Reference no: EM133977149

Assignment:

Using an SFBT Perspective in Family Therapy

The Richards family has suffered the loss of a child. Just over a year before seeing you, their 14-year-old daughter, Julie, was killed in a car accident. All the other family members, including Julie's 16-year-old brother, Stevie, were physically unhurt. The entire family complains of exhaustion and depression. Mike Richards, Julie's father, had been driving, and he tells you that despite knowing that the other driver was completely at fault, he cannot shake a profound sense of guilt. He tells you, "I used to be a guy who could see the bright side of just about anything. With this . . . with Julie's death . . . I've closed down. I want to be there for the rest of my family, but I've become a professional mourner." His wife, Jennifer, agrees and adds that Mike's distance makes her feel unbearably alone in this tragedy. "It's like he's there and not there at the same time," she says. Stevie has more or less stopped seeing his friends, and though his grades remain good, his usual excitement at being at school is gone.

Address the following scenarios from an SFBT perspective.

1. What is Mike's current "story"? What compliment might you pay to help him begin to see alternative stories?

2. Develop a miracle question to help the family in its present circumstances.

3. What is an exception-finding question you might pose to Jennifer to help her with her relationship with Mike?

4. Develop a scaling question to help Stevie reexamine his relationship with school.