Questions

Description

*Please carefully read the answer that has been given for each question and then rewrite, expound on the answer and add citations to each of the questions* Consider the research in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy you have reviewed during your doctoral studies.

Part One: What area of research has contributed the most to your professional development as a clinician and instructor? Provide background that lead to this choice.  Discuss the literature in this area and how it has impacted your development.

Part Two: Identify three areas of the field of Marriage and Family Therapy that you believe to contain gaps in the field’s body of knowledge.  Discuss these gaps and recommendations for further research.

Part Three: Describe your current idea for your dissertation.  Discuss how this topic fits into the gap of our professional knowledge.

Part One: Research that has Contributed to my Development

The three studies that have contributed to my professional development as a clinician include family therapy, prior to enter the program I have always worked with individuals and very few families, I never realized the vital role the family system plays in the outcome of the individuals I have encountered.  For years I have been aware of dysfunctional household and the damage it produces, but was oblivious in other ways of subtle dysfunctional patterns that are passed on generationally that remain subconscious until it is brought to light by a family therapist.

  Family therapy has contributed to uncovering unconscious contributors to dysfunctional defenses behaviors, transactional patterns, thoughts, and how they impact family dynamics and relationships. Another fundamental research in marriage and family therapy is the impact of family counseling on members of the family who suffer from substance abuse issues.

Throughout matriculating through this program, I have learned all things are linked together and each individual has a crucial role to play in the family system.  One person actions can adversely impact the entire family for example on the topic of substance abuse may appear that a rebellious son begins to hang with the wrong crowd and begins abusing drugs due to neglect at home or busy parents.

The son may feel as though his parents do not care about him because they are too busy work and marital problems.  Once the problem is addressed in family therapy and all family members are engaged and involved, a slow gradual changes begin to occur within the family system that probably would not occur without the support of the family. Research on relationship counseling has also proved fundamental in my development as a clinician. Relationship counseling is beneficial in helping couples deal with their problems to decide on what’s best for them, moving on, or sticking with each other.  There are various models that help restore trust, emotion and love back into broken relationships which is a new experience for me that I have been exposed to.

Part Two: Three Areas that I Believe Contain Gaps and their Recommendations

The areas that I feel have gaps in marriage and family therapy includes dual-career marriages. Research in this field should aim at establishing awareness and acknowledgment of the couple’s work, family, and personal interdependent nature. Recommendation on this gap is that research in family and marriage therapy should evaluate commitment changes in these needs at the dual development career changes. I also feel that research to explore internal and external stressors has not been fully explored.

My recommendation on this gap is that study should evaluate if stress sources are amenable to change. The use of continuous assessment has also been underutilized in developing family and marriage therapy. I recommend that follow-ups on couples seeking treatment to prevent the occurrence of the condition.   Part three: I have selected to choose the topic of parental alienation and how it affects the ability of child’s ability to bond with their father.

This topic has been close to my heart since I have embarked on my journey in this doctoral program primarily because it is an experience that I currently face as do many other men.

In addition to this, parental alienation is not a topic that receives much exposure and most people are unaware of what parental alienation is and what are the residual effects on the relationship when severed.

This topic aligns with family therapy because it essential in the complete development of a child and is necessary for a child to experience love from their father as well as their mother.