Family Therapy - Research Paper Example

In addition, individual personality traits influence the way members of a social unit interact and relate with one another. As a result of these variables, social scientists acknowledge the fact that family units possess unique characteristics, which influence behavioral conduct and affect family members. With respect to the acknowledgement, psychiatrists and family therapists usually prefer handling family problems in a customized manner. Carr (2012) says that this will ensure objective identification and evaluation of an issue based on social and psychological make-up of involved family members.

Nature of the Program This essay involves evaluation of a family therapy program meant to address the issue of Eating Disorder among juveniles, especially teenagers. Eating Disorder is one of the least attended problems affecting school going children in American societies. The problem starts when a teenager feels uncomfortable with his or her increase in body weight. As a result, a juvenile reverts to negative eating habits, which may include eating less food or even forcefully vomiting after a meal.

In the long run, a teenager may develop psychological problems associated with disturbance in eating behavior. According to Heller (2007), teens with eating disorder, especially girls, usually regard their body weight as the main assert for evaluating self worth. As a result, they may decide to take voluminous meals and vomit or take laxative drugs to counteract the caloric effect of the meal. In most family units, teenagers undergo these problems in secret for fear of criticism and victimization by their parents.

Physical symptoms of the disorder may include depressive moods, disappearing during or after meals and frequent use of diuretics and laxatives, among others. Therefore, this problem among teenagers calls for intervention using an appropriate family therapy program. How the Program Works In this context, the Eating Disorder therapy program seeks to facilitate understanding of the problem among members of a family unit. Mitchell and Grilo (2012) says that the program will provide an avenue through which parents or guarding, siblings and the victim juveniles can acknowledge the causes and effects of the disorder.

Upon informed acknowledgement, the therapy will extrapolate on the appropriate courses of actions that will provide short and long term achievements. The program takes into considerations the social and psychological traits of parents and other members of the society. In this case, a therapist can understand why a juvenile avoids detection of the disorder by his or her parents. According to Mitchell and Grilo (2012), common reasons for the secretive behavior may include strict parenting patterns in the family, especially autocratic style of parenting.

In the process, parents will acknowledge the need of loosening their grip on strict family values and adjusting towards accommodating problems faced by their children. In addition, juveniles will learn the benefits of being open with their caregivers. The program usually involves weekly visits to therapy sessions held either at home or in psychiatric clinics. The entire program runs for approximately six months, with exceptions of being terminated early depending on the juveniles’ response to treatment.

Mitchell and Gr