COU101 (Psychology) | Case Study

Running head: COU101 (PSYCHOLOGY)
COU101 (PSYCHOLOGY)
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

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Introduction:
With a growing prevalence of mental illness around the globe, the need for
comprehensive counselling and psychotherapy is intensifying gradually. In Australian 1 in 5
individuals are experiencing at least one mental illness at some point in their life, accounting for
approximately 20% of the Australian (Porter & Nuntavisit, 2016). The most frequently occurred
mental illness in Australia include depression, substance abuse disorder, and anxiety. However,
54% of individuals with mental illness have no accessibility to the treatment which further
resulted in the worsened situation due to delayed treatment and high prevalence of suicidal rate
(Www.blackdoginstitute.org.au., 2019). The case study involves a 57 years old married man with
two adult children and employed as a civil engineer. While he describes his relationship with his
wife as normal, they do very little things as a couple. Since the past four months, he is
experiencing low mood, sleeping disturbance, and substance abuse disorder. In this context, the
family system therapy is chosen theory of counselling for assisting him and identifying his
strength. Hence, this paper aims to provide an explanation of choosing theory, historical
background of the theory, details of counsellor relationship with client and application of chosen
counselling theory on the case study in the following paragraphs.
Discussion:
The rationale behind choosing the counselling theory:
As observed in the case study that 57 years old man joseph considers his relationship
with his wife as normal but do very little activities as a couple despite the fact that he got married
to his high school sweetheart. In this context, the family system theory is chosen as a counselling
theory for identifying the specific roles of the couple, emotional distance along with the low

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mood of joseph so that he can be assisted for changing certain behavioural pattern that will
improve his health and wellbeing as well as his relationship with his wife and family.
Identification of the historical background and evolution of chosen theory:
Murray Bowmen, an American psychiatrist at the beginning of 1950s developed family
system theory for identifying diverse dynamics of the family unit and assisting psychotherapists
as well as counsellor to change the distorted behavioural pattern of the family members (Lassiter,
2017). Dr. Murray Bowen originated this theory and its eight interlocking concepts after
involving in the extensive study on the human relationship (Johnson & Ray, 2016). He
articulated the theory by using systems thinking to integrate an understanding of the human
species as a product of evolution with knowledge from family research. A core assumption of the
theory is that the emotional system which has evolved over several billion years governs human
relationship systems (Porter & Nuntavisit, 2016). He suggested that individuals cannot be
understood in the isolation rather they would require to understand as a part of their family. The
emotional system of the human being influence the majority of the human activity and it is
considered as the major driving force for developing clinical issues (Www.goodtherapy.org.,
2020). Gathering an understanding of how the emotional system functions in family, work, as
well as social systems of the client discloses novel and effective opportunities for resolving
problems in each of these areas. The members of the family are expected to involve and respond
to each other in a specific manner according to their defined role which is determined by the
agreement of the relationship (Www.goodtherapy.org., 2020). The theory also suggested that
often individuals become disconnected from their families, but this is more feeling than fact.
Families so intensely impact the thought process, feelings, as well as actions of family members
and it is crucial to identify the patterns that highly influence other family members. Over the

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years, this theory evolved into eight interlocking concepts such as Triangles, Differentiation of
self, Nuclear family emotional system, Family projection process, Multigenerational
transmission process, Emotional cutoff, Sibling position, and Societal emotional process (Healy
& Allen, 2019). Many of these interlocking concepts were discussed in therapy and this theory
further evolved to become a fundamental basis of family assessment tool genogram (Palombi,
2016). Hence, for resolving the family dynamics and self-worth of the patient, this chosen theory
is appropriate.
Details of counsellor and client relationship and specific component of the theory:
As the case study suggested that the that 57 years old man joseph consider his
relationship with his wife as normal but do very little activities as a couple even though he got
married to his high school sweet heart, indicating that there might be intimate partner conflict
present along with the self-conflict of joseph. Since Joseph seek help from a sole practitioner’s
counsellor, the therapeutic relationship between the client and counsellor is the prime reason
behind choosing the theory. Gregory (2018), suggested that the family system theory enable
counsellor to resolve issues by involving not only the client but also family members of the
client. In this context, the client and his wife can be involved in the effective communication
process for building a therapeutic relationship and identifying the strengthen joseph with the
assistance of the family system therapy (Thompson, Wojciak & Cooley, 2019). On the other
hand, one of the components of eight interlocking situations of the therapy supported the
rationale for choosing this therapy. The nuclear family emotional process is the component that
reflects the belief that the nuclear family tends to experience issues in four crucial areas. Trop
and Trop (2018), suggested that intimate partner conflict, problematic behaviour of one partner,
emotional distance and impaired functionality of the children. In this current context, joseph and

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his wife might have intimate partner conflict and joseph exhibit problematic behaviour such as
drinking at night, distorted sleeping pattern, decreased appetite. Hence, these behavioural
patterns further support the rationale behind choosing the theory.
Application of theory in the counselling:
Ethical issues to be considered:
Ethical issues in counselling process usually fall on the therapist. In other words, it can be
said that it is the responsibility of the therapist to avoid unethical interactions with patients.
Messer, and Kaslow (2019), suggested that during therapy, the most frequently occurred ethical
issues faced by the therapist is maintaining boundaries as it is difficult to ensure that therapist
does not develop a personal relationship with the client. In this context, lack of maintenance of
professional boundaries is one of the most crucial ethical issues which is required to consider. On
the other hand, Veness et al. (2019), suggested that breaching confidentiality is another
frequently occurring ethical issue during counselling since during transferring the confidential
data, the client’s information can be leaked. Hence, at this juncture, for respecting
confidentiality, confidential information such as personal problems of the client, session
experience of the client is required to consider. Kamitsis and Simmonds (2017), suggested that
counsellors sometimes lack the professional ability to address the unique need of the client and
failed to respect the patient differences which resulted in breaching two ethical issues such as
beneficence and non-maleficence. In this case, in order to involve patient in the therapy which
will promote the best interest of the patient and prevent the patient from harmful effects, the
practice according to professional standards and respecting the patient difference are crucial.
Counselling techniques according to the theory:

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Considering the clinical issues exhibited by Joseph, the strategic family therapy
approach would be the most suitable approach that was designed by Jay Haley, Milton Erickson,
and Cloe Madanes. Szapocznik et al. (2016), suggested that strategic therapy closely examines
the pattern of interactions, conflicts between family members and raise awareness of these
pattern by using a diverse direct approach. Moreover, the therapy beliefs that change can occur
rapidly without any intensive source and it requires a problem-solving approach. At this juncture,
this counselling approach can be incorporated in the case of joseph for reframing the dynamics
of the family as the main strength of the joseph is that joseph wants to seek help for behaviour
change and he has a supporting wife as well as children. Joseph and his wife can be involved in
therapeutic communication with the counsellor where the main components of the
communication would be active listening, a non-judgemental approach, making eye contact and
maintenance of positive attitude towards the client (Www.goodtherapy.org., 2020). Joseph and
his wife can be weekly sessions they will express their concerns and reason behind emotional
distance (Www.goodtherapy.org., 2020). In this context, Jiménez et al. (2016), suggested that it
is crucial to assess the communication, problem-solving pattern and emotional connection of
joseph and his wife for redefining the problem scenario. The counsellor must suggest
interventions such as encouraging joseph and his wife to spend their time together and recreate
old memorize together for reducing emotional distance and obtaining desired changes (Brown,
2017). Additionally, joseph can be involved in a separate interpersonal session where he can be
provided literacy regarding the impact of his behaviour on his family and he can be assisted in
developing self-management skills and resilient skills such as self-care, self-awareness,
mindfulness and positive relationship (Merritts, 2016). Lastly, outdoor activities and indoor
activities can be designed for reducing distance.

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Outcome and additional requirement:
The possible outcome of the counselling, if the counselling goes well, will be the
reduction of emotional distance between joseph and his wife where they will involve in the
activities together for recreating their old memories. Successful accomplishment of counselling
will reduce the distorted sleeping pattern of joseph and improve sleep, reduce the habit of
drinking at night, boost his mood, self-esteem, and confidence in living a purposeful life. He
will develop a healthy relationship with his children. The total session will 12 sessions each with
unique activities of 1 to 2hours for 3 months. The additional requirement will be involvement of
his children in a few activities so that joseph can feel connected with the family and with his
children. Other close family members or any friend can be involved in the session for the
improvement of family members. It will reduce his low mood and improve his wellbeing.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note it can be said that in Australia, the most frequently occurred
mental illness such as depression, substance abuse disorder and anxiety impacted the quality of
life of the patient. The paper involves a case scenario of 57 years old man joseph who was
experiencing low mood, decreased appetite, and habit of drinking at night. The chosen theory, in
this case, is family system theory which was designed by Murray Bowmen, an American
psychiatrist at the beginning of the 1950s for identifying diverse dynamics of the family unit. He
suggested that individuals cannot be understood in the isolation rather they would require to
understand as a part of their family. Hence, for incorporating the theory, strategic family therapy
can be implemented where joseph and his wife are required to involve in diverse activities. His
family members are required to involve in this case additionally for enhancing the technique.

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References:
Brown, c. H. (2017). Brief Strategic Family Therapy: Implementing evidence-based models in
community settings. Practice-Oriented Research in Psychotherapy: Building
partnerships between clinicians and researchers, 121
Gregory, K. (2018). Working with Families. Paediatric Chaplaincy: Principles, Practices and
Skills, 99.
Healy, R. W., & Allen, L. R. (2019). Bowen Family Systems Therapy with Transgender Minors:
A Case Study. Clinical Social Work Journal, 1-10.
Jiménez, L., Hidalgo, V., Baena, S., León, A., & Lorence, B. (2019). Effectiveness of Structural–
Strategic Family Therapy in the Treatment of Adolescents with Mental Health Problems
and Their Families. International journal of environmental research and public
health, 16(7), 1255.
Johnson, B. E., & Ray, W. A. (2016). Family systems theory. Encyclopedia of Family Studies, 1-
5.
Kamitsis, I., & Simmonds, J. G. (2017). Using resources of nature in the counselling room:
Qualitative research into ecotherapy practice. International Journal for the Advancement
of Counselling, 39(3), 229-248.
Lassiter, L. (2017). Undifferentiated Family Ego Mass in Bowen Therapy. Encyclopedia of
Couple and Family Therapy, 1-2.

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Merritts, A. (2016). A review of family therapy in residential settings. Contemporary Family
Therapy, 38(1), 75-85.
Messer, S. B., & Kaslow, N. J. (2019). Current Issues in Psychotherapy Theory, Practice, and
Research. Essential Psychotherapies: Theory and Practice, 1.
Palombi, M. (2016). Separations: A Personal Account of Bowen Family Systems
Theory. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 37(3), 327-339.
Porter, M., & Nuntavisit, L. (2016). An evaluation of multisystemic therapy with Australian
families. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 37(4), 443-462.
Szapocznik, J., Duff, J. H., Schwartz, S. J., Muir, J. A., & Brown, C. H. (2016). Brief strategic
family therapy treatment for behavior problem youth. Handbook of family therapy, 286-
304.
Thompson, H. M., Wojciak, A. S., & Cooley, M. E. (2019). Family-based approach to the child
welfare system: an integration of Bowen family theory concepts. Journal of Family
Social Work, 22(3), 231-252.
Trop, J. L., & Trop, G. (2018). Self Psychology and the Concept of the Nuclear Self: A Dynamic
Systems Perspective. Psychoanalysis, Self and Context, 13(2), 160-170.
Veness, B. G., Tibble, H., Grenyer, B. F., Morris, J. M., Spittal, M. J., Nash, L., ... & Bismark,
M. M. (2019). Complaint risk among mental health practitioners compared with physical
health practitioners: a retrospective cohort study of complaints to health regulators in
Australia. BMJ open, 9(12).

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Www.blackdoginstitute.org.au. (2019). Retrieved 29 December 2019, from
https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/default-source/factsheets/facts_figures.pdf?
sfvrsn=8
Www.goodtherapy.org. (2020). Family Systems Therapy. Retrieved 3 January 2020, from
https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/family-systems-therapy