Vargas Family Case Study: Meet the Family
Read the Vargas Family Case Study below. Write a 700-1,050-word paper that addresses the following:
- A discussion of how a counselor could build a therapeutic alliance with the Vargas family.
- A discussion of family patterns that could be maintaining the problem for the Vargas family.
- A discussion of at least one family intervention you could utilize with the Vargas family in future sessions.
- A discussion of at least one assessment tool you would use with the Vargas family and the justification for including this scale within a counseling session for the Vargas family.
- A discussion of what a counselor would need to include within the termination phase of counseling for the Vargas family.
Vargas Case Study: Session 1
Bob and Elizabeth Vargas have been married for 10 years. They have two children, Frank (8) and Heidi (6). Bob teaches high school PE and coaches football, wrestling, and baseball. Elizabeth recently quit her job where she was an attorney in a law firm that specializes in Family Law. She enjoyed her work, had a passion for adoption cases, but decided to stay home for a few years while the kids were young. Elizabeth believes that Frank might have ADHD. She complains that he cannot sit still, does not listen, is forgetful, and is always getting hurt. She believes that much of these injuries are due to Frank’s impulsivity. Elizabeth suggests you talk to Frank’s teachers who have noticed that he has trouble waiting his turn, will often blurt out answers without raising his hand, and frequently loses things. Elizabeth acknowledges that Frank has always been an active child, but believes these behaviors, including picking on his little sister, are getting worse. Bob seems to be amused by these anecdotes and accuses Elizabeth of “overreacting,” stating that, “Boys will be boys.” Bob suggests you talk to his parents, both retired teachers, who agree with him and don’t think there’s anything wrong with Frankie. You notice Heidi sitting close to Elizabeth, playing on her mother’s cell phone. She glances up occasionally when her brother approaches, but is otherwise engrossed with the game. Frankie began the meeting sitting between his parents, but noticed Legos in the corner and was immediately attracted to them. He interrupts several times to share stories about his teacher, classmates, and his grandparents, despite numerous reprimands from his mother. After a few minutes, Frank asks to use his Dad’s phone (in a hurry, Bob had left it in the car), wanders around the office, looks out the window and comments on a squirrel, then grabs the phone from his sister who, of course, protests. After Elizabeth had quieted the commotion, you question any recent changes. Bob and Elizabeth both acknowledge an increase in marital tension and admit to having several arguments a week, some in front of the children. Bob blames Elizabeth for being “too high-strung” and says she just needs to relax. Elizabeth says she is unable to relax, fearing Frankie will end up damaging things or hurting himself or Heidi. She says that if Frankie would be able to control his behaviors, their marriage would improve dramatically. This, they report, is the reason for seeking therapy for Frankie.
Introduction
The members of Vargas family are Bob, Elizabeth, Frank, and Heidi. There is increased marital tension in the family due to Elizabeth’s and Bob’s inability to agree over Frank’s recent unusual behavior. The objective of seeking counseling is to restore peace and understanding between Bob and Elizabeth as far as Frank’s behavior is concerned. The paper will address strategies of building alliance with this family, develop mechanisms that may help the family maintain and solve the problem, and ways of building rapport, the interventions to use, and on the best ways of closing this counseling.
Discuss how you would build alliance with this family
Building alliance is the first stage that the counselor needs to consider with the Vargas family. In this scenario, the therapist should first conduct an introductory interview with the family so that both parties introduce themselves and create a good rapport (Barbara & Lewis, 2008). To do this, the counselor should meet Elizabeth, Bob, Frank, and Heidi face to face in his/her office. At this point, the counselor must be warm, give the client his contact details, and inform them of all needed counseling resources such as visiting hours and counseling fee.
Also, the counselor must be emphatic and respectful to the clients. In probing and questioning the family, the counselor should act in a manner that truly reveals he feels for them. All members of this family have an equal right to express and share their feelings with the counselor, here the counselor must be fair and avoid being bias (Barbara & Lewis, 2008). A good counseling relationship will be established only if the counselor makes the client feel worth, valued, and respected. In building alliance, the counselor must avoid being judgmental.
In addition, the therapist needs to show positive regard towards what the Vargas family is undergoing (Barbara & Lewis, 2008). This will be possible by listening to the issues being raised by the clients, for example Elizabeth and Bob and impartially responding to them in a way that both feel encouraged. The counselor should give them the rules and requirements of counseling session, and this would help solve the ongoing wrangles.
Develop some hypothesis about the family patterns that you believe are maintaining the problem
In counseling, hypothesis serves as the reasoning point for a counselor. In hypothesizing, a counselor never refers to any facts, but this serves as the starting point for his investigation on the client’s situation (Rober, 2005). In case of Vargas family, the counselor will need to formulate a hypothesis which is neither true nor false, but can assist him verify or prove the validity of the problem at hand.
In the context of the family patterns that I believe are maintaining the problem for Vargas family, these hypotheses can be formulated:
- The habit that Bob has of defending Frank’s unusual behavior hurts Elizabeth his wife
- Elizabeth’s inability to relax when Frank misbehaves causes increased marital tension and arguments with Bob in their children’s eyes
- Frank’s ADHD and impulsive behavior upsets Elizabeth his mother
Conclusion (rapport building, assessment and intervention, and closure)
Quality counseling follows three stages (1) rapport building, (2) assessment and intervention, and (3) closure. In each stage, a counselor has certain expectations as he/she engages the client.
Rapport building: Based on past experience, I believe that this phase will be a success with the Vargas family. In rapport building, I will first introduce myself, my qualifications, experience, and contact details. I expect that the Vargas family will provide accurate contact information like their names and phone numbers (Sharpley, Jeffrey, & Mcmah, 2006). I also expect that the clients will embrace self-disclosure and cooperate by giving all needed details. Again, small successes in terms of encouragement and positive feedback will be also achieved as a strategy to motivate the clients.
Assessment and intervention: In assessing the client’s needs, I expect full commitment and compliance. In the probing and questioning stage, I expect the client to communicate their feelings and problems openly (Barbara & Lewis, 2008). Also, I expect them to provide true information without malice. In intervention session, I expect total compliance from the clients to what I recommend for them, for example, disciplining children together, considering each other view in problem solving, and solving problems alone in the absence of Frank and Heidi.
Closure: In this phase, I expect that the clients will have healed and able to solve issues with sobriety (Rober, 2005). I expect that clients will have attended all counseling sessions and provided all needed resources to facilitate the process. Also, I expect that the existing marital tension between Bob and Elizabeth will be eased and that the two will be able to peacefully solve their problems in the absence of children.
References
- Barbara, M. A., & Lewis, M. S. (2008). Therapeutic alliance directions in marriage, couple, and family counselin. Compelling counseling interventions: Celebrating VISTAS’fifth anniversary, 2(1), 59-69.
- Rober, P. (2005). Constructive hypothesizing, dialogic understanding and the therapist’s inner conversation. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 28(4), 67-78.
- Sharpley, C. F., Jeffrey, A. M., & Mcmah, T. (2006). Counsellor facial expression and client-perceived rapport. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 19(4), 43-56.