• The family’s willingness to undergo therapy
• The support that Pam has from the parents through their presence during therapy
• Pam’s honesty as well as her parents’
• Pam’s willingness to manage her anger appropriately
• Pam’s father is receptive to negative feedback if provided
• Pam’s ability to identify appropriate times to speak to the father based on his disposition

Identified problems/deficits:

• Difficulties in Pam’s communication abilities
• Pam’s distance in connection with her mother
• Pam’s anger issues

(With Time Frame)

• Pam will join a social circle that she feels comfortable in.
• Pam will take part in other social activities besides bowling more often with her newfound friends.
• Pam will have a special friend for a romantic relationship.

• Pam will begin to answer her parents when spoken to
• Pam will communicate better with her parents
• Pam will be able to control her anger and express her feelings, opinions
• Pam will create a meaningful relationship with her mother

• Pam will attend all counselling sessions
• Pam will express herself during the sessions
• Pam will continue to express herself at home
• Pam will consciously take part in activities with her mother

·         Pam will highlight the negative aspects that affect communication ability during the sessions

• Anger management 6 months to 1 year
• Communication (responses, giving feedback, expressing opinions)-6 months
• Improved social capabilities-6 months
• Improved relationship with the mother 1 year

Theory-Based Treatment Plans

The Bowenian Family Therapy

The Bowenian Family therapy was developed by Murray Bowen. The therapy highlights several concepts that are critical in application and understanding. These include differentiation, multigenerational transmission, nuclear family, emotional system, emotional triangle, sibling position, societal regression, and family projection process (Kim-Appel & Appel, 2015). The eight constructs are interconnected, requiring therapists to understand all at once. Bowen’s theory holds one basic assumption that posits the natural occurrence of anxiety for all living human beings. This theory lays emphasis on the entire instead of just one individual who is thought to have a problem.

In this family, using Bowenian Family Therapy is likely to lead to an improvement of all three family members, thus exceeding the set goals. In such a case, Pam’s parents would also learn how to communicate with their daughter effectively. In addition, the mother would learn how to initiate a close interaction with the daughter. The parents would also learn how to interact with Pam and obtain the desired responses during communication. Most importantly, Pam would learn how to manage her anger and communicate within and beyond the family setting. She will also learn how to respond to her mother’s desire for connection. These objectives will be achieved through communication among the three family members, which offers the therapist an opportunity to identify underlying issues that may be leading to the current situation. In addition, Bowenian therapy highlights the reliability of cognition as opposed to emotions. It is likely that all three family members are led by their emotions more than their cognition.

Pam’s father tends to get angry when Pam does not respond to questions. Pam’s mother prefers to remain at work as opposed to staying at home, even if she confesses to disliking her job. Pam does not seem to understand her behaviors and states that she does not have any people she loves to spend time with. The mother also feels bad because Pam does not spend time with her, which affects their relationship (Bowenian Family Therapy, 2021). These observations speak to the individual’s feelings and barely to their understanding of the reasons behind each person’s behavior or their role in the current situation. Thus, the Bowenian theory could provide a cognitive perspective of the entire situation.

The Structural Family Therapy

This therapy also addresses the entire family or group before the individual. The therapy allows therapists to identify norms in the family that lead to the negative dynamics that are reported or observed. This is one of the main reasons that this therapy is applicable to the family in question. However, the therapy involves directing the family members to take certain steps, which is termed as cooperation. The family’s cooperation determines the period of therapy (Horne, 2021).

While using the therapy, improvement of communication among all family members is expected. Pam and her parents have communication issues. At the same time, the parents are convinced that Pam is the one with a problem. Pam mainly reports a lack of knowledge regarding her behavior. She can barely explain to a therapist her reasons for behaving the way she does. In this case, it is important to identify certain norms, such as anger management issues, that could impede efficient communication among the family members. Pam’s age (32 years) may explain her behavior partially because her parents may be controlling. However, her developmental issues also come in the way of her social abilities. Creating strategies for the parents to cope with her development issues is necessary because they will understand her needs and wants without feeling provoked or unheard of (Structural Family Therapy, 2021).

References

Bowenian Family Therapy. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-xd7M56yIs

Horne, C. (2021). What Is Structural Family Therapy (SFT)? Retrieved from https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/family/what-is-structural-family-therapy-sft/

Kim-Appel, D., & Appel, J. K. (2015). Bowenian family systems theory: Approaches and applications. In Foundations of couples, marriage, and family counseling (pp. 185-213). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Structural Family Therapy. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCvozPABmb0