Family Case Background
The family selected for analysis includes two people, a sixteen-year-old son, and his forty-five-year-old mother. Mother and father divorced ten years ago. The problem that the mother addressed was the distancing of the child and the refusal to build contacts. As it turned out later, the mother shows a significant level of overprotection to the child and tries to shift the model of a man that she lacks in life onto her son.
In other words, the child’s personal boundaries are violated, leading to anxiety and isolation. At the same time, the mother feels desperate and abandoned (comparable to her husband), which appears despite all her care and attention.
This problem is quite common given the large number of single-parent families in which, as a rule, a healthy distribution of family roles is already violated. According to the American Psychological Association, single-parent families are the most common phenomena in the traditional or nuclear family pattern (Single parenting and today’s family, 2019).
Thus, the psychological issues in such families should be researched. Despite the seemingly positive aspects of overprotection, this approach to raising children leads to increased stress levels, lack of self-confidence, and dependence on the opinions of others (Vincent. 2021). Usually, in such situations, it is necessary to work with the parent since the child’s behavior is responsive to specific patterns of parental eating.
Approach
To deal with such cases, it is usually worth focusing on strategies to help change the parent’s behavior pattern. Researchers have successfully applied a structural approach to change the behavior patterns of adult single parents (Bernands & Dehghani, 2022). Practical results show that this strategy allows significant improvements in the distribution of roles and the overall functioning of families (Bernands & Dehghani, 2022). Reframing is a significant aspect of the approach planned to be used during sessions with the family. Structural family therapy implies that by working with the family, the psychologist joins it (Colapinto, 2019).
As a result, a therapeutic system is created that makes family changes possible. The therapy aims to show the family members their true emotions and responses to the situation. In other words, the therapist will help the mother and son to consider their conflict situations from other perspectives. The first step is the individual session with the mother and son to understand their desires and emotional challenges. Second, during such meetings, therapeutics will strive to apply cognitive reframing to help families change the perception of their feelings. Third, the sessions with both family members where the boundary-making through role-play will be the goal. Cognitive reframing is the main principle planned to be used implicitly during all sessions.
SSRD Plan
The research type planned to be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the structural approach is qualitative.
Research question
Is cognitive reframing in structural therapy effective for dealing with the overprotection consequences in single-parent families?
Hypothesis
Cognitive reframing of single parent family members helps to understand the core psychological problems, understand each other’s emotions better, and normalize family communication.
The Measurement Tool
The family attitude scale for measuring the family’s emotional climate through continuous sessions will be applied. The family attitude scale utilizes a questionnaire, which shows the attitude of the family members toward each other (Clark et al., 1997). The offered measurement tool questionnaires are especially suited for the research because it helps estimate the family members’ emotional attitudes. In order to estimate the progress and results of the approach appliance, the emotional responses of the family members should be closely observed.
Design
The AB design is planned to be utilized in the scope of the research. The primary data required for the research design is the number of conflicting emotions of rejection in the son and communication dissatisfaction in the mother. In other words, measurements of such emotions should occur during the two weeks before therapy. The post-intervention will include the number of such events occurring during sessions. The removal of intervention will be estimated similarly. The point on the graph will be counted based on the number of negative responses to the questions related to communication between family members.
Sample Graph for AB Research Design
In order to support the hypothesis of the research, there should be a reduction of the negative questions responses in the family attitude scale. The level and rate of the should shift below, showing the improvement in the perception by family members of each other. The available number of negative responses is also expected to be reduced to twenty, as shown in the second part of the graph.
The graph depicts the ideal conditions when the intervention is efficient. There can be many difficulties interpreting results if the depicted pattern will not work. The interpretation of results in such cases will depends individually on the emotional climate of the family and their responses during sessions. Vertically the graph indicates the number of answered questions, while horizontally, the number of weeks before and during sessions.
Data Collection
The dependent variable is the emotional responses of the family members to each other. The independent variable is the level of communication rejection caused by psychological challenges, and overprotection will be considered the dependent variable. The data regarding the variables’ changes will be collected through the Family Attitude Scale. This system provides the opportunity to utilize the questionnaires as the most effective way to get the response of the clients concerning each other. After the main number of sessions is over, the questionnaires will be held once per two weeks to estimate the effectiveness of the AB design.
The results will be analyzed by estimating the changes in the level and rate of the AB structures. As mentioned earlier, conflicting emotions of rejection will be visualized through the questions. The number of negative responses will establish the point on the graph. The shifts in the points will show the changes in the attitude of the family members. The number of negative responses will be interpreted as the improvements in communication and the success of applying the structural approach and cognitive reframing. If the level and rate of the visualization to question responses are lower, this will show that the applied intervention effectively proves the hypothesis. Otherwise, the higher rate and level of the structure will show the failure of the intervention appliance.
References
Bernards, J., & Dahghani, M. (2022). The effectiveness of structural family therapy in repairing behavioral problems and improving family functioning in single-parent families in Iran. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 48(4), 1040–1058. Web.
Clark, D., Kavanagh, D., Manicavasagar, V., O’Halloran, P., Rosen, A., & Tennant, C. (1997). The Family Attitude Scale: Reliability and validity of a new scale for measuring the emotional climate of families. Psychiatry Research, 70(3), 185–195. Web.
Colapinto, J. (2019). Structural family therapy. In Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., & Breunlin, D.C (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy (pp. 2820–2828). Switzerland: Springer.
Single parenting and today’s family. (2019). American Psychological Association. Web.
Vincent, S. (2021). Overprotective parenting and anxiety. Anxiety Centre. Web.
Appendix A
Goal: Normalize the family roles, communication, and members functioning in the single-parent family with the problem of overprotection.
Objectives:
- analyzing the core reasons for overprotection;
- establishing the personal borders of the family members;
- introducing the cognitive reframing to each member separately;
- adjusting the adequate level of parental care;
- helping the family members to minimize the emotional rejection in communication.
Intervention: The utilized intervention is strategic family therapy and its aspect.
Appendix B
Measurement Tool: The family attitude scale and its questionnaire is planned to be utilized in work.
