Question 2 A genogram is a tool that is used in counseling to plot a client’s family of origin. Not only plotting like one would a family tree but also experiences that occurred within the family. According to Corey and Corey (2014) a genogram can start simple and then can become complex picture of a family and issues and struggles within a family. Making a genogram can enhance one’s training as a helping professional by laying out points in a person’s life and family that have caused distress and could affect practice in the future. By self realizing the crisis points in one’s family it can help to identify triggers that could lead to countertransference as well as resurfacing of old traumas during counseling or leading a group. Plotting out one’s life is a way to organize a family especially if there are multiple marriages of parents and non-traditional family ties within a standard family tree. By knowing where you come from and the experiences that shape your family you can better …show more content…
One potential benefit could be that a person could chart out their family in a genogram and see their family and family crisis as a whole. Most people see family crisis and events as individual occurrences however it has potential to be extremely therapeutic to see everything from a holistic approach. Seeing how everything fits together and intertwines to make us who we are can be beneficial as we process areas that we may not have seen before only looking at circumstances individually. A potential negative that could result to making a genogram is that it is very time consuming to make. You could risk time with a client to make a genogram that could be spent completing other therapeutic techniques and processes. Also a potential negative would be if you accidently left someone out of your genogram. This could be intentional or unintentionally left out because of lack of information or
What we bring as a person to the counseling room determines the direction we take with our clients. Coming from what I describe as a dysfunctional family and my questions of why is my family the way it is, why do I behave or think the way I do I drown to the family counseling theory. Many people including myself have why questions about their family. Some of those why questions are, “why is my family like this, where did I get this habit from, will my family ever change? The family systems approach helps solve some of those why questions.
3. In the latter phases of therapy, adult clients are coached in differentiating themselves from their family of origin, the assumption being that gains in differentiation will automatically flow over into decreased anxiety and greater self-responsibility within the nuclear family system (Penny, 1999 p. 101).
There are two approaches that I would like to somehow integrate into the assessment process which are Bowen’s genogram and narrative therapy line of questioning. Both approaches can help come up with a complete picture of the family, along with uncovering the family’s story. An article written addressed how integrating a classic family therapy technique can be used in the context of narrative therapy. The author suggested that genograms create a unique opportunity to explore and re tell stories which assists the family in re-authoring (Chrzastowski, 2011). According to our reading Re authoring is when a family member already ascribed a certain belief about their lives. Furthermore, visual devices used in the assessment process can be a great
There are a number of pros and cons that come with therapists taking a detailed family history. An advantage in taking a full family history is that it allows therapists to help their clients learn from their family history by developing a healthy perspective on their past. Instructing the clients to reflect on their past can help them come to terms and provide a sense of comfort in facing their past. Another reason is that it helps the therapist gain a fuller understanding of the family. Getting full details of family history is important to understand the past events that have occurred. Here the therapist may have plans for the family 's treatment for therapy and therapeutic goals each member can obtain. Asking the right questions
Genograms are used to graphically represent a family tree and display detailed data on relationships among the individuals included in the family tree. In essence, families are complex systems that interact with kin groups in specific ways, and a genogram helps to show a diagram of a family tree, but also maps out interactions, relationships, traits, and characteristics that may otherwise not be noticed. The purpose of a genogram is to identify and understand patterns in family history which may influence an individual’s personal behavior and traits. Family Systems Theory, presented by Dr. Murray Bowen, suggests that an individual cannot be understood in isolation from their family members. According to Dr. Bowen, the family is an emotional
I agree with both your post! The genogram is a great tool for visualization. As the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words. As our book indicated the genogram then begins to be a tool of planning changes in the couple's respective family of origin (Hecker, 2015). Bowen believes the clinical goals should lower anxiety and turmoil. Focusing less on the problem, rather reframing the problem and showing how the problem could be multigenerational caused by factors beyond their control (Klever, 2009). Thereby, using the therapist as a healthier part of the triangle, where they help to ease anxiety, and acting more calmly (Hecker, 2015). Bowen also suggested using “I” statement which helps family members separate their own emotions from
I know from previously working in a family behavioral therapy (FBT) research lab how some of the FBT techniques work. I enjoyed working in this lab and was able to learn about innovative research in this field of study as an undergraduate here at UNLV. As I read the text, I could see further how active, directive, and oriented toward the solution of problems these types of therapies are. I personally do not want to be a family therapist, but I really appreciate those who do. I think that if I was I would be mindful and respectful of my client’s unique issues. Along with being able to implement different techniques that work for each unique family. It would be very important to me to keep each client’s perspective in mind and ensure that the family is happy with the overall counseling experience. I think a fun technique to start with would be working on the genogram with all members. This would ensure that I have a map and a better understanding of all those who are important in the room and outside of the room when clients discuss these individuals within therapy. It would definitely be a useful tool to have for each session in my opinion. I believe the hardest part would be understanding everyone’s views and then helping to facilitate the
Thus, intergenerational and psychoanalytic family therapies “share several key concepts and practices: examining a client’s early relationships to understand present functioning; tracing transgenerational and extended family dynamics to understand a client’s complaints; promoting
We need both the geogram and the ecomap so that it can help a counselor with certain context, prospective, and references into an individual history. The genogram is a tool that could help coolect information about a particular families structure and patterns within the family over a course of time. Developing a genogram with any family members could identify other family members in the individuals life style. For example, those who actually cared for the individual, those he/she ran into in the past, and those the individual will run into later on in the future. The ecomap helpls counselors assess certain resources and other systems as far as the individual’s mother, caregiver, brother, sister, etc… Both the genogram and the ecomap could work so well together that both could provide and engagement to someone within the two. Also, both the genogram and the ecomap could bring closer to one that could experience a possible reunion of someone in the family. By seeing who is all in the family and where they started and ended at, that individual could go to that particular brother, sister, or even cousin to ask particular
I have to agree with you in regards to the importance of personal habits, environmental factors, and sedentary lifestyles on a patient’s overall health. There are obviously certain genetically linked or chromosomal passed disorders that can not be prevented. The genogram helps identify these types of diseases. It also helps shows trends of illness that can be possibly eliminated or reduced significantly if addressed early on with proper preventative plan of care. Your examples of alcoholism and smoking are two great examples. As healthcare costs are rising, preventative care is being incorporated now more than ever when treating patients. The genogram gives the physician and the patient a tool to address predisposing risk factors and develop
Because Bowen believed in the relevance of multigenerational healing, he created the Genogram (p. 225). A Genogram is a therapeutic tool that can be used to graphically identify the family system of an individual and the various generational influences that the individual has.
There are a few challenges that come to mind about entering the field of genetic counseling. I know that clinical genetic counseling can become very emotionally taxing. There is a lot of uncertainty in the field of genetics. It can be a struggle to provide support for patients and their families when there may be no definitive solution to their predicament. There is the potential to become too emotionally attached in a given situation. It is important to provide the support for your patients while maintaining an emotional and professional distance. Everyone has their own biases. As a genetic counselor, it is imperative that we acknowledge our biases and try to move past them in order to give the best care to our patients.
“Intergenerational family therapy is focused on families over generations. A genogram can be constructed to help family member’s recognize patterns in their family’s history (Eric E. McCollum, Terry S. Trepper, 2007, p. 22). The genogram that was completed on this family shows conflict and hostile in all the adult relationships. It also showed that substance abuse has been multigenerational. The import summary from the genogram showed “3 Geno Maps, 7 Individuals and 10 Emotional Relationships”.
Adler’s theory of individual psychology focuses mainly on viewing the world through the client’s perspective. Yet, this concept represents a major task for therapists who just want to work with this theory, as therapists will be doing a comprehensive assessment known as the family constellation for every client that comes into their office for therapy. Overall, I think that this assessment could be very useful if you are trying to get a general perspective of the client’s major area of success, failures, and how they pursue life. However, at the same time, this assessment also has a disadvantage, and that is that it is a very long questionnaire to fill out just in one session.
These can be both medical, emotional, financial, and ethical. Genetic testing may be beneficial because of the fact that it serves as a relief; as it eliminates doubt and uncertainty surrounding an individual's health. These results may help doctors make recommendations for treatment also. Overall, it helps people make informed decisions about their future, such as whether or not to have a child with the risk of passing on a genetic mutation/disease. However, the limitation of genetic testing is the fact that even though you have a positive result does not mean that you will develop the