For this article, I have chosen two different theoretical perspectives in family therapy drawn from our classroom studies, as well as from the perspective of a potential family member who asks a therapist to help them cope with the loss of his brother. The two models I have chosen to discuss are Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Theory and Structural Family Therapy Theory. I based my reasoning for these two theories on the family's lack of communication, the dynamics of the family as well as the interaction they have with each other and the need for intervention. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayLooking at Family from the Theory of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT): The best way to describe the theory of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy is exactly what The Jarrett family is going through a difficult time due to the loss of their son. These include, but are not limited to, lack of communication or effective communication within the Jarrett family, which each member of the family considers a priority. For example, mother Beth keeps telling her husband Calvin that they should both go on vacation. The scene in the film that really stood out to me and clearly shows the family in conflict was when the only thing Calvin could remember from his son Bucks' funeral was the way he was dressed for the funeral and the only concern about his wife Beth was to know what it was. resistant. Embarrassed by the fact that she told him to change his shoes and shirt because Beth cares more about how they look and what people think. What Calvin wore to his son Bucks' funeral didn't matter and he really didn't think about it at the time, but it had been bothering him ever since. After the death of their son Buck, the Jarrett family never really reached out to friends or other family members to help them cope with their son's death. This was probably because Beth wants everyone on the outside to think everything is okay. She had always created this illusion of contentment with all their friends and family, even going so far as to neglect her family's feelings and needs. A good example of this in the film is when Conrad quits the swim team and keeps it to himself, then a month later his mother finds out from a friend that Conrad quit the swim team. Conrad insists that his mother's anger at his decision is not because he quit the swim team, but because she found out about it from someone else and not by him. Throughout the film you can see how frustrated and upset Conrad is with his mother's behavior and the way she acts towards him. Conrad is not able to communicate his frustrations and feelings towards his mother appropriately, so he seems to either isolate himself or eventually lash out. Looking at the Jarrett family from a structural family therapy theory: The patient identified in the film is Conrad, the youngest son of the Jarrett family. Conrad is a high school student and had just returned home after a four-month stay in the hospital following a suicide attempt. Conrad shows signs of depression as well as PSTD; he has nightmares about the boat accident that killed his brother Buck, which keeps him from sleeping. He blames himself for the death of his brother, he has no appetite, has practically no contact with his friends, is unable toconcentrate in class or on his homework and he does not display good relationships with his parents, especially his mother. When we first meet Calvin, Conrad's father, he and his wife are at a play and she seems to enjoy it and he falls asleep during it. When the two return home, Calvin goes straight to speak with his son Conrad, who is in his room, to talk to him about going to see a therapist soon. that of Conrad's father appears much more concerned about what he feels and his well-being than his mother Beth. It's obvious from the first time we see Beth in the film with her husband Calvin that there is a disconnect within the marriage and a reversal of gender roles in the Jarrett household that is not what we traditionally consider as a caregiver. Usually, it's the mother of the house who is the caregiver and more affection, but in the Jarrett household, it's Father Calvin who is more of the caregiver. When we first meet Conrad's mother, Beth, she gets upset because he isn't hungry and, without any hesitation, throws his breakfast in the trash. A communication barrier between them is clearly present, as well as a subtle but noticeable passive aggressiveness, a hostility not only towards Conrad but also towards Beth's Calvin. With the Jarrett family, we see the model of a complementary tough/tender mother role. father. In the Jarrett family, Calvin plays more of the traditional role that a mother usually plays, which is the "expressive" role that provides not only emotional support, but also tender care and love towards her son Conrad. Mother Beth makes most of the decisions for the family, from buying Conrad's clothes to the vacations she and her husband will take, and even telling her husband what shoes and shirt to wear to their son Bucks' funeral . Beth's need for power, control, and structure in the family home causes a lot of tension within the family. Based on the structural model, the Jarrett family shows a system of disengagement in the way they confront and manage their son Conrad's emotional and mental problems, which he suffers from following the loss of his brother. It is clear to me that a family therapist should start with Beth and Calvin by helping them recognize the need to identify Conrad as the patient. If they were to be challenged from different perspectives to examine Conrad's behavioral symptoms and be able to recognize the patterns and rules of family structure that are causing his symptoms and the problems he is experiencing confronted. With Beth being such a control freak, it will be necessary for the family to instill new structure and patterns. From my observation of the mother in this film, it is clear that she would feel like she was being ganged up on and would take all the blame within a therapeutic model structure, family therapy. Beth is not the type to let people see her family in any way but perfect and she thinks that she can solve any problem in the family herself and that going to a family therapist would be a waste of time, not to mention embarrassing. In the film, this is evident when she repeatedly says, "This is my family, I don't want to change." It's me ! » I would have them see a family therapist and have them assess the Jarrett family with a family meeting session as well as mapping the family's patterns and interactions. I would have the Jarrett family come together for lunch hour sessions to observe how they communicate as a family when together. Then I would ask the.