...I am writing in support of Natalia Diavatis to be accepted into Marriage and Family Therapist Program at California State University East Bay. I have known Natalia for over 10 years. I have worked along side of her as an Investment Advisor, I volunteered in a community program that she oversaw, and I also spent a great amount of time connecting with her on a personal level. I have always been impressed with Natalia’s resilience and way of thinking. She is the one of most dedicated and intelligent people I have the pleasure of knowing. Natalia had difficult life and I believe that it gave her a very different perspective, strong character, and drive. She is incredibly bright and hardworking. I watched her start and operate two successful businesses...
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...During the past six months, I’ve confronted two personal giants. The giant of doubt as I’ve doubted my ability to accomplish my goal of becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist. The second giant I’ve dealt with is the giant of the past. Several assignments during my last two semesters called for personal reflection, and this reflection confronted me with baggage and emotions from the past. Thus, provoking doubt about my abilities and whether I was a correct fit for the MFT program. With all of these uncertainties and questions running through my head during these last six months, I had decided the MFT program was not for me. Moreover, I had determined to pursue a different program at the seminary. However, God did not agree with my decision,...
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...ABSTRACT Due to the many challenges that couples and families are faced with, they may find themselves dealing with problems and situations that they are unsure how to resolve. It is during this time, couples or families may seek out the help of marriage therapist. The purpose of this paper is to examine a brief history and the development of marriage and family therapy, and its importance to the counseling field. Five aspects of this field will be discussed: roles of marriage and family therapist, training and licensure requirements, techniques used in marriage and family therapy, client or therapist initiated termination, and confidentiality. Also, important elements of counselor identity, function, and ethics related to marriage family therapy will also be discussed. The author will also provide biblical values and insights related to the field of marriage and family therapy. In conclusion, the author will discuss their commitment to provide biblically- Keywords: family therapy, marriage therapy Marriage and Family Therapy Because of the many challenges families are faced with, marriage and family therapy has received increased attention. Overtime, the family structure has become more diverse. Families are no longer your typical nuclear family, where Father, Mother, and children live under one roof. At the present time, families may consist of step-parents, step-children, grandparents, adopted children, single parents, aunts and uncles, and same-sex couples...
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...Principle I Responsibility to Clients Marriage and family therapists advance the welfare of families and individuals. They respect the rights of those persons seeking their assistance, and make reasonable efforts to ensure that their services are used appropriately. 1.1 Non-Discrimination. Marriage and family therapists provide professional assistance to persons without discrimination on the basis of race, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, gender, health status, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or relationship status. 1.2 Informed Consent. Marriage and family therapists obtain appropriate informed consent to therapy or related procedures and use language that is reasonably understandable to clients. The content of informed consent may vary depending upon the client and treatment plan; however, informed consent generally necessitates that the client: (a) has the capacity to consent; (b) has been adequately informed of significant information concerning treatment processes and procedures; (c) has been adequately informed of potential risks and benefits of treatments for which generally recognized standards do not yet exist; (d) has freely and without undue influence expressed consent; and (e) has provided consent that is appropriately documented. When persons, due to age or mental status, are legally incapable of giving informed consent, marriage and family therapists obtain informed permission from a legally authorized person...
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...that, but the marriage ended in divorce, when it was discovered that her husband was gay. Her third marriage was to a man who was 10 years her junior and that marriage ended after 3 years when she found out that her husband was having an affair with a younger woman. Now this current marriage is ending because of a lack of passion and companionship, and an apparent general disinterest. Samantha dreads the aftermath of this divorce. She has begun to isolate herself from friends and spend long periods moping and thinking about how gloomy her future will be because she has decided never to marry or date again. Samantha’s parents were happily married for 50 years. They are both recently deceased and she continues to miss their support, affection, and guidance. Samantha has an older brother, whom she greatly admires and loves. He has been married for 20 years and has two daughters with whom Samantha has a close relationship. She views both her parents’ and brother’s marriages as perfect. Presenting Problem: Samantha is experiencing depression because her fourth marriage is in dissolution and she feels flawed and like a failure, and doomed to lead a life of loneliness. A life-long marriage has always been a profound desire for Samantha. She was raised to believe that “people are meant to go through life two by two.” She believes that the thing she wanted most in life has eluded her. She and her current husband have been married for 7 years. The marriage has slowly eroded...
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...January 21, 2015 Ethical Standards A Therapist Quandary When you look at the case of the husband who started individual counseling then his wife joined with the intentions of saving their marriage there are many ethical issues that could arise for the therapist. First there is the issue of the secret the husband is hiding about his latest affair, because the counselor did not clearly state her policy on keeping secrets the husband has an expectation of her keeping his secret about his affair. The therapist cannot tell the wife without breaking the confidentiality of the husband, however how can she continue to treat them as a couple if she has to hold this information from the wife when part of the condition for the wife to work on fixing their marriage is based on no further affairs from her husband? The therapist also believes that having an affair interferes with her ability to help the couple and on a personal ethical level she thinks it is wrong, however she must keep her personal feelings out of her sessions with the couple. Either she must continue to treat the couple or refer them to someone else, if she chooses to refer them to someone else she is faced with either telling the wife why or lying to her, either way she would be going against the ethical standards that she has to uphold. According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (2001) “Marriage and family therapists have unique confidentiality concerns because the client...
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...Licensure Requirements Research Brittany Daniels Liberty University Licensure Requirements for a Marriage and Family Therapist According to MFT-License.com (n.d.) in Colorado the certification of licensure requirements for a Marriage and Family Therapist include a Marriage and Family Therapy Education at the Master’s or Doctoral level. The program must be approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy or it must be judge equivalent to such a program. The program itself should be a sequenced course of study that consists of examinations and grades, and it should include at least 45 semester hours of course work if the degree was conferred in or after 1979. The program will also require a course of study that is required to contain 9 semester hours in each of the following areas: human development, marital and family studies, and marital and family therapy. Research and professional studies must also account for 3 semester hours in the program. Along with these program and education requirements Colorado also uses a licensing exam that has been created by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards. A candidate to take the licensing exam is allowed to take the exam as early as their final semester in school. An online Jurisprudence exam is required as well. After passing the exam a candidate must also complete work under a supervisor before license can be obtained. This supervisor makes sure that the candidate is...
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...There are many people with problems and need somebody to talk to. Many people will usually talk more if it’s with someone who they trust. That’s where a marriage and family therapist comes in. They help many people and many couples as well. A marriage and family therapist is someone who helps with problems that other people might have in their life. They deal with teens who have behavior problems,mental, and emotional disorders. They also help with couples who have issues in their relationship. For a lot of people coming in and talking to someone who understands what they are going through can really change the way they see their problems. They have also helped a lot of teens who have thought in taking their own life. To become a marriage...
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...Trans generational Family Therapy Erika Jefferson February 18, 2013 Becca Myers BSHS 312 University of Phoenix Trans generational Family Therapy originated from the work of pioneers named Murray Bowen, Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, James Framo, Norman Paul, and Donald Williamson. Those theorists shared the common belief that the problems in the present day with marriage are related to the issues from a person’s family origin. The theorists had different practices but their beliefs was the road to problem resolution involved working with more than one generation in therapy. The misconception of the theory was that most of people’s problems were caused by their family of origin. The beliefs in which Trans generational Family Therapy model was built on the fact that marital partners are similar in their levels of differentiation, meaning that each person a similar measure of unresolved family origin of issues to the marriage. Along with unresolved family issues and added stress in marriage it keeps the marriage from functioning at its highest level. As a result of stress the couple may have difficulty solving problems without dysfunction. The dysfunction that may be displayed in the marriage may be lack of communication, emotional detachment, depression, and emotional as well as physical abuse. The theory was that these issues did not just develop overnight, but that each person was raised with these types of issues that date back as far as...
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...Running head: COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Abstract Counseling has been in existence from the beginning of time. From Jethro to Freud, therapists and philosophers have been seeking insight into the core of human nature and cognitions. Cognitive-Behavioral therapy (CBT) recognizes that faulty cognitions and beliefs affect the behaviors of individuals. One method of cognitive-behavior therapy, reality therapy, incorporates the concepts of free choice and personal responsibility that are taught both in Scripture and Dr. William Glasser’s choice theory. Other aspects of CBT, such as cognitive restructuring and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), also work towards eliminating negativistic attitudes of clients in exchange for more effective and realistic methods for interpreting the situations experienced in daily life. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy It is suggested that an individual’s personality is a complex system of cognition, emotion, will, physiology, and spirituality. Hawkins proposes nine aspects of the human self to be active influences on one’s personality: “body, cognition, feelings, volition, human spirit, Holy Spirit, sin/flesh/SAS, temporal systems, and spiritual systems (Hawkins COUN507_BO1_200920). Each therapist individually determines what factors they believe to make up a person’s being. Larry Crabb views humans as involving both the physical and spiritual aspects of man...
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... However it is not until we hit our adolescence that our perception of what we really want to do drastically changes to sometimes more realistic things like being a hair stylist or dental assistant. Our perceptions change into things that are more reachable for the realization of what we once wanted to be takes much more to get there than initially realized. It was not until I met with my counselor and realized that without her help I would not be here today. It then became clear that I wanted to help others through therapy and be able to look back on my life and realize I had done some good in this world to benefit others in their relationships. I located an article in the University of Phoenix library titled, "Sex Addiction and Marriage and Family Therapy: Facilitating individual and relationship healing through couple therapy." I will further summarize the article, explain how this career aligns with my professional interests, and describe how I would develop my skills in this field based on the information in the article and the readings. This article overall relates the role of recent internet-based sexual behaviors and how it has resulted in those addicts having easier access to feed their sex addiction, creating new sex addicts who were never before, and the impact of such sex addiction on the addict, partner, and the couple (Bird, 2006). Not only has the internet opened the door to current addicts to feed their addiction, but also offers potential addicts easy access...
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...Basic Techniques in Marriage and Family Counseling and Therapy. ERIC Digest. The area of marriage and family counseling/therapy has exploded over the past decade. Counselors at all levels are expected to work effectively with couples and families experiencing a wide variety of issues and problems. Structural, strategic, and transgenerational family therapists at times may seem to be operating alike, using similar interventions with a family. Differences might become clear when the therapist explains a certain technique or intervention. Most of today's practicing family therapists go far beyond the limited number of techniques usually associated with a single theory. TECHNIQUES The following select techniques have been used in working with couples and families to stimulate change or gain greater information about the family system. Each technique should be judiciously applied and viewed as not a cure, but rather a method to help mobilize the family. The when, where, and how of each intervention always rests with the therapist's professional judgment and personal skills. THE GENOGRAM The genogram, a technique often used early in family therapy, provides a graphic picture of the family history. The genogram reveals the family's basic structure and demographics. (McGoldrick & Gerson, 1985). Through symbols, it offers a picture of three generations. Names, dates of marriage, divorce, death, and other relevant facts are included in the genogram. It provides an enormous amount...
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...Experiencing Relationship Difficulties? You, like many couples before you who walk through our door, may feel very stuck and pretty hopeless about your marriage or relationship. When you made a commitment to your partner, you never imagined that the two of you would ever have the kinds of emotional distance or conflict in your relationship or marriage that you are now experiencing. Amid these conflicts you may be asking yourself, have I made a mistake? It is a normal part of marital development to come to a place in the relationship where the dream of how you thought things would be, and the reality, do not match. Many people make one of three choices. They can leave, possibly trying to get it right with a different kind of person....
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...there seems to be an ethical issue. The pastor has called Shannon with information on a few of her clients. Not only did he know way too much about Andy and Jennifer, he left a recording with information about them on Shannon’s phone. This clearly is an issue of confidentiality. Standard 2.2 of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists Code of Ethics states, “Marriage and family therapists do not disclose client confidences except by written authorization or waiver, or where mandated or permitted by law.” Pastor Larry has no right to any of Shannon’s client information. As a licensed therapist, Shannon is obligated to keep all of her clients’ information confidential. She cannot even confirm that Jennifer and Andy are her clients as this will violate their confidentiality. Shannon should not respond to the pastor’s phone call. As a therapist, she should know that she is unable to discuss case without consent from the client first. Breaching confidentiality can cause a lot of ethical issues, however this is also one of the fastest ways to get sued for malpractice. Reference AAMFT.org (2016). American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). Retrieved from http://www.aamft.org/ on July 26,...
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...An Article Review Written by: Sabah Sayed Ali In 2012, the American Journal of Family Therapy published an article titled “Structural Therapy with a Couple Battling Pornography Addiction” by Jeffrey J. Ford, Jared A. Durtschi, and Darell L. Franklin. This remarkable publication addresses an issue about how the increasing availability of pornographic material is becoming detrimental to couples’ relationships. It notifies the reader that boundless addictions to pornography are affecting individuals in a relationship, and as a result, therapists are pursuing effective ways to solve this significant issue. In this article, it is mentioned that pornography causes personal distress and symptoms of withdrawal and tolerance, which, in turn, can adversely affect relationship and neurological functioning. Unfortunately, there are many instances where therapists encounter victims of pornography addiction, but due to its uncommon occurrence, importance is not given to these addictions. The effects of this addiction are often underestimated, and it is often ignored that these addictions are as severe and difficult as other types of addictions. Therefore, this article addresses the severity of pornographic addictions, in addition to introducing the implementation of a successful structural therapy for obsessive patterns of pornographic addiction. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the structural therapy, the authors present a case study of a couple battling a pornographic addiction. The...
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