Individual vs. Systems thinking

Application 1: Family Systems vs. Individual Counseling Approach (Complete BOTH of the following.)

1. Read the following vignette. Using the information from the required reading and class discussions on the general systems approach, compare and contrast how a therapist with a systemic view would treat this family with a therapist who uses an individual-oriented (non-systems) approach. (This is not asking you to compare a specific family therapy and a specific individual therapy. It is asking you to compare a family systems view with an individual view of the presenting problem. Do not discuss specific family or individual therapies.)

A middle-aged couple and their 16-year-old daughter come to you after the girl left school one day feeling dizzy and flushed and complained of continual headaches for several weeks. The parents are very concerned that their daughter is overly stressed by school and her part-time job at a department store. The parents expect high grades from her in school and would like her to quit her job. The girl insists that she can handle work and school.

2. Read the following vignette. Thoroughly describe this family from a systems point of view using information from the required reading and class discussions.

The parents of Willy, age five, come for consultation because Willy’s teacher has diagnosed him as having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the pediatrician has recommended medication. The parents, however, are very reluctant to accept this label or to give their child Ritalin. They do see Willy as very active and distractible, but they hope that the: therapist can give them some non-medical interventions to try. They also state that since Willy started preschool at age three, all of his teachers have complained about his behavior. They feel that their marriage has been greatly stressed by worrying and arguing about how to treat Willy. He is their only child and caring for him takes all of their time and energy.

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