Case Analysis And Reflection: Family Assessment Essay.

Students should include the following information in their assessment report:

1. Provide a brief summary of the significant historical information

2. Consider the values, assumptions and ethical considerations in this case

3. What are the identified challenges and concerns

4. Considering the application of theory to practice, how does a theoretical framework support the

work with this family? Consider-

How do class, gender and ethnicity play out in the situation?

What are the skills and strengths of the family and what support systems exist?

What is your plan for engagement and assessment with this case?

What types of support may be suitable for this family

Part two of the assessment task involves critical reflection. You need to consider the following issues in your answer:

1. What additional information would you have liked to know?

2. Why would this additional information have been helpful to you in undertaking the assessment?

3. Did your personal experiences of family life inform how you undertook the process of assessment?

4. How did you balance the power relationships between individuals and family members in your interpretation of the case study?

5. What did you learn from this assignment and how has your perspective of family practice changed?

Part A: Case Analysis

Class- In this scenario the, the family is seen to struggle to sustain their daily lives. The family migrated to Melbourne in search of a job.

Ethnicity- The family is seen to be divided into ethnic foundations. The father is of Greek origin while the mother is of the Aboriginal culture. Due to this fact, George refutes the children to participate in any Aboriginal activities in school which makes Mary much upset.

Gender- From the case study, the female gender is seen as the weak gender. Mary stays at home taking care of the family which objects her from pursuing her dream in education.

The family receives much support from the parent’s rep in school who even takes a step higher in visiting them in their home. Also, the HLSO department makes much effort in caring for the family.

• To interact with the family to know their ailing
• Have a brief discussion with the HLSO office

• Offering guidance and counseling services
• Link them with the authorities that provide support to the less fortunate children such as the Out of Homecare.
• Educate Mary and George on the importance of family planning.

In undertaking any given therapy assessment, information provided to a particular problem or situation is very crucial(Nichols & Schwartz, 2001; Rubin & Rubin, 2011).   The report should be very detailed to help one handle the situation correctly and give out his/her best advice(Pope & Vasquez, 2005; Sim et al., 2005).  The information also helps a therapist gain an informed insight into the situation at hand (Hill, 2005; Gillespie, 2002). From the case study if the below would have been given would simplify the undertaking of the information.

Home School Liaison Officer (HSLO) would have given the reason to why Anna and Tom were missing some classes. More so detailed information on how many classes the children had lost. Also, HSLO could outline some reasons why Mary frequently appeared nervous when she talked to people and when she went to pick kids from school and why she was not welcoming. Since Mary and George are living together as husband and wife and they have children who they never planned for their coming, information about their marriage should have been provided for instance if they are legally married or not. When Anna and Tom at school were asked the reason why they never came to school with lunch, they responded by saying that their mother was hurt so she could not prepare some food for them, therefore if the what made her hurt could be provided and how could be very helpful in the completion of this assessment.

Consequently, we should have been informed if George and Mary had agreed on which culture their children should be introduced to instead of being told that George had requested that the children not be taught any Aboriginal activity. How George was yelling was not outlined, as in was it in pain and agony or screaming from a happy mood. We are not also given the state of the children, how they looked/dressed if it was a shabby look or a smart one. And perhaps how messy George's and Mary's yard appeared.  

The above missing data would be very important in completion of this assignment in that it would have helped in gaining an understanding of why the kids missed classes, if the parents communicated the reason for missing classes and if the number of classes missed has a significant effect in their educational progress so as to determine if a further help to the kids could be recommended. Also if Mary's reasons why she was so nervous always and why she was not welcoming to the class representative could be given, it would have been easier to determine if she needs more help too. It would be easier to determine if her nervousness was as a result of poverty state or it was just because she was shy.

Part B: Critical Reflection

 By knowing if George and Mary are legally married, it would be easier for one to know which advice to give out to them because we are just told they had two children who they never planned for and it's challenging to have two kids who are not twins yet you never anticipated.  If we could know how Mary was hurt it would be straightforward to determine which kind of help to offer to her, maybe she was injured from beating from her husband or not. Also how George was yelling could be outlined, it would have been easier to determine if the two were fighting or it was just they were too happy. If we could have been told if George and Mary had initially agreed not to introduce their children to Aboriginal could have helped determine if this family embrace togetherness and information sharing and consultation or everyone makes whatever decision, he/she feels like.    

Personal life experience such as poverty, resettling to new homes, family quarrels, early love relationships among many others helped me conduct take this assessment.   I was able to know how ethnicity plays a significant role in family unity. Additionally, I was able to understand what influence poverty and taking decisions without consulting each other can cause to the family. My life experience has also helped me know what type of support system that can be used to help families that are in the same conditions as George's family.  

From the case study, it is evident that different individuals and family members have different levels of power. Some have powers over the others and can revoke whatever decision had already taken like for the case of George and her wife about introducing their children to Aboriginal activities. Also outside the family, individuals have a limit to which they can influence events and the way a particular family runs. The class representative and teacher could not make further inquiries into George and Mary's family. Therefore, there is a given limit of power to which one can exercise over the other in and to a given family.    

In the assessment, I have learned that not everyone is willing to open up to people on issues troubling him or her like in the case of Mary. Also, ethnicity and cultural differences have a significant impact on how families bond (McGoldrick et al., 2005; Malcarne et al., 2005; Hill, 2001). The assessment has also helped me learn how to position myself in a given situation and know to what extent can I go. I have learned that family therapists usually face a lot of difficulties when it comes to solving couple problems because taking sides is very easy although one does not need to have more knowledge about family matters for him to be able to handle such issues (Shaw, 2001; Johnson, 2012). I also learned that there are many different levels of power in a family that allows one to control what kind of issues as explained by Janevic & Connell (2001).

References

Nichols, M. P., & Schwartz, R. C. (2001). The essentials of family therapy. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2011). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Sage.

Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J. T. (2005). How to survive and thrive as a therapist: Information, ideas, and resources for psychologists in practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Sim, K., Gwee, K. P., & Bateman, A. (2005). Case formulation in psychotherapy: Revitalizing its usefulness as a clinical tool. Academic Psychiatry, 29(3), 289-292.

Hill, C. E. (2005). Therapist techniques, client involvement, and the therapeutic relationship: Inextricably intertwined in the therapy process. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 42(4), 431.

McGoldrick, M., Giordano, J., & Garcia-Preto, N. (Eds.). (2005). Ethnicity and family therapy. Guilford Press.

Malcarne, V. L., Drahota, A., & Hamilton, N. A. (2005). Children's health-related locus of control beliefs: ethnicity, gender, and family income. Children's Health Care, 34(1), 47-59.

Hill, N. E. (2001). Parenting and academic socialization as they relate to school readiness: The roles of ethnicity and family income. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(4), 686.

Johnson, S. M. (2012). The practice of emotionally focused couple therapy: Creating connection. Routledge.

Janevic, M. R., & M Connell, C. (2001). Racial, ethnic, and cultural differences in the dementia caregiving experience: Recent findings. The gerontologist, 41(3), 334-347.

Gillespie, M. (2002). Television, ethnicity and cultural change. Routledge.

Shaw, E. (2001, May). The Anxiety in Maintaining the Couple Relationship. Psychotherapy in Australia.