Effective communication plays a significant role in the success of a family and the understanding between couples. Communication brings the concept of equality to both the couples and the family at large. Working with couples involves embracing gender-sensitive perspectives and intervening with effective communication skills. This essay gives my reflection on gender-sensitive interventions and working with couples.
Dysfunctional communication among couples can be changed when partners openly discuss their behaviors with each other and consider the impact of their relationship on their family and children. Couples should actively listen to one another to avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the original information. One partner should make use of ‘I’ statements such as ‘I feel disappointed’ to reduce potential conflicts with each other (Collins et. al., n.d.) . A partner should be careful when using the statement to describe behavior and not the person and share ideas instead of advice. Irrespective of individual differences, the couple should strive for an amicable solution.
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The gender-sensitive intervention aims to solve problems, provide support and educate family members. With this approach, families can recognize and change the destructive consequences of stereotyped roles (Collins et. al., n.d.) . In addition, men should become involved in child and household duties whereas women should build positive self-esteem. Besides, women should not rely on their husbands to provide everything for them. The intervention aims to bring the whole family positively by helping other members realize their abilities and skills. The approach helps women understand their values, roles, and life opportunities and men to learn about gender issues and realities.
It is important to understand women and families from a modern social context and not a traditional psychiatric model. Women should understand that every failed relationship in their lives is not their fault. Recognizing and changing the destructive consequences of stereotyped roles helps in building a family. Therefore, men should equally participate as women in household tasks and child-rearing. Women should stop believing that their role is to nurture and support other first instead of themselves which may destruct them in recognizing their own needs. The key to helping women and families is focusing on strengths and not weaknesses. Women should build their esteem and focus on their careers and not household work.
When working with couples experiencing a troubled relationship, they must understand what constitutes a successful marriage. A successful marriage requires a supportive, nurturing relationship involving genuine commitment and care for one another (Collins et. al., n.d.) . On the contrary, feeling unloved in a relationship can lead to divorce. In addition, a successful marriage is based on task sharing within the household including assisting children with homework and spending playtime with children.
Problem-solving involves the participation of all family members in solving common family problems. It helps members negotiate solutions to problems that are acceptable to everyone. Families need to identify concerns, set priorities, and develop a plan for solving the problem. A problem-solving strategy can be used to attain goals, meet challenges and deal with stresses. Parents with problem-solving skills acquire the necessary skills for developing positive relationships with their children.
In conclusion, women need to be empowered to assume greater control over their lives. Such empowerment gives women the right to leave abusive relationships and seek better options available for them. To achieve goals as a family, women should understand that they have the same rights as men. On the other hand, men should be supportive of their wives. Men should understand that marriage is a unity and not a contract of employment. Therefore an effective and gender-sensitive approach is necessary for any marriage that aspires to be successful.
Reference
Collins et. al., (n.d.) Chapter 13, Interventions with couples and gender-sensitive interventions
