Applying Postmodern Family Therapy and Counselling Techniques to the Quest Family Case - Essay Example

Running Head: Models and Theories Applying Postmodern Family Therapy and Counseling Techniques to the Quest Family Case A Case Analysis Title Name of Professor Date of SubmissionIntroduction The focus of the postmodern approach in family therapy and counseling is on the language of the client, literally and figuratively, to gain knowledge of his/her perspective and beliefs, expressions and words (Wetchler & Hecker, 2003). The goal of the application of the postmodern techniques to the Quest family case is to communicate within the individual family member’s commonplace language and apply that language figuratively as a planned instrument of therapy, as a correcting instrument to affect the family member’s narrative, and as a strategy to encourage collaborating in initiating change.

The language of the Quest family members offered hints to formulating problem definitions, therapeutic objectives, and interventions, for instance, amending erroneous ideas or enhancing imperfect approach towards solutions. I think that if the approach will be in the language of the family members, the therapy and they would have a more productive match. As an outcome, (1) the family members would be more open to the assessment and intervention of the therapist, (2) opposition would be less probable, and (3) therapeutic strategy would have a bigger chance of success.

Towards these goals this paper will focus comprehensively on the postmodern therapist’s language and adjust the techniques to the perspective and values of the family members. The three postmodern techniques that will be applied to the Quest family case study are narrative therapy, Milan system, and collaborative language methods. Narrative Therapy Narrative therapists factually unravel and aid in forming the narratives that family members relate to themselves and each other, and afterward join these narratives, expecting to affect the narrative in manners that constructively influence the family.

This technique will be applied to the Quest family case study to enter the narrative of the family members and provide another or adjusted point of view of their lives. The interview will invite individual family members to analyze the problematic issues in their family, like the chronic absence of their father from family activities, as independent from themselves. This is carried out by a method referred to as ‘influence’ interviewing (Wetchler & Hecker, 2003). The therapist requests family members to provide two perspectives of the issue they are providing for therapy.

One is a perspective of the issue as it concerns their family’s life and their lives, and the other is a perspective of how the members of the family affect the being of the problem. In this manner, the issue is objectified and neutralized as a force external to the family member’s life and is vulnerable to their manipulation and influence. The narrative therapy is stronger than structural, strategic, and solution-oriented therapy in a sense that this technique requires constant communication of the clients’ progress and how to resolve the issues they confront, constructing thorough narrations of the stories of the family members bonded by issues like determination, patience, and courage.

Milan Group Technique Another appropriate instrument for the Quest family case is the treatment of therapeutic practices. These practices are usually employed when there is more than one distinct perspective of a specific behavioral pattern within a family. One potential therapeutic practice for the Quest family case is for the family to function in harmony with the affectionate understanding of parental actions or manners on unusual days, and in harmony with the controlling behavior understanding on smooth days.

The goal is to expose the family to the presence of various and mutually practical understandings of the same actions, each bearing different repercussions. The main strength of this technique rests in its expedient paradigm for using collaborative, language-oriented means of interpreting and dealing with clients. Nevertheless, this technique has much similarity with the other three techniques, structural, strategic, and solution-oriented therapy. Collaborative Language Techniques This technique is strongly anchored in the theory of social construction, rigid in its understanding of the therapeutic communication as the vehicle of change.

This is the postmodern technique that openly questioned the notion of the biological family as the intended therapeutic system, suggesting instead that a treatment procedure was an issue established by the family system. In this technique, therapy is viewed as a prospect, not to remove the issue as such, but to aid the Quest family members in changing their relationship through communication that exposes novel, less intimidating perspectives. Conclusions This paper discussed the application of postmodern approach toward family therapy and counseling and wider clinical opportunities that can determine the transformation of the Quest family case into a successful case of family communication and language-oriented therapy.

These three postmodern techniques have its share of strengths and limitations, as discussed above. Whatever may be the case, the Quest family merits attention and therapeutic solutions. References Sexton, T. & Weeks, G.R. (2003). Handbook of Family Therapy: The Science and Practice of Working with Families and Couples. New York: Brunner-Routledge. Wetchler, J. & Hecker, L. (2003). An Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy. New York: Routledge.