Explaining the connecting lines
The genogram in Figure 1 represents the ages and relationships of several family members. In this case, the family members share close relationships with each other. When looking at the ages of the peers, it will be realized that the siblings have similar ages with minor age differences. For instance, the grandparents have a tendency to live in their children's house. This tendency can be perceived by looking at Carmen, who moved into William’s house when her husband passed away. The family shares close relationships with each other hence any decision that would result in the separation of family members often causes conflict. This habit explains why Patricia and William disagreed with Marshall and Cynthia's decision to move away to a neighboring town.
Power in the family.
The person who holds the greatest authority in the family is William. Although Carmen is the oldest member of the family, it can be perceived that the majority of the family’s decisions are made by William. As a local pastor, William puts in a lot of effort to control the moral and ethical values of his family. For that reason, William rejected Cynthia’s decision to marry Marshall. With that said, William is often involved in conflicts with other members of the family. In conclusion, William believes that it is his obligation to ensure that his family sticks to Christian principles.
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Family patterns
Although several generations of the family have passed away, certain patterns remained in the family line. These patterns originate from the strict upbringing of family members. Due to the lack of freedom in the family, certain family members attempted to break-away from their restrained lives. Cynthia is an individual who best embodies this pattern. After she was raised following strict religious principles, she embraced a life of delinquency, which ultimately contributed to her pregnancy. With that said, communication between certain members tends to be unstable. The intensity of conflicts between specific family members has been the leading cause of instability in the family’s communication channels.
Family values
The family follows strict religious principles. Since William was a pastor in the family’s church, the entire family was forced to followed proper moral values. William and Patricia are strict Puerto Rican parents who placed a lot of effort into raising their children. With that said, most of the children claimed that they were raised in highly restricted homes. For instance, when Cynthia became pregnant before being married, William became extremely angry. This was the root cause of conflict between Marshall and William. In addition, Sylvia has also grown following strict religious values. All in all, Cynthia’s harsh parenting style was passed down from her father, William.
Coping with stress.
The members of the family have different ways of coping with stress. Nonetheless, most of the members handle stress by escaping to seek freedom. For example, Marshall had a tendency of going to weekend trips to his extended family. Similarly, Cynthia also handled stress in a similar. As a result, Cynthia’s free lifestyle resulted in her getting a pregnancy when she was only 19 years old. On another note, Sylvia coped with stress by requesting for a phone. From Sylvia’s perspective, acquiring a phone would allow her to escape from the strict lifestyle of her parent’s home. Lastly, Marshall and Cynthia handled stress by moving to a different residence. Marshall and Cynthia were tired of William’s arguments; hence they decided to move away to a town that is free of William’s influence.
Importance of genograms
The information obtained from this genogram will be essential for understanding the behavior of different generations of a family. In most cases, genograms are utilized to outline the connections between specific members of the family. According to reliable research, genograms serve the purpose of outlining how intergenerational communication is conducted in a family (Sahin, 2017). Due to this, drawing genograms can be used as a therapeutic tool for solving generational problems. Spiritual genograms are specifically developed to highlight the conflicts, bonds, and relationships of family members (Sahin, 2017). To sum up, genograms are vital tools for therapists since they allow them to understand the behavioral patterns of different family members.
Additional information
One of the most important observations regarding the genogram is based on gender differences between family members. In this case, it can be understood that male members of the family often receive more freedom when compared to female family members. For instance, Sylvia's lifestyle was severely restricted, whereas Torrance and Jonathan were not limited. The disparities between male and female family members caused Sylvia to become jealous of her brothers. Therefore, it can be argued that gender preferences also contributed to conflicts between family members.
Applying Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a popular therapeutic treatment that can help patients understand how certain thoughts can affect their behavior. For example, trauma-focused behavioral therapy is aimed at helping children to overcome traumatic negative experiences (Deblinger, Pollio, & Dorsey, 2016). In the current field of healthcare, cognitive behavioral therapy has played a key role in improving the mental health of patients. As such, this form of therapy offers numerous benefits when implemented by professionals towards adolescents. On this note, the use of genograms gives therapists suitable opportunities for understanding the history of mental behavior.
References
Deblinger, E., Pollio, E., & Dorsey, S. (2016). Applying trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy in a group format. Child maltreatment, 21(1), 59-73.
Şahin, Y. (2017). Using spiritual genograms in family therapies. Spiritual Psychology and Counseling , 3(1), 47-60.
