family system intervention

Realistic expectation

Chapter 10 Family System Intervention

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Realistic expectation A family Social Worker is to foster families feelings of competence, rather than inadequacy.

Families often feel that bringing the Social Worker into their home places them in a vulnerable position

Families may feel overwhelmed by expectations that they think they cannot meet

Maintain Professional Distance Family Social Worker is the nature of their relationships with families

Over time, professional relationships change.

The family Social worker needs to remain objective and goal-focused to help the family become independent and effective.

Maintain Professional Distance Con'tMaintaining a professional relationship with a family will protect the family Social Worker and the family from future complications.

Failure to establish clear boundaries can leave the family Social Worker feeling burdened by distressing family situations.

Focus on the Family's Needs

Family System InterventionBy: Janoy Bailey

Consideration for Family Social Worker

Avoid Fostering DependencySet Realistic ExpectationsMaintain a Dual Micro and Macro Focus: Ecological Intervention Maintain professional distance Defining problems

Avoid Fostering Dependency

This involves the social workers independence and autonomy.

Family members at times relies on social workers too often which can be counterproductive. This high level of reliability most time takes place during periods of stress and crisis.

The social worker tends to avoid giving solution to client problems or decision making, instead, the social worker will put measures in place for the client to reach his/her set goals. In other words, the social worker tends to clearly the issuing pathways for clients in order for them to move freely without major hiccups.

Set Realistic Expectations

This involves fostering families feelings of competence rather than inadequacy.

Families sometimes may feel overwhelmed with their perception of the highly expectations that they are suppose to reach, and most times they will feel this way due to the presence of the social worker.

The social worker is there to reinforce on their strength and weaknesses that may hinder them from achieving their set goals.

Maintain a Dual Micro and Macro Focus: Ecological Intervention

In this the family social worker focuses on the interaction of the family at various level both micro and macro. Interaction with the outside systems is of great importance in this process because the family does not only interacts within its comfort space, but also with outside systems that is derived from the macro level.

Cont.Hepworth and Larsen 1993 list the following ecological interventions that family social workers can perform for families:Enhancing agency environments Develop new resources Improving institutional environmentsMoving clients to a new environmentsEnhancing interactions between organizations and institutionsSupplementing resources in the home environmentDeveloping and enhancing support systems

Maintain Professional Distance Family social workers is the nature of their relationships with families. over time, professional relationships change. For example , as positive feelings develop between the family social worker and the family, boundaries may become blurred and the relationship may resemble a personal friendship.The family social worker may become truly fond of the family and deeply committed to working with them through thick and thin.

Defining Problems The goal of problem defining is to explore, identify, and define dynamics within and beyond the family to open up possibilities for change.

This is important because the way we define problems can open up very different direction for family work.

Intervention Skills, Facilitating change of Maladaptive circular patterns Kadine duncan

Break Maladaptive pattern Refrain from introducing changes that exceeding the capabilities of the family or its membersInitiate those changes that at least one member of the executive subsystem in liable to recognize as useful Interrupt maladaptive patterns of behavior and take control of immediate interaction.

Clarify problematic consequences.Ask family to describe the problematic behavior that is occurring in the immediate process and reinforce their articulate awareness when it is accurate.Label the pattern by detailing the preceding moments maladaptive Interactions and seek the families recognition of the sequence on recurrent pattern. Confront family members on the problematic consequences of their own behavior.

Alter Affective blocks. convey the importance of expressing on clarifying effective experience in order to better comprehend the maintenance of overt behavior pattern.Remove inappropriate affective block by encouraging open discussion of the emotional turmoil of family members, Validate their experience, Clarify the content, and provide support. Explorer catastrophic expectation with a view towards desensitizing inappropriate and unrealistic fearProvide support and slow the therapeutic process when an issue is to stressful and disorganizing and help other family members to alter their expectations as well.

Initiate cognitive reconstructing.Encourage verbalization by family members in order to expose relevant personal construct and family belief system. Call into question collective beliefs, values or goals that appear to be problematic and initiate open discussion and reevaluate of relevant issuesUse metaphors smile overstatement, paradoxical statement and so on to clarify distill and emphasize concept that have adaptive potential.Encourage family members to consider new idea Further and to continue discuss specific issues at home in order to reach a reality base consensus.

Implement New adaptive pattern. Using behavioral principles apply social reinforcement to straighten appropriate behavior at anytime during the sessions and encourage family members to do the same.Stimulate each family members willingness to identify new adaptive behaviors for herself or himself and support her on his suggestions when they are constructive.Help family members negotiate and Implement Simultaneous changes and when appropriate, direct them into initiate the new behavior is in session.

Mobilize external resources as required.Open admit to lack of progress and explore possible inhibiting , factors both inside and outside the family. Carefully select on refer particular family members to other professional resource for appropriate treatment as required. Articulate realistic task or natural resources to provide adequate control and support.

DEtriangulation.DE triangulation involves developing strategies through which the family social worker disrupts one triangle and open up the family member to new, or more functional alliances or triangle.Families may also be resistant to the action of a particular agency be cause of the past experience or because of what the agency represents to them. Some families may have been involved with other agencies without seeing any change in their a problem. client may be concerned about possible breaches of confidentiality or choose to be minimally compliant doing on enough work to get by.

* Involuntary clients typically recieve services from an agency without requesting them.* When clients enter against their will, they are likely to resist the efforts of the famiky social worker such families enter family work reluctantly and some are visibly resistant.* Families may also be resistant to the actions of a particular agency because of past experience or of what the agency represents for them.

Working With Involuntary Clients

1. Some just want to eliminate the pain created by the problem and in the process want to be nurtured2. Others who want to change tgeir lives in concrete waysClients usually look for one of two outcomes from family social work

Family work techniques for family social workers to use with minorities are those that promote bonding between the social worker and the familyIntervention with minority families

Specific recommendations for working with African American families include the following:

Taking into accouny the needs of single female heads of households, including transportation problems, accommodation to work schedules and baby sitting needs* Consider flexible hours for meeting so that extended family members attend* Services should be brief and time limited to encourage attendance of families who may distrust the mental health system

Intervention with African American families

Jordan, lewellen and Vandiver 1994 made the following recommendations for working with hispanic families1. Content sensitivity to the family's level of acculturation, beliefs, hierarchy and traditions2. Sensitivity to role confusion and conflict the newly arrived family may be experiencing3. Inclusion of folk healers, priests and other non relative helpers

Intervention with Hispanic American families

Because hierarchy is important to Asian American families treatment plan should include high status members of the family or communityThe social worker must be sure to show respect for members of the familyClear communication between the family social worker and family members is essential

Intervention with Asian American families

Ho 1987 makes the following recommendations for treating native American families in a sensitive manner:Provision of concrete services may be necessary for native American families experiencing difficulties due to lack of food, housing or other necessities2. Communication should be open, caring and delivered in a simple, precise, slow and calm manner3. To get to know the family the social worker should observe their communication pattens and styles and note how each member of the extended family network and interact with each otherIntervention with native American families