Assignment Task:
Clinical Case Description and Guidelines
Family:
Mary, age 36 – mother, completed an MBA, self-described as “type A” personality, mother of three, lives in Florida.
Rick, age 32 – father, Certified Sports Trainer.
Nate, age 2 – youngest child, ASD diagnosis (only son of Mary and Rick).
Jane, age 19 – sister to Nate, single mother of Daniel (age 6 months), part-time student, does not live with Mary.
Luke, age 12 – brother to Nate, lives with his father in NY.
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Get Help Now!Mary is married to Rick. They were referred to counselling and community mental health agency for family guidance.
Mary grew up in a “dysfunctional home” (in her own words). Mary’s first marriage at age 17 was to an older man. She quickly became pregnant with her first child, Jane. Seven years later, Luke was born. Mary described her marriage as “on the fast road to destruction.” Her first husband was physically and emotionally absent. She divorced him just after Luke’s first birthday. Her second marriage lasted two years – she indicated that she and her second husband were not compatible. She is currently married to Rick. Mary described Rick as very supportive and the “first normal person that I have ever met.” She easily connected with him, and Mary described feeling “strong and competent.” Nate is Mary’s only child with her current husband, Rick.
Maternal family history includes anxiety and depression. Mary’s mother died one year ago to cancer. Mary’s childhood memories are complicated. She remembers her mother refusing to get up out of bed, often drinking each night. As Mary grew up, she devoted many hours to both her education and her work. Her goal was to rise above her circumstances. When Nate was born Mary stopped working. She became the primary caregiver for Nate. It was around this time, that she noticed some changes in her relationship with Rick. She stated that they seemed to have “lost their connection.” At home, Mary reported that Nate was different from her other children. It was hard to connect with him, and she often found herself leaving him to play alone. At 19 months, Mary realized Nate was not responding typically and had him evaluated.
Nate was diagnosed with ASD Autism Spectrum Disorder, High Functioning. Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and DIR (Developmental, Individual Differences, and Relationship Model) services started at the age of 21 months. There was increased stress on the family system due to the therapy schedule.
Nate is now 29 months old. Mary and Rick started marriage counselling. Mary is anxious to have a stronger relationship with her daughter Jane, with whom she has little contact. Mary appears anxious and depressed, yet she manages to “cope with life.”
Assignment:
As you reflect on the above description, what are your thoughts about Mary? She is an adult woman, a mother, a daughter who recently lost her mother, and a wife. What are the key issues related to Family Systems that are salient in this vignette? How might they pertain to Mary’s life history and relationships with family members?
This paper should reflect your ability to integrate reading material into your understanding of a complex family system undergoing a highly stressful situation. Focusing on the mother in this vignette, critical and analytical thinking are to be demonstrated through the use of theoretical constructs that might explain various aspects of her current family situation. The vignette is short and incomplete, and therefore allows itself for personal interpretation. The readings are the template from which to make interpretive statements about the mother (Mary).
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