Humanities Homework Help

Review the Vargas Family Case Study. Write a 750-1,000-word paper in
which you demonstrate how counselors apply structural family counseling
theory to analyze the presenting problems and choose appropriate
interventions.

Be sure to answer the following questions in your paper:

• What are two current presenting problems for the Vargas family?
• How are the problems maintained according to the structural family counseling perspective?
• What
  structural interventions would you plan to use in your next session?
  Make sure to identify and describe your plan for two interventions.
• What is the role of the counselor in the change process according to the structural family counseling perspective?
• Include at least three scholarly sources (peer-reviewed journal articles, books, etc.).
  Bob and Elizabeth arrive together for the third session. As
  planned, you remind the couple that the goal of today’s session is to gather
  information about their families of origin. Bob begins by telling you about his
  older sister, Katie, who is 36 and lives nearby with her three children. Katie’s
  husband, Steve, died suddenly last year at the age of 40 when the car he was
  driving hit a block wall. Elizabeth speculates that Steve was intoxicated at
  the time, but Bob vehemently denies this allegation. He warns Elizabeth to
  “never again” suggest alcohol was involved. You note Bob’s strong response and
  learn that his own biological father, whom his mother divorced when Bob was 3 and Katie was 5, had been an
  alcoholic. When asked about his father, Bob says, “His name is Tim, and I
  haven’t seen him since the divorce.” Bob shares that he only remembers
  frequently hiding under the bed with Katie to stay safe from his violent rages.
  He adds that 5 years after the divorce, his mother, Linda, married Noel who has
  been “the only dad I’ve ever known.” He insists that his sister married “a
  devout Christian who never touched alcohol” and attributed the 3:00 a.m.
  tragedy to fatigue. He adds that a few days before the accident, Katie had
  complained to him that her husband had been working many late nights and “just
  wasn’t himself.” Bob speaks fondly of his sister and confirms that they have
  always been “very close.”
  From Elizabeth, who is 31
  years old, you learn that she was adopted by her parents, Rita and Gary, who
  were in their late 40s at the time. They were first generation immigrants who
  had no family in the United States. Their biological daughter, Susan, had died 10
  years earlier after Rita accidentally ran over the 5-year-old while backing out
  of the driveway. Elizabeth surmises that her mother never fully recovered from
  this traumatic incident and remained distant and withdrawn throughout
  Elizabeth’s life. Elizabeth describes her father, Gary, as “a hard worker,
  smart, and always serious.” She shares that most of her family memories were of
  times spent with her dad in his study, surrounded by books. She states, “He
  could find the answer to all of my questions in one his many books.” Elizabeth
  describes herself as the “quiet, bookish type” and attributes her love for
  books to her father. Like her father in his study, Elizabeth remembers spending
  most of her adolescence alone in her room, reading, so she would not upset her
  mother. Looking back, Elizabeth tells you she recognizes her mother’s struggle
  with depression, “but as a kid, I thought it was me.”
  You comment on the vastly
  different childhood experiences and normalize the potential for relationship
  challenges under these circumstances. Acknowledging the differences, Elizabeth
  remarks that Bob’s relationship with his family was one of the things that she
  was attracted to early in their relationship. Bob agrees with her and comments
  that Katie and Elizabeth are very close, “each being the sister neither one of
  them ever had.”