Thomas is a 33 year old married man, who has recently become a father. He explains that he feels his self-esteem has been gradually deteriorating ever since he was married. He says that he can’t find reasons to enjoy life with his wife due to feelings of inadequacy as a husband. »
We have previously talked about preventative measures such as scheduling family meetings, formulating rules and rituals, and how to discipline and communicate with our children and step-children. But what happens when we have done all these things, and problems still occur? »
One of the most common reasons for not-so-good step-family relationships is lack of communication. It is important to include the children in family processes such as formulating rules and new rituals. This is a great start! The next thing to do is to encourage communication. »
As a step-parent, sooner or later you will be reminded by your step-child that you are not their parent. One very important item to discuss between your partner and yourself is “who disciplines who?” In coming to a decision on discipline it is helpful to look at nuclear families who equally share this role. »
Children with aggressive behaviour constitute one of the most common and difficult challenges for parents, particularly for young parents. To work on this issue it is crucial that parents have developed a relationship (with the child) based on solid communication and trust. »
With the assessment complete, the next step to ensure that the needs of the child and family are met is case planning. Essentially case planning is the process of setting goals and building in strategies to meet those goals. The counsellor must work with the child and/or family to decide upon the goals that are necessary to achieve to bring about desired change. Involving the family in case planni... »
Assessment is the core function for counsellors in child and family services. It begins with efforts to engage a child and family in order to build a working relationship where you as the counsellor can encourage participation rather than resistance. »
There are behavioural cues that alert the counsellor to the possibilities of a child being abused; different indicators are associated with the different abuses. »
Identifying and reducing the stressors that put a family at risk can be important opportunities to assist families in overcoming the abusive home environment. While it has already been mentioned that the stressors of socio-economic status are a major underlying contributor in some families due to the added stresses of poverty, isolation and drug and alcohol abuse other individual factors can put i... »
Whatever the cause of the abuse and/or neglect, it can have long-standing consequences for the child. The younger the child, and the more vulnerable they are, the more serious the consequences are likely to be, however, with early intervention children can recover from abuse and neglect. »
As stated in The Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2004 edition of Identifying and Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect, the sad facts are: »
Nichols, P., Schwartz, R. (2006). Family Therapy — Concepts and Methods (7th Edition). USA: Pearson Education Inc. 497 pages. ISBN: 0-205-47809-3 »
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