A presentation at Heritage University @ CBC Week 05 in February 2021 in Pasco, WA 99301, USA by Jacob Campbell
Time: Wednesday’s from 5:30-8:15
Date: 02/10/21
Content: Working with Families II
Reading Assignment: Prest and Protinsky (1993)
Due Dates:
Season 3 Shorts for the Simpsons
[Whole Class Activity] Watch the Family Therapy Video clip of the Simpsons.
Today we will be talking about working with families and what that looks like.
We talked about some of these last week, but I wanted to get through the rest of the sections this week
Looking for patterns and styles of communication with in families is another important area to consider. This frequently means examining…
Congruence and Clarity of Communication, which includes verbal, non-verbal and contextual.
[Whole Class Activity - Discussion] What are some of the types of things that we are looking for verbally and non verbally (as discussed in micro skills last semester)?
Especially in working with families, we are on the look out for patterns
Looking for patterns and styles of communication with in families is another important area to consider. This frequently means examining…
Insoo Kim Berg Solution-Focused Family Therapy Video. (2009, June 29). Insoo Kim Berg Solution-Focused Family Therapy Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fe8D0hAQh0
PsychotherapyNet. (2009, June 29). Insoo Kim Berg solution-focused family therapy video [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/6Fe8D0hAQh0
We are going to watch a short video clip of Insoo Kim Berg doing family therapy. We are not watching necessary for techniques, but what do you observe about the verbal / nonverbal communication of the family.
One way of looking at a families stage in their own life cycle
at each of these stages families face various different tasks to complete.
The explicit and implicit rules found in a family system may be either flexible or rigid, depending on con- text and time.
[Whole Class Activity] What are some rules that families might have?
Social environment is also an important aspect to look at.
Think about all of the different contexts and applying ecological perspective to a family.
Talk about client communities (Iraqi, Cuban, etc.) that I’ve worked with
“The adaptive capacity of any given family refers to the extent to which the family can achieve its functioning goals, given the demands of family and social life. As the family faces demands from its environment and challenges from its members, its capacity to adapt is a central property of the ability to maintain itself as a cohesive unit.” (p. 267)
Family Strengths and Resilience
This activity is based both on work done ART and from Guiding Good Choices Parenting Classes. In ART the following are the sections of what is called the anger control chain.
I want to show you an activity you could do in groups / with families to help brainstorm what a youth’s cues are.
[Whole Class Activity] Draw an outline of a person. Have people brainstorm what they feel like when they get upset. Using outrageous drawings.
The following is a handout I used to use many times when I have been working with families who have conflict.
One way that I frequently used it was to talk about it point by point.
[Whole Class Activity] Demonstrate with volunteers going through the form for a couple of minutes.
The following is a good list of validating vs. invalidating statements.
[Whole Class Activity] Give class some time to review the material. What are some different ways that somebody could use this with a family?
There can be a number roles that family members might fall under. Sometimes, especially in literature regarding substance abuse, there are roles described as co-dependent or dysfunctional considered common. We are going to spend some time examining those.
Also, something to consider. There is no real scientific backing to some of this, it is taken as standard and frequently seen, but has not be scientifically verified.
The entire family life revolves around the addict or alcoholic. Each codependent role has been taken on in order to “make sense” of, and handle, the dysfunction in the everyday life of the family.
Understanding the addict is very important. Of equal importance is knowing that by making changes in your own actions, you can stop supporting the addictive behavior of your loved one.
This family member (often the oldest child) devotes his time and attention to making the family look “normal” and without problems.
The Scapegoat (often the second born) always seems defiant, hostile and angry. They are perpetually in trouble at school, work or in social situations…
This family member is often the youngest child in the family. They are the court jester, trying to get everyone to laugh. They do this unconsciously to improve the atmosphere in the dysfunctional household, as well as turn the focus away from the addict or alcoholic.
The lost child basically disappears. They become loners, or are very shy. They feel like strangers or outsiders, not only in social situations, but also within their own families. Often they feel ignored, and that they don’t matter.
Next is the caretaker, but another descriptive word for this type of codependent family role is “enabler.”
The wellness wheel is not an activity I did as frequently with families as I did with individuals, but it it still works just as well.
[Whole Class Activity] Have entire class complete a wellness wheel themselves, walking them through questions.
This is another form that I thought I’d share with you. It’s a pretty simple concept. Sometimes it can be really beneficial for our clients if we can make things simple and clearly defined.
While, I don’t have other examples for you, similar style handouts could be made and used…
