Social science research has been making considerable progress in an understanding inter-parental relationship on youth adjustment, but few efforts have been made on the equally significant family relationship between siblings. Sibling relationships help children achieve developmental milestone while providing emotional support ( Lamb et al., 2014) . They play a role in one’s identity and self-esteem as well as creating an aspect of belonging. However, when children are separated from their siblings through foster care, some may feel lost. Many children report experiencing lost identity and emotional distress when they enter the foster care system due to a sense of detachment. Children in foster homes are often separated from their siblings, making them lose contact with one another
Siblings’ relationship is crucial in the functioning of a family as well as the development of a child. In early childhood, having close contact with emotional intensity can foster the development of social understanding in a child which plays a role in adjustment to social life. The support and warmth from siblings are often linked to peer acceptance and social competence ( Lamb et al., 2014) . In this regard, placing a child is put into foster care affects the ability to create an emotional attachment and may affect sibling relationship. Adoption often alters the kinship network of a child including the connections with a sibling.
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In the sibling relationship, the rate of conflict can be high which can affect the bonding. Children who have a hard time bonding need an intervention that can help them create an emotional attachment to their siblings. Attending to siblings issues in therapy can offer value beyond enhancing their relationship. Working with siblings in a family context can help in assessing a family dysfunction and providing the necessary intervention. This study focuses on exploring the sibling relationship in a family placed under foster care. The paper reviews research on sibling rivalry and determine the appropriate evidence-based intervention to help establish the connection for children under internal separation.
Literature review
Several studies have been published explaining how to help build a relationship for siblings separated due to internal separation. This paper reviewed the literature on sibling relationships in children by focusing on interventions and empirical research to address the problem. The documentary revealed several articles on the importance of sibling relationships and evidence-based interventions to build the connections. However, there were not many articles on the subject of sibling literature, showing how family scholars and social science research have ignored and neglected the importance of establishing sibling relationships. The search entails keywords such as sibling relationship, family therapy, and family process. Several databases were used in researching the use of Google Scholar, the TU library portal as well as social work abstracts. Each search revealed strategies that can be applied to enhance sibling relationship and create a more healthy family.
Evaluation of evidence
The research revealed several interventions that can help build relationships and family contact among siblings. Most of these interventions focused on forming relationships with their siblings through emotional bonding and attachment. A total of four evidence-based interventions emerged from the literature review, including the emotionally focused therapy, family checkup model, siblings are a particular model and the functional family therapy.
Emotionally focused therapy is an intervention program that focuses on teaching children emotional coaching skills that can support their emotional development and prevent relationship issues ( Greenberg, 2004) . The therapy is often used to improve relationships by understanding emotions. The treatment is based on attachment and bonding theory and an idea that feelings are essential to relationships. This model helps to address distress in relationships and can help family members to connect and improve emotional attachment. When applied to siblings, the clients may find the method beneficial in assisting them to understand their emotional responses.
The family checkup model is another intervention that focuses on addressing child adjustment problems. The response looks to address the specific child needs while focusing on supporting positive behavior. Clients can be integrated into a variety of service settings. The intervention strategy can help reduce antisocial behaviors in youths while helping to increase connections. All children are screened for risk-related factors such as emotional and behavioral concerns and focuses on solving these issues.
The siblings are a particular program (SAS) is another intervention strategy that can be used to build the relationship. The program was designed targeting sibling relationship as well as prevents behavioral problems in adolescence. The prevention model was designed to promote positive sibling and family relationships while enhancing youth well-being ( Feinberg et al., 2013) . The SAS intervention model addresses relationships between brothers and sisters to support healthy sibling relationships, improving family life as well as increase the social, emotional and academic development of a child. This program focuses on how siblings can share responsibilities as well as develop solutions to any conflict. Research on this intervention program has revealed that siblings tend to demonstrate positive interaction and more great social competence after going through the program while experiencing reduced emotional problems such as depression.
A functional family therapy model can also be applied to help the children in this family. The model is an empirically grounded family intervention program for dysfunctional youth between 11 and 18 years. The program is effective in treating adolescents with conduct disorder while it can be used to establish connections. The model is designed to motivate change and eliminate any obstacles that may encourage antisocial behaviors, thus allowing children to interact with one another.
The justification for selection of change strategy
The most appropriate approach for this family is using emotional-based therapy. Evidence has shown that the treatment has the most reliable scientific support that can help build relationships among siblings. The family, in this case, comprises of children who believe their elder brother has drifted away from them. The emotionally based therapy is vital as it is based on handling the emotions and allowing them to build a relationship. At the same time, this strategy is most appropriate as it touches on attachment and bonding which are central in child development. Attachment and bonding are mostly associated with children in foster care.
Description of the selected strategy
The emotionally focused therapy is an intervention strategy that focuses on relationships and attachment or binding. In this strategy, both the therapist and clients look at patterns in their relationships before taking steps to create a more secure bond, increase trust as well as move the link in a healthier direction ( Greenberg, 2004) . This therapy recognizes the importance of emotions and prioritizes them during the therapy sessions. It is based on the principles of increasing awareness of feeling, enhancing its regulation as well as transformation the emotion to a more positive relationship.
The emotion-focused therapy began as an intervention strategy for couples facing conflicts to help them interact positively. However, it can be used for many people seeking to build a relationship by guiding them to communicate and confidently share emotions. The therapists focus on guiding clients through discussions and exercises that can help in enhancing interpersonal understanding of emotional responses ( Greenberg, 2004) .. This strategy works around the principles of person-centered therapy and emotional coaching. The therapist uses different interventions at different points during the therapy session to help the client and build positive relationships. Therapists use various techniques including empathetic listening and genuine interaction
The emotionally focused therapy is backed up by several emotional researchers who agree on the importance of emotions in creating relationships. Several studies have been conducted on its effectiveness to achieve bonding and build a connection within a family. Substantial empirical evidence supports this intervention to reduce distress within relationships. At the same time, it works based on the attachment theory, a concept which believes people are made healthier by emotional contact and feeling safe when connecting to others
The therapy can be applied in a family setting to help family members feel more connected while enhancing a sense of belonging. When used among siblings, the treatment can help family members learn about their emotions and understand the feelings of other family members. Emotion-focused therapy can be useful for families dealing with internal separation or children reaching adolescence. It can be applied to sibling’s relationships, in this case, study to help them build a relationship and productive communication. When dealing with the clients, the strategy will involve discussing with the
Specific description
Several steps will be undertaken when administering the emotion-focused therapy on the family. The first phase will include assessing the issue to uncover the underlying emotional problem affecting the clients ( Dankoski, 2001) . This entails identifying the current conflict or problems that are changing the relationship between the siblings. The children will be required to explain the root of the problem by identifying the cycle where the conflict is expressed. After determining its source, the therapist guides clients into discussing their emotions and feelings relating to the issue at hand. This will then be followed by the reframing of the question that focuses on making clients see the problem from a different perspective which in turn helps to understand the emotions and needs of others.
The second phase will entail creating new emotional experiences to replace the negative experiences that the clients have. The stage will focus on setting clients up for more effective communication after they have acknowledged the source of the conflict n( Dankoski, 2001) . The therapist in this face focuses on helping the clients to understand their needs and those of the older brother. The step also focuses on promoting acceptance of their brother including their emotional experience and changing experience. The therapist can then guide the clients in learning how to interact positively with each other and build the relationship. The step may be accompanied by a bonding exercise where the clients work to promote a healthy new connection
The third phase will focus on resolving old problems and creating a new plan for continued success after the therapy. In this step, the therapist works with clients in coming up with new solutions to the conflict and create more meaningful relationships ( Dankoski, 2001) . After handling the emotional problems attached to the battle, it will be easier to build meaningful relationships between siblings. The clients will then be asked to take what they have learned and develop effective ways to interact and create relationships
Evaluation of a selected strategy
A follow-up meeting should be set up to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach. The session focuses on understanding the progress of the intervention and how clients are coping with it. The outcome measures should be shared and discussed with the client as a meaningful addition to the therapeutic response. It will gather enough information from the client regarding their attempts to create relationships. The therapist discusses the assessment with clients and ensures they make expected progress. Whenever clients fail to make the anticipated growth, the therapist focuses on to conceptualizing the barriers and modifies them accordingly.
The evaluation will also be done in a person-centered fashion that is relevant to the client and several aspects of a relationship. They include assessing the degree of closeness and openness after the therapy and how the clients are relating to one another. The outcome will also focus on determining the expression of affection and caring among the staff members. The evaluation focuses on understanding the satisfaction level of clients regarding such areas, whether they are very satisfied or very dissatisfied with how they relate with one another after the therapy. The clients will be required to check categories such as emotional concerns and intimate relationship interests
The success of the treatment can also be determined by measuring the occurrence of specific target behaviors and assessing the progress toward specific goals. For example, the therapist can ask clients to fill a questionnaire regarding how they are establishing the relationship. They will be required to track the number of attempts they have tried to create a connection with symptoms by changing their perspective regarding emotions.
References
Dankoski, M. E. (2001). Pulling on the heart strings: An emotionally focused approach to family life cycle transitions. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy , 27 (2), 177-187.
Feinberg, M. E., Solmeyer, A. R., Hostetler, M. L., Sakuma, K. L., Jones, D., & McHale, S. M. (2013). Siblings are special: Initial test of a new approach for preventing youth behavior problems. Journal of Adolescent Health , 53 (2), 166-173.
Greenberg, L. S. (2004). Emotion–focused therapy. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy: An International Journal of Theory & Practice , 11 (1), 3-16.
Lamb, M. E., Sutton-Smith, B., Sutton-Smith, B., & Lamb, M. E. (Eds.). (2014). Sibling relationships: Their nature and significance across the lifespan . Psychology Press.
