Final Project: Scholar Practitioner Project
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WK6assgn2Alazarreunhealthyfamilyrelations.edited.docxRunning head: Unhealthy Family Relations 1
Unhealthy Family Relations 2
Unhealthy Family Relations
Alma Lazarre
Instructor: Dr. Krystal Finch
SOCW6202: Treatment of Addictions
Date: April 11th, 2021
Describe any unhealthy family roles exhibited by Marge’s husband in the media.
Marge’s husband, Ken exhibited several unhealthy family roles as he tried to cover his wife’s addiction. Co-dependency is an act where family and friends protect one another in thus making it possible for the addict in the circle to continue using drugs without them facing any consequence for their behavior (Gibson, 2017). Ken largely played this role through his deeds although in his mind he thought that he was acting in the wife’s best interests. Marge began drinking alcohol during the evenings and claimed that it helped her relax. Her constant drinking behavior led to her frequently failing to show up at work. Ken covered for his wife by making phone calls to notify Marge's employer that she was unwell and thus she could not make it to work. Her drinking spree grew out of control and at times, she showed up at work under the influence, which led to her losing her job. Notably, Ken got another job to supplement his earnings and cater to Marge as well as his children. The two jobs meant that Ken would be a way for most of the times and thus he barely had time to manage the family activities. He was however hopeful that Marge would quit her drinking behavior (Doweiko, 2017). After marge had an accident Ken together with family members and friends staged an intervention to convince his wife to enroll in a treatment center for alcohol addicts.
Explain what roles her children have assumed dealing with Marge’s addiction
Select one of these family roles
Since time immemorial, the man has always been the head of the family. Ken is the head in this case and he works two jobs to support and care for his household. Since the wife is no longer capable of caring for the household, the oldest daughter assumes the role of taking care of the family, cleaning and cooking by default. Marge fails to own up to her role as a wife and mother to her children, which in turn leads to her being checkout of the household. Her drinking behavior leads to the disruption of the normal set up and thus there is a reversed role allocation. The oldest daughter becomes the caregiver while Ken provides the financial support that the household requires. Ken's children become secretive of school events to prevent Marge from shoving up and shaming them. Ken is also ashamed of his wife since he tries to hide Marge's addiction and cover for her when she misses work. Ken thought that he was doing the best for his family while in the real sense his family was tearing apart. The issue with his wife requires special care through counseling to recreate trust and build a healthy household unit.
Explain how this role could affect Marge and her family
Well, the relation between Marge and the oldest daughter has to be re-established due to the sudden change in command. Recall that the daughter by default assumed the role of a caregiver because of her mother's addiction. Besides she had not received any mommy mentorship or guidance for a while (Margasiński, 2017). Naturally, she will feel that mature and develop the notion that she does not need the mother's direction or care. Once Marge is done with her treatment the entire family has to undergo psychiatric counseling for them to rebuild their household.
How might an addiction professional address this unhealthy family role?
Family therapy is vital and in most cases, it is introduced once the affected person makes progress during recovery. The timing for the therapy is crucial since it is meant to serve the best interests of the family. Recall that the affected individuals are still adopting new behavioral patterns and have challenges maintaining a healthy state. They are still new to the interventions and the urge to go back to the previous lifestyle is still rampant. They have to be slowly introduced to family issues, they are bound to crash when the introduction is rushed or before they are ready to deal with the challenge ahead. The affected individuals have t commit themselves to the recovery process for the therapy to work.
References
Doweiko, H. E. (2019). Concepts of chemical dependency (10th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage.
Gibson, B. (2016). A harrowing journey through codependency. Perspectives, 24(2), 3.
Margasiński, A. (2017). Psychological roles of young adults growing up in alcoholic and non-alcoholic families measured by Family Roles Questionnaire. Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, 30(1), 13-40.
Sharma, R. (2016). Role of Family relationship in child rearing of drug addiction afflicted vs normal families. Indian Journal of Health & Wellbeing, 7(8), 807-809.
Stenzel, W. (2018). Co-Dependency, a metastatic disease. Human Development, 39(1), 74–87.Stenzel, W. (2018).
