Alice and Javier Case Study

Individual students must respond to a case study by Sunday, 11:59 pm CT as follows:

1. Respond to a case study with a different therapy perspective than the case you worked on.
2. Support your response using observations from information from the text.

Group 4 – Alice and Javier Case Study

The participants for Week 2 are: LISA CALDERON, MARILYN REYNA, GRACE NEIDERHISER, KRASHAWN GILBERT-HUNTINGTON, JOSHUA TERRY, VANESSA VALLEJO, and LOURDES PETROSKY

1. From the background data given, what guesses do you have about Alice’s family background? Javier’s family constellation? How might you work with each of their family backgrounds in relation to their current difficulties as a couple?

During the first meeting, each of them should be asked about their families of origin. “Adler considered the family of origin as having a central impact on an individual’s personality” (Corey, 2017, p. 110). People are raised differently, especially people from diverse cultures. The way one person does something may seem inappropriate to someone of another culture; neither may be right or wrong, but the way you were brought up will determine your perception. It appears that in Alice’s family, the mother and father had equal roles in raising the children, working, and maintaining the home. Javier’s family was probably a lot more different; his father must have been the “boss”, and his mother probably did not work, raised the children, and took care of all the housework. One of the first things that would need to happen is to get them both to understand the dynamics of how they each grew up and the roles that their parents played with each other as husband and wife and as parents. Once people understand why another person acts/reacts, it may be easier to compromise. They will realize that they are not out to make each other miserable, they were just raised very differently and currently have different expectations than their spouses.

2: Would the fact that he is a Latino and she is a Pacific Islander be something that you would explore­ with the couple, especially since their parents were not supportive of their marrying each other? Would you want to discuss the impact of their families of origin on their current family dynamics?

My Answer to the first part of the discussion is that I would have to consider if Javier behaviors are from cultural beliefs along with childhood experiences. By looking at his behaviors he shows signs of inferiority feelings where he wants to feel superior. According to Alderian the behaviors that are being expressed may have been inherited from his parents. Since neither parents are supportive of their marriage, both Alice and Javier may feel like they are obligated to making the marriage work to avoid failure. Both are striving for perfection” inferiority feelings are global, subjective, and evaluative generalizations that tend to be held on to despite evidence to the contrary” (Carlson& Englar Carlson 2017) (Corey 2019 pg 100)

3. As an Adlerian counselor you will want to make sure that your goals and the goals of Alice and of Javier are in alignment. How might you go about this? What if Javier and Alice have different goals? What kind of contract might you envision developing with them?

Javier seems to have a life goal that doesn’t align with Alice’s goals. First, they would need to find a way to understand each other. Individual psychology implies that “we cannot be understood in parts; rather all aspects of ourselves must be understood in relationship to the socially embedded contexts of family, culture, school, and work” (Corey, 2017 p.100). Then, to further assist them, they need to understand the way the other was raised and attempt to form a goal that works for both of them, seeing as though they come from different backgrounds. Javier seems to have a goal of superiority. He believes that he should be taking care of the family, and that how he wants things done should be law. In his mind that means anything done outside of what he provides makes him look like he’s less than he is. Alice would like for things to change, but out of fear she abides by Javier’s rules. The therapist realizes that clients can become discouraged and function ineffectively because of mistaken beliefs, faulty values, and useless or self-absorbed goals (Corey, 2017 p. 105). But nothing should be assumed, so their job is to figure out the goals of Javier and Alice. When forming a contract, the goals of the both Alice and Javier need to be met, which would be impossible without understanding where they’re coming from. More than likely their goals aligning falls on Javier being willing to change, so the contract should aim to find a way to please Alice while keeping Javier happy also.

1. If you had to speculate at this moment, what are Alice’s “mistaken goals” and “faulty assumptions”? What are Javier’s “mistaken goals” and “faulty assumptions”?

What is more, value and role conflicts in the relationships and as extra relational involvement and violence are a usual phenomenon in the couples who decide that they need professional help. In cases like this scenario, we have to help this couple by giving the best advice and guidance in order for them to save their marriage. Before it gets more worse in cases like this one, All the reasons above can make the couple’s relationship very problematic and unbearable. When people are in troubled relationships are more likely to experience psychological discomfort and physical issues. More specifically, one or both of the individuals might suffer in the long-run from depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and even turn to substance abuse.

The individual, Alice she has difficulties recognizing her situation, and her current events, and based on the question of the mistaken goals, is that is her issue, is that she is a dependent woman that relies on her husband and due to the circumstances, he takes advantage of her. And the real question would be why she does not live the toxic relationship.? Maybe she does not have any where else to go, no place, no family, maybe after so many years she is adaptive to the environment she lives in it, or could it be love? and the individual faulty assumptions might be that she feels that she is useless, and that is an issue because all she is trying to do is to save her marriage.

Now with the other individual he does not want to fix the situation with his wife so then how can they help the individual if he refuses the help to go counseling to deal with his aggression. In cases when the client has difficulties in expressing themselves and explore their concerns the therapist can use some prompting and probing to help the client open up more. It looks like he is not trying to save his marriage, His assumptions and his faulty are that he does not have a problems and he does not accept the reality that he is wrong. When its clearly that he has anger management issues, and that can be very dangerous for his family. In another words is a macho centristic mentality., And to his mistaken goals his losing himself and he is making her useless and unproductive.

It is very important that during couple therapy it is very important for the therapist to be able to ally with both partners and not with only one of them. By allying with both of them it gives the couple the emotional experience of having their separate concerns is heard and respected equally by the therapist. In the textbook (Corey 2017 p.176). Mentions that Therapist help clients gain the psychological strength to accept personal responsibility for their lives and assist them in learning ways to regain control of their lives and to live more effectively.

I know we are not supposed to post our life in social media. However by reading this story brought me memories of my past, and I remember going through almost the same as Alice. I know it was hard!

If anything let me know and correct me if I am wrong. I would like to know where I have my mistakes. Thank you guys and I love been in this group because we help each other. May God bless you all.

1. Do you have any ideas of ways in which you might work on mistaken beliefs with Alice and Javier? How about working with them as a couple?

Considering that the Therapist only has four to six sessions with the couple, there is much to be done in a little amount of time. The Therapist should be considerate about the interracial aspect of the relationship and the fact that neither families are supportive of it. Corey (2017) states “Adler stressed choice and responsibility, meaning in life, and the striving for success, completion, and perfection” (p. 98). Based on the background information that was provided, it appears that Javier is satisfied with where he is at in life and sees no reason to strive for anything beyond what he currently has. Alice, on the other hand, appears to want more out of life than what she currently has. She has interest in pursuing a job and improving her relationship with Javier, even though he is not very happy about either idea. The Therapist should provide individual counseling to them as well as couple counseling. Javier is clinging to things he learned when he was younger and firmly standing by them as far as family values goes. An important part of growth for this couple, specifically Javier, is to address his mistaken beliefs and faulty values that he developed as a child. Corey (2017) states “Adlerians operate on the assumption that clients will feel and behave better once they discover and correct their basic mistakes” (p. 105). Once discovered, and with Alice’s support, the Therapist should be able to improve the outlook for both Alice and Javier.

1. What specific Adlerian techniques might you be most inclined to employ in working with this couple? Toward what goal?

According to the list of the four therapeutic Alderian techniques that Corey (2017) mentioned, a counselor may be most inclined to use the “Encouraging Self-Understanding and Insight” technique (p. 113). It is essential for therapists to decipher the motives of clients through interpretation and come to an understanding of why the client (in this case, the couple) lives in a particular way (Corey, 2017, p. 113). Uncovering this insight, the couple may come to a better appreciation of each other and their differing cultures.

Considering the second technique that Corey (2017) discussed, a counselor may be interested in using “Reorientation and Reeducation” (p. 113). This is considered the final stage of therapy that includes applying the understood information about one’s motives and reorienting previous behaviors to move towards the final goal of creating a more functional, encouraging, open, and understanding environment within the couple’s relationship (Corey, 2017, p. 114).

Hopefully, Javier will realize that Alice’s intention of getting a job does not imply that she doubts Javier’s ability to provide, though his culture may tell him otherwise. Perhaps Alice would like to do more as a family, and having extra income could help her husband receive more free time so he will not have to work as hard. In having a job, the family may acquire the funding for excursions together, and thus more time for bonding.

References:

Corey, G. (2017). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. (10th Ed.) Cengage Learning.