2. The first issue I would focus on is the guilt and shame she is feeling towards herself. I would help Mary Sue gain more insight to why she is feeling this way and help her find a positive outlook on the past situation and ways to help her in the present moment. She is carrying a ton of guilt and shame towards her parenting style and blaming herself for the way her daughter turned out. Addressing this will be vital into helping her not letting her shame and guilt effect the way she raises her grandchildren. The second issue I would address is helping Mary Sue find a group and resources to help her learn about school norms. This will help with her awareness as school has changed since her daughter went to school and being able to work with other families who are in the same situation will give her a sense of understanding. Giving Mary Sue these resources will help her grandchildren have academic success and will also help with proving she can still do it. Along with this she is paving a new direction for her granddaughters.
3. A family genogram is a map to help lay out the family dynamics for counselors to gain a better understanding (Browning & Hull, 2018). This map will allow counselors to help their clients find the areas where they have become stuck or resources they can utilize based off the genogram (Browning & Hull, 2018). Mary Sue's genogram would help me zoom in and zoom out on the families’ secrets and struggles giving me a better understanding of why she may feel shame and guilt about her daughter’s drug addiction. Not only will this help Mary Sue gain an understanding of her family but will also let her see where change can occur in the family genogram for better success in her granddaughters lives.
Showing this to Mary Sue and helping her gain this understanding would be very beneficial to her self-awareness and progress in counseling. She will not only be able to help herself not feel guilt but be able to help her granddaughter’s future success and change the family genogram.
Reference
Browning, S., & Hull, R. (2018). Utilizing the genogram to integrate systems and psychoanalytic thinking. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 28(4), 567–583. https://doi.org/10.1037/int0000115