* * * * * * * * * Case Study: Steve and Cindy * * PACO 603 Premarital and Marital Counseling * * December 11, 2013 *
Case Study: Steve and Cindy * When entering into marital counseling, a couple is often seeking help to resolve differences or problems either one or both are struggling to overcome. Steve and Cindy have recently begun this journey by seeking help with their marriage from a pastoral counselor at their church who uses Olson’s PREPARE/ENRICH program (2009). They have both taken the program’s online tests, which cover a multitude of key areas such as the couple’s background, relationship dynamics, and personalities. This paper addresses three main areas including the identification of the couple’s key strengths and weaknesses, a discussion of potential issues with the couple’s personality, and the development of a plan to counsel and support them through church ministry. * Key Areas Identified * Hawkins (1991.p.23) describes the concept of intimacy as “oneness with healthy separateness”. When reviewing the results of Olson’s PREPARE/ENRICH report (2009), it becomes evident that many areas of strength and weakness exist in the couple’s relationship. The answers provided under idealistic distortion indicate that both Steve and Cindy realize that there are problems in the marriage needing to be addressed but Steve is minimizing the severity of the problem. Cindy’s results state that she is generally realistic and admits there are existing problems but later on, under other categories, begins minimizing also. There are several instances where this type of conflict occurs between the answers. According to Hawkins (1991. p.28), intimacy exists in three ways, emotional, spiritual, and physical. The couple’s map shows that Steve and Cindy are out of balance and disconnected from each