Couples Therapy with Lesbians - Case Study Example

Pak Articles Spring Object relations couples therapy with lesbians The supports the use of object relation couples therapy. The use of this form of therapy has come as a great aid to the lesbians in the society. This is due to the fact that it acts as a guide in for lesbian couples. This is mostly thorough assisting lesbian couples on how to relate with each other. This couples therapy offered to the lesbian members in the society also assist in curbing the growing cases of homophobia because of succumbing to the social pressures in a hostile society (Sussal, (n.d). Couple’s therapy with lesbians advocates for the creation of a holding environment according to the author. This holding environment is of great importance for lesbians in the society in the sense that it acts as a therapeutic holding environment. In this environment, a lot of healing and progress takes place and hence it acts as a safe psychological place for therapy. In these holding environments, deep connections are established where unconscious communication can be established. This is as determined by scharff and scharff in the year 1991(Sussal, (n.d). In the social context, the approach used by the author in couple’s therapy is with psychoanalytical approaches. In the psychoanalytical approaches, stresses affecting the lesbian couples are addressed with regard to their past and the present. This approach is effective in the sense that the problems facing the lesbian couples are addressed at their roots and hence workable solutions are determined. The use of the psychoanalytical approach to couples therapy is effective to the lesbian couples because lesbian couples are more likely to be exposed to social discriminations as they go about their lives. Hence, this form of therapy according to the author is effective in curing cases of homophobia among lesbians, which is considered a sickness (Sussal, (n.d). Couple’s therapy with lesbians employs the use of repressed ego systems. The use of repressed ego systems has improved the relations between lesbian couples. This is because it assists couples in overcoming the fears intimacy because of experiences of rejection and frustration. Fairburn determined this theory in the year 1954 in what was known as anti-libidinal ego. This theory determined that split off ego is resident in the unconscious and affects how lesbians relate to each other as a couple and towards the outside world (Sussal, (n.d). Sex therapy is inclusive as part of couple’s therapy with lesbians. This is because just as is the case with heterosexuals, lesbians have their share of sexual problem. Sexual problems are one of the major challenges facing lesbian couples and hence the issue needs to be addressed. This was a determined by the therapist Falco in the year 1991. Hence, sexual relation should be inclusive in couple’s therapy with lesbian relations. Object relations couple therapy for lesbians is similar to the work done in the heterosexual couples. This is due to the reason that they are both aimed at the in depth healing of couple’s relationships (Sussal, (n.d). owing to these facts, this article is helpful to lesbians in real life situation where it acts as a guide in lesbian relationships. This is through the promotion of good relations among lesbian couples and the other members of the society. Therapy will also assist lesbian couples blend into the society and hence instances of homophobia will be reduced significantly. Family therapy techniques Planning is therapeutic strategy used by family therapists. Through planning, family therapists are in a position to learn about a family and theorize a family ahead of their data. According to Sherlock Holmes as indicated by the author, theorizing ahead of one’s data can lead to biased result. In this sense, family therapists should be cautious because families behave differently because of their differing structures and shape and the way they cope with stressing situations. Depending on the family shape, the family therapists are able to determine strategies of addressing stressing issues in the family. Another type of family formation is shoe family. This is a family setting where older children after reaching a certain level of maturity are given parental responsibilities. In these families, the children take over all the child rearing skills acting as representatives of the parents. According to family therapists, parental children become socially handicapped as they find it difficult to relate with their peers. The other type of family setting is the accordion family. These are the families where one of the parents are absent for long periods of time. A good example is a military family. Whit one of the parents absent, the present parent workload is increased in terms of guiding and nurturing the children in the family. Therapy in these families will include the use of both restructuring and educational maneuvers. One of the family shapes is the pas de deux family. This is a family composed of two members. Therapists are, therefore, in a position to deduce that the two members rely on each other greatly in a symbiotic form of relationship. For instance, in the case of a mother and a child, the child becomes more mature and relating better with adults as opposed to children. The other family type is the three-generation family. It is composed of the extended family with a number of generations living together. Family therapists, according to the author, recommend this form of family setting. This is due to the delegation of tasks and duties where the most proficient handles a specific matter. A fluctuating family is another family form indicated by family therapists. The composition in these families fluctuates constantly either on the part of the mother or the father. This is where a single parent has multiple lovers. Family therapists have the responsibility of defining a stable family structure. Other types of family shapes include foster families, step parent families, families with a ghost, out of control families and psychosomatic families. In psychosomatic families, family therapists have determined that these families work best on the instance that a family member is ill. These families on the other hand are unable to resolve conflicts and are greatly characterized by extreme rigidity. The major challenge these families pose to therapists is the fact that they seem eager to respond to change which they do not adhere to. According to observations and research conducted, the ideal family is not existent. This is due to the fact that families experience difficulties and hence need guidance in handling disturbing issues. Family therapists play a great role in ensuring the coexistence of family members regardless of the family shape. Therefore, family therapy techniques give a better understanding of how family members relate to each other. With such an understanding, therapists are in a position to effectively apply their skills in therapy in the promotion of good relation through the application of corrective measures. Genograms Genograms are also important when it comes to inducing therapy on a particular family. This is due to the reason that genograms assist clinicians and therapists in having a better understanding of the family and hence joining a family with therapy becomes an easier transition. Genograms also assist in the painting of a clearer picture to both the family and the clinicians. This is because problems facing the family can be viewed in their historical and current contexts. Genograms incorporate scanning. Scanning is an important tool to clinicians where it enables them to track back on family histories. This scanning enhances the determination of family evolution patterns through time. Hence, genograms are mostly inclusive of past generation patterns. The genograms family generations date at least three generations where rules, myths and themes are inclusive in the genogram. This, as a consequence, results in better analysis which translates to better family therapy delivered from the clinicians(Genograms: Mapping Family Systems). Genograms as indicated by the author are used to give a better understanding of the family patterns. Therefore, genograms have come as a great aid to family therapists where they enhance the understanding of a particular family in terms of relationships and their histories. Genograms are also favored in the clinical sector where clinicians are able to have a clear picture of complex family patterns through graphical imagery, which are easily understandable. Potential problems affecting a particular family in study are easily determined. Hence, the use of genograms by family therapists and clinicians allows for the monitoring of several parameters such as the family history, events and patterns (Genograms: Mapping Family Systems). Physicians in the recording of medical information also use Genograms efficiently and effectively and in a reliable manner. This is evident where one of the profound physicians such as Crouch in the year 1991 advocated for the use and declared their effectiveness in the determination of family histories. Genograms have evolved with time as indicated by the author as they show the relationship between historical connections of national and cultural patterns. This is where the genogram has the potential to illustrate and present the multigenerational, stepsibling and half sibling relationships as witnessed in the reunification of Germany(Genograms: Mapping Family Systems). Genograms are assistive to clinicians in that they assist in the determination of personality characteristics of family. According to the structural composition of a particular family, the structural configuration is mapped on a genogram, which reveals the relational compatibility of the family members. Finer details such as ethnicity, religion and race are also revealed on the genogram. Hence, this helps in the determination of multigenerational transmission. This is an instance where the one generation repeats itself in the next generation. Family relationship patterns are determinable with genograms. Relational distance determines how close members of a family are. When this distance becomes as great as indicated by the genogram, it may break down (Genograms: Mapping Family Systems). The use of genograms by clinicians and therapists has greatly assisted them in addressing family issue. This is due to the fact that they enable family therapists to address problems at their roots. Hence this gives therapists a better understanding of specific family and addressing of issues. Planning The determination of the structure of a family is essential in assisting a family therapist in the preparation and organization of the initial contact with the family. Hence, therapists are in a position to gather information from the therapeutic system that clarifies or refutes the initial hypothesis gathered. One of the family structures includes the foster families. In this type of family, children are temporary family members. In this family, parent child relationships are usually avoided. The reason behind this is the fact that once parent child bonds are formed, they are later broken when the child is moved to a different foster home (Family Planning: Family Therapy Techniques). The other family structure is a family with a ghost. These are families where there is a missing family member because of death or desertion. Such families, according to therapists, delegate duties to missing family members. In these families taking over the duties of a deceased mother or father is regarded to be an act of disloyalty. The old coalitions with the deceased family members are maintained as if they were still alive. According to therapists, the major problem facing these types of families is incomplete mourning (Family Planning: Family Therapy Techniques). The other family structure is the stepparent families. These are families formed when a stepparent is included into the family unit. In these types of families, the children are more attached to their natural parents as opposed to the stepparent. This is where the children tend to confide more with their natural parents on stressing issues and needs. Therapists prove to be of assistance to such families through the introduction of designs that promote gradual evolution. Family therapists also assist in the creation of family boundaries where members from different families are able to coexist. Another existent family structure is the out of control family. These are the families where one of the family members exhibits symptoms of control issues. According to family therapists, the control issues in such families are because of hierarchical organization within a particular family. Another factor that contributes to control issues within a family is the implementation of functions within the parental subsystem. The proximity of family members is also another factor that contributes to the crop up of family issues within the out of control families. Control issues vary depending on development level of a particular family. The main objective of therapy in such families is the reorganization of the family through the promotion of cooperation between the children and the parents. Cooperation is made possible through the stipulation of a clear hierarchy where the parents are in control of the executive subsystem within the family. In instances where a family has adolescents present, control issues according to family therapists are associated with the inability of the parents to graduate from the stage of concerned parenting of children to the stage of respectful parenting of the young adolescents. Hence, therapy has played a major role in ensuring the well-being of families (Family Planning: Family Therapy Techniques). From this article, it is evident that planning is essential in the determination of issues affecting a particular family. Depending on the type of family, family therapists are able to prepare prior to making contact. This assists in application of effective therapy techniques by therapists as a result of having in depth knowledge of issues affecting families. This is because each family shape faces issues specific to it. References Family Planning: Family Therapy Techniques Sussal, C. (n.d). Couples Therapy with Lesbians. Genograms: Mapping Family Systems Read More