After you have submitted your initial post, review some of your classmates’ posts and respond to at least 2 of your classmates. Your responses to others should be at least 100 words in length and substantive.

Family Therapy Case Study

For this activity, watch the video: Family Therapy Case Study. Use the information in the scenario to answer the following questions:

Inez and Joseph are a married couple with a 7-year-old son, Leo. Leo is in second grade, but Leo has been refusing to go to school for several weeks. Sometimes, Inez and Joseph are able to coax or force him to go to school, but other times, he stays home the entire day. Almost every school-day morning begins with Leo refusing to get dressed to go to school. Inez and Joseph have been unable to overcome this refusal, and if they try to dress him themselves, he squirms, runs out of the room, cries, and screams. Leo's behavior has caused significant strain on the marriage. Inez and Joseph frequently and intensely argue about the ideal way to handle Leo. Generally, Inez is more sympathetic and concerned about exploring underlying roots of his behavior, whereas Joseph prefers to make hard-and-fast rules or demands that will force Leo to behave more appropriately regarding of any underlying causes. There is significantly more hostility and less warmth in the home since Leo began this behavior, and Inez and Joseph are concerned that the problem is not improving. They seek the help of Dr. Gollum, a clinical psychologist who practices family therapy.

• Which approach to family therapy would be ideal for this family (e.g., structural, solution-focused, Bowenian)? Explain your thoughts and support your choices with aspects of the text or other scholarly sources.
• Is family therapy preferable to other options, such as individual therapy for Leo or parent training for Inez and Joseph? Explain your thoughts and support your choices with aspects of the text or other scholarly sources.
• What would be the most valid measure of psychotherapy outcome for this case? Explain your thoughts and support your choices with aspects of the text or other scholarly sources.

Reference

Pomerantz, A. (2014). Clinical Psychology, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Video link is below

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Clinical Psychology

Unit (9) Discussion

Karen Suarez

Family Therapy Case Study

An established rapport was made with the parents and Leo. I realized that there is a problem with Leo. Inez and Joseph have two different views on how to parent Leo. A Comprehensive assessment is needed to see how Leos behavior is with different people, and in different environments. The problem needs to be identified. Finding out when did this problem started? Where is the problem more noticeable and causing the most problems? Parents should be asked these questions but not just the parent's everyone that the child spends time with. After getting permission slips signed by the parents the research to find out more starts. After finding that there is a problem with Leos behavior I would encourage Self-Instructional Training with a self-direct message. According to Pomerantz(2011)- instructional training help children gain more control over their own behavior by hearing instructions out loud it becomes a thinking process. Behavior Observation may be required in which a clinical psychologist might have to go to the home or school for behavior observation. According to Pomerantz (2011). The Children’s Apperception Test (TAT) may be needed to test Leo. It’s a storytelling test that has animals for a child-friendly method of testing. A Cognitive-Behavior Therapy could also be beneficial. I think that the parents might need to be instructed to take parenting classes and management towards the final diagnosis. I would be one to lean towards this being an externalizing disorder like ADHD. I have no scientific proof because the time and assessments would be incomplete at this point. I would have to use a more humanistic approach. I would offer that the parents individual therapy for guilt, shame, or blame that they might feel. I believe that a solution-focused approach would benefit this family. There is a solution through the understanding of the problem and training and therapy. I would suggest some play therapy for Leo because he is so young. The most valued measure for the outcome would be the Cognitive behavior therapy after receiving the Comprehensive Assessment that helps in making a decision for a diagnosis. Parent training also is vital in teaching the parents what is going on and what to do. Leo self-training and receiving behavior therapy. The parents both in therapy for emotional support and understanding. Leo in behavior therapy.

References: Pomerantz, M. A. (2011). Clinical Psychology, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc

Student two

Michael Robinson posted Jun 17, 2018 8:09 PM

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Good evening Professor and Classmates,

This week’s unit 9-discussion board required us to watch a case scenario video of a Family Therapy Case Study of Inez and Joseph and their 7-year-old son, Leo. Leo is in the second grade, but Leo has been refusing to go to school for several weeks. Leo refuses to get dressed to go to school. He begins to squirm, cry and screams. Leo’s behavior has caused significant strain on the marriage causing Inez and Joseph to argue intensely (Pomerantz, 2014).

Which approach to family therapy would be ideal for this family (e.g., structural, solution-focused, Bowenian)? Explain your thoughts and support your choices with aspects of the text or other scholarly sources.

I believe the best approach to family therapy will be Solution-focused therapy. According to the reading, this type of therapy emphasizes that therapists should use “solution-talk” rather than “problem-talk” as much as possible. By discussing positive outcomes that the future may hold rather than unpleasant situations that characterize the present, clients begin to adopt a more positive point of view. This approach uses a list of specific tasks and questions posed to clients to call attention to solutions rather than problems (Pomerantz, 2014).

Is family therapy preferable to other options, such as individual therapy for Leo or parent training for Inez and Joseph? Explain your thoughts and support your choices with aspects of the text or other scholarly sources.

In this case I believe that family therapy should be the preferred method over individual therapy. Family therapy has been proven to be successful. However, if Leo does not feel comfortable with engaging in family therapy, individual therapy may be the better option. According to the reading, group therapy is characterized by an emphasis on interpersonal interaction. Family therapy focuses on a systems-based approach to psychological problems in which the symptoms of an identified patient are viewed as a by-product of a pathological pattern of interaction or communication within the person’s family (Pomerantz, 2014).

What would be the most valid measure of psychotherapy outcome for this case? Explain your thoughts and support your choices with aspects of the text or other scholarly sources.

The best approach or most valid measure of psychotherapy outcome in this case would be that Inez and Joseph utilize new techniques that will allow them to better deal with Leo. Not giving in to Leo’s demands will help them to establish their position as a dominant force (Pomerantz, 2014).

Have a great week,

Michael Robinson Jr.

Reference:

Pomerantz, A. (2014). Clinical Psychology, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.