Loretta and Bart come to you for marriage counseling. In the first session you see them as a couple. Loretta says that she can’t keep going on the way they have been for the past several years. She tells you that she would very much like to work out a new relationship with him. He says that he does not want a divorce and is willing to give counseling his “best shot. ” Loretta comes to the following session alone because Bart had to work overtime. She tells you that she has been having an affair for two years and hasn’t mustered up the courage to leave Bart for this other man, who is single and is pressuring her to make a decision.
She relates that she feels very discouraged about the possibility of anything changing for the better in her marriage. She would, however, like to come in for sessions with Bart because she doesn’t want to hurt him. Family systems therapy: I would follow the goals of the human validation process model. The goals of therapy for Loretta and Bart would include generating self-esteem and hope, identifying and strengthening coping skills, and facilitating movement toward health and actualization.
These goals are especially important because of Loretta’s feelings of indecision. She has stated that she feels discouraged about the possibility of anything changing for the better in her marriage. Generating self-esteem may also help her to gain the strength and confidence in herself and her decisions. I will guide both Loretta and Bart separately through the process of change. I will provide them with new experiences and teach them how to communicate for effectively and openly. I will act as an active facilitator who models congruence and serves as a resource person.
There are various techniques that would be beneficial to the two of them as a couple, such as: drama, reframing, humor, empathy, touch, family reconstruction, role playing, and family sculpture. Considerable time also needs to be devoted to a discussion of their painful events associated with them growing as a couple. Role playing would be helpful in allowing Loretta and Bart to explore how they are being affected by Loretta’s indiscretions. When I begin working with Loretta and Bart I will commend them for seeking help. They need to know that both their problems and feelings are real and hat I understand that this is a tremendously stressful time in their lives. I will lend my full emotional support and my encouragement toward their progression as a unit. I will also encourage Laura to seek individual therapy as well as couple’s therapy. I will thoroughly explain to both of them the basic approach to family systems theory and how it can assist them with understanding their discouragement and dysfunction. I feel that Laura’s discouragement and confusion may be attributed to man she is having an affair with. The fact that he is single and pressuring her places her in a very compromising position.
To assess Loretta’s family structure, I would ask her to describe in greater detail the physical and emotional roles of both her and Bart. I would also ask the same of this for the other man in her life. I would ask them to discuss how conflict is resolved in their family. It is important to determine who is relied on for balance, consistency, emotional safety, and for strong, close relationships. It is important to understand whether it is the man or woman’s role to create a routine that enables them to meet their everyday emotional needs.
