and act if they provide permission to do so. However, if there is any abuse involved, that’s when i’d exercise my duty as a mandated reporter because the family will have been made aware of the limitations in confidentiality at the beginning of our sessions.4.Refer to the Professional Standards, Law, and Regulations. I touched on this in number 3 and that counselors need to review laws, codes of ethics, and regulations to shed light on the dilemma and seek available options.5. Reference Relevant Ethics Literature. This will come in handy when counselors are unsure how to respond to the dilemmas and provide insights into how similar situations were handled. Reviewing the literature can help counselors further identify their case’s nuances and look at the quandary from an unacknowledged point of view. Consulting ethics literature has the added benefit of normalizing a counselor’s concerns and diffusing the emotional tension felt while trying to reason through dilemmas.6. Examine the Dilemma Using Moral Principles and Theories. This is where I will consult with myself and research materials to identify moral concerns. For instance, in the case of a counselor inserting personal views contrary to the families, what would I do.(Jungers & Gregories, 2013). Are they practicing appropriate counseling techniques, are they abiding by the code of ethics or should it be reported? In terms of a family disclosing confidential information, I’d examine the information to see if its just unpleasant because I don’t agree with what they shared in morally wrong or potentially dangerous to the family.7. Consult with a supervisor or other respected colleagues. This would be the time to seek guidance from a supervisor if I was unsure how to respond to the clients while protecting the clients’ identities and personal information. It ensures that their own beliefs, values, and world views are not obstructing the decision-making process.8. Personally Deliberate and Come to a Decision. After working through each of the stages and carefully considering the professional advice I’ve received, i’d finalize the decisions on how to proceed and construct a plan for action. I want to make sure that I’m not causing harm to the clients and that I’m prepared for the results of my final decision.9. Inform Key Stakeholders About the Decision and Implement the Plan. People who have a right to know of a counselor’s decision typically include the client, the supervisor, any legal, school, or agency officials involved in the case, and possibly family members of clients (especially in the case of minors).(Jungers & Gregories, 2013). Documenting thee process would be beneficial in these cases.10. Reflect on the Decision. Preparing this discussion was trying on my patience, so I know that In professional context resolving ethical situations may require reflection and personal review of the steps taken during the entire process. This is what I think will help with future cases because it would provide me with insight on what I could possible do differently and what things I did right. (Jungers & Gregories, 2013).

References

American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-e…Hecker, L. L., & Wetchler, J. L. (2015). An introduction to marriage and family therapy. New York: Routledge.Jungers, C. M., & Gregoire, J. (2013). Counseling Ethics: Philosophical and Professional Foundations. Danvers, MA: Springer Publishing Company.

Darren E.

Hello class and Professor

There are ethical issues that occur when using experiential practice with a family in turmoil are: Trying to keep all informationconfidential when one family member tell you something about another family member and ask you not to repeat it, but what was told to you issomething that will bring harm to another member. Another ethical issue that can arise is the family turmoil can have the counselorunexperienced with dealing with the turmoil the family is going through, but they still wants that counselor to help them.

The counselor concernshould always be not to cause harm to their clients no matter what if they can help it. “A symbiotic relationship exists between the principles ofnonmaleficence and beneficence”. A clinician’s focus should be to do no harm, but to do good for their clients immediately follows (Kitchener,1984, p.49). According to Kitchener, beneficence is a principle that is intricately interwoven into into the counseling profession’s ideas abouthighly ethical practice. The first focus of the therapeutic process, for example, is to promote human well-being in all its possible forms(Forester-Miller & Davis, 1996; Herlihy & Corey, 1996).

According to the model of Welfel (2010), ethical decision making, like the feminist model, is designed to help counselors to work ethicaldilemmas.However, Welfel’s approach places less focus on the intuitive and rational facets of decision making and endorses a critical andevaluative process to decision making. This process involves considering professional standards, investigating the findings and wisdom ofscholars, and engaging in a problem-solving approach that is based on ethical pricinciples (Kitchener, 1984, 2000; Welfel, 2010). Welfel modelhas 10 steps to help counselors to make ethical decisions.1. Develop Ethical Sensitivity: Ethical sensitivity is what Welfel (2010) describes as a counselor’s ability to identify blatant and, perhaps more importantly, subtle ethical problems that crop up in daily practice.2. Clarify Facts, Stakeholders, and Sociocultural Context of the Case:

Being ethically sensitive helps counselors to identify potential areas ofethical concern in their counseling interactions.3. Define the Central Issues and the Available Options: Once all stakeholder have been identified, Welfel (2010) suggests that the central ethical concerns must be evaluated.4.Refer to the Professional Standards, Law, and Regulations: When counselors are able to clearly identify the ethical issues in an emergingdilemma, Welfel (2010) recommends that they review code of ethics, laws, and agency policies to determine how they shed light both on thedilemma and on the available options”.

“The other Welfel (2010) steps to help counselors with ethical decision-making are. 5. Reference relevant ethics literature: a determination about how to address the ethical dilemma is not clear after a review of the appropriate ethical code and law, Welfel (2010)recommend counselors to broaden their reflections by referencing the body of relevant ethics literature to see how counselors have dealt with similar dilemmas.6. Examine the Dilemma Using Moral Principles and Theories: Once counselors have collected and reviewed supporting literature, they examine their ethical concerns by using the moral principles (described earlier in this chapter) and virtues that underlie the codes (Welfel, 2010).7. Consult With a Supervisor and Other Respected Colleagues: The task of resolving ethical dilemmas can sometimes be marked by uncertainty, frustration, fear, and concern. Moving through this process alone can be trying, leaving a counselor to be emotionally and intellectually exhausted.8. Personally Deliberate and Come to a Decision: After carefully reviewing the dilemma and all that is involved make an healthy decision in the best interest of the clients.9. Inform Key Stakeholders About the Decision and Implement the Plan: Once a counselor comes to a decision and creates a plan for carrying it out, he or she must inform the necessary stakeholders and take steps to implement the resolution (Welfel, 2010).

10. Reflect on the Decision: Reflection is not a foreign concept to most who aspire to be effective counselors. Welfel (2010) recommends that counselors conclude the decision-making process with a personal review and assessment of the entire process of dealing with a quandary”.According to the ACA, (2005), A.7. Multiple Clients: When a counselors agrees to provide counseling services to two or persons whohave a relationship, the counselor clarifies at the outset which person or persons are clients and the nature of the relationships the counselorwill have with each involved person. If it becomes apparent that the counselor may be called upon to perform potentially conflicting roles, thecounselor will clarify, adjust, or withdraw from roles appropriately. According to Kolb, (2017) there are 4 learning concepts of the experientialmodel. First is the concrete experience; concrete experience relates to our daily life and what we have to deal with. The next is reflectiveobservation; which naturally happens after happening after new experiences happens in our life. The next is abstract conceptualization; takesthe reflective process a step further by focusing on channeling those observations into a set game plan. Last is active experimentation whichdeals with the process of testing existing ideas by creating new experiences.

Reference:

ACA, (2005). American Counseling Association Code of EthicsJungers, C. M., & Gregoire, J. (2013). Counseling Ethics: Philosophical and Professional Foundations. Danvers, MA: Springer Publishing Companyhttps://postu.idm.oclc.org/loginauth=prodbb&urlhtt… direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=485653&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_60Kolb, D. (2017). The 4 Components of the Experiential Learning Cycle.www.online.Norwich.edu

Discussion #3 Transgenerational Model

Darren E.

Hello class and Professor

In Bowen’s triangles model “Bowen believed that all things are effected by other things in nature, including human relationships fromgeneration after generation, and that this is a holistic or systemic rather than linear process. Using an analogy from physics, hedescribed, depending upon the amount of stress and conflict in the system, the system could become off balanced. He believed that any system,given enough stress and anxiety, will attempt to keep stability by forming triangles. These triangles, the smallest stable unit of a system, maybe formed by one or both of the individuals drawing a third person into the relationship. The third part of the triangle also can be work, ahobby, or an issue”. Wetchler, & Hecker (2015).

This model consist of using a third party to focus on the amount of stress the two people causeeach other. When the counselor uses an genogram her or his goal is to have their clients to understand how their issues can be a result fromtheir family history. This will help them to get rid of their stress and anxiety to better understand the part they play in the confusion and why.In the Sibling Birth Order: “Using the ideas of German psychologist Walter Toman (1961), Bowen hypothesized that people’s sex andsibling birth order has an affect on the attention they received and their roles in their family of origin. This often lead to certain and particularcharacteristic and vulnerability to triangle by parents. For example, oldest children sometimes tend to follow the family rules, to be moreresponsible, and to develop leadership skills to set an example for the other siblings.

Conversely, younger siblings sometimes be morecarefree, irresponsible, and to march to their own drummers beat”. Wetchler, & Hecker, (2015). When the counselor uses the genogram in thismodel the counselor can find out why each sibling feel the way they do this can cause them stress and anxiety. Looking through the familyhistory for generations the counselor look for similar patterns that passed down generation to generation. This can help to discover the reasonwhy each sibling was treated different from each other.The counselor during the session will have each sibling to talk to them instead of each other to help eliminate the stress and anxiety. “Themultigenerational transmission process reflects variance in levels of differentiation across generations. Over several generations, differentbranches of family trees exhibit more or less differentiation. The cousins of one branch seem to do very well– graduate school, high-poweredprofessions, philanthropists, and generous while the cousins on the other branch live a life of drus and crime”. Wetchler, & Hecker, (2015).

Taking a look at both sides of the family genogram can help the counselor to get a better idea of the problems that were created and the methodthe counselor should use to get better results with helping their clients. In the case study by looking at both Rob and Christine’s familygenogram going back a couple of generations help the counselor and both Rob and Christine to learn and understand their own family historyas well as their mate’s family history.Rob found out after exploring his genogram his father treated him different than his brothers paying less attention to him and giving himless praise making him feel like he can’t get his father to become proud of him.

This built up animosity and made him bitter while growing up.Christine parents always treated her with love, with her being the only child. Both sets of parents treated them the way their parents treatedthem. By seeking counseling they were able to find out the reason why they were stressed out, by taking a look at each other’s family role anddiscussing it with the counselor helped them to face their family problems, and why they feel the way they do, so they can give each othersupport and become together as one unit. According to Roberto, (1992). Transgenerational therapy provides a fulcrum for elevating familycohesion, identity, and well-being. This comprehensive volume elucidates the historical and theoretical roots of the 4 major model of thesetime-sensitive approaches and demonstrates how counselors can utilize their key concepts to better assess and treat families.

Reference

Hecker, L., L. & Wetchler, J., L. (2015). An Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy. New York: Routledge.Chapter 10: Transgenerational Family TherapiesRoberto, G. (1992). The Guilford family therapy series. Transgenerational family therapies. Guilford Press.www.psycnet.apa.org

Robin A.

Dr. January and Class,

Bowen’s family system theory of human behavior is one which views a family as an emotional unit. The family and the members, by nature, are profoundly connected emotionally. People may feel disconnected or distant from the members of their families, but this is not necessarily the case as family members have a tremendous impact on one another’s feelings, behaviors, and thoughts, to the extent that they may feel they are living in the same emotional skin (Kerr, Martin & Schara, 2016). It is natural for people to solicit the attention of others, the approval and support they need, the expectations and distress they may feel. With family members, the connection and reaction they share lead to interdependent family functioning (Kerr et al., 2016).

The concept of triangles is one which Bowen determined identified a pattern of dysfunctionality in families that often leads to extenuating communication problems amongst members. While the act of communicating can be powerful when it occurs between two people, bringing a third person into the group is thought to make it more stable, alleviating some of the built-up intensity (Olson, 2020). The third person may be considered one on the outsid

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