Description of the family system
The family as a system has complex relationships which function as a cohesive emotional unit. Each member is emotionally connected, and each plays a specific role and subscribes to certain rules. As a system, the members of a family based on the tasks assigned respond and interact with each other in certain ways developing patterns which impact the behaviors of other family members. The behavioral patterns established by the members contribute to a balance of the family system or can lead to a dysfunction of the system (Parker, 2017). The family under study has functioned as a family system for fifteen years that the couple has been married. The family has assigned responsibilities and roles with the significant roles being provision for the family. The mother is a nurse with various expectations to provide financial help as well as emotional, mental and physical assistance as part of her duties in the family. The father has also been assigned specific roles to enhance the balance and functionality of the family.
The family is therefore emotionally interconnected especially with the children involved (Thuen et al., 2015). The divorce is as a result of dysfunctions in the family as a result of the failure in fulfillment of roles and meeting expectations or the needs assigned. As a result, the children will be psychologically affected due to the emotional investment on the family and will experience sad, depressing and guilty feelings seeing themselves as the reason for the conflicts and the ultimate separation of the family.
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Problems presented to the social worker working with the family
Divorce in the family affects the psychological, physical, emotional, and economic well beings of the family members involved. Therefore, the social worker working with the family before the divorce is presented with numerous problems by the parents and children. Both parents and children will present issues of support in terms of emotional and financial assistance or any other kind of support needed in the family (Thuen et al., 2015). The parents may worry about how to continue supporting the family. Problems of worry, stress, and exhaustion from the process as parent question the effectiveness of parental control and parenting especially to the children who are in their adolescent years. The problem of trust in children is imminent where children may be struggling with trusting their parents. The problem is accompanied by other issues like shock, uncertainty anger, sadness confusion and stress (Parker, 2017).
Issues of communication are presented to the worker as the parents may lack effectiveness in connection with the children their reasons for the divorce and provide assurance for the future. The children present the problem of relationships due to the confusion of how to relate with the children. Parental control, discipline, affection emotional support issues the social worker will address. The problems of contact, emotional closeness, wellbeing, and other persisting effects of the divorce such as the effect of the divorce on sibling relationships and hostility (Thuen et al., 2015). The social worker also encounters issues of depression, issues of violence and suicides after the divorce of the parents for the children and parents alike.
The scope of the issue
The scope of the divorce and its impact on family relationships covers a wide range of issues. Divorcing interventions with children involved covers both short term and long term effects. The process addresses problems affecting the marriage such as happiness in the home. The environment created for children, economic constraints and emotional problems affecting the family (Parker, 2017). The social worker addresses family relations and issues such as relocation, financial support, children education and progress and effects of the divorce on physical social-emotional and psychological development.
References
Parker, J. (2017). Social work practice: Assessment, planning, intervention and review. Learning Matters.
Thuen, F., Breivik, K., Wold, B., & Ulvester, G. (2015). Growing up with one or both parents: The effects on physical health and health-related behavior through adolescence and into early adulthood. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 56, 451-474. Doi: 10.1080/10502556.2015.1058659
