Module 5 Group Discussion
When it comes to Katie, I believe she would benefit from family
therapy in a few ways. First and foremost, with her husband, Joe. As they
met in a bar it is safe to say Joe has never known Katie as someone who
does not drink. With Katie focusing on trying to get sober it would be a big
change in their personal life. One thing she notes is she believes Joe does not
know the amount of stress she is under between working and raising their
children. To me it seems she does not know how to communicate her
struggles to her partner so focusing on bringing Joe in for therapy sessions
would give both a chance to understand each other and get a plan for
improvement in place.
Another important relationship that needs to be explored further is the
relationship she has with her daughter, Sarah. She states she relies on Sarah
to help her keep the house up and support her emotionally. In my opinion
this could be a great amount of trauma onto Sarah and at only 10 years old
she is not old enough to truly understand the struggles of an adult let alone
an alcoholic. Because Sarah is always listening and caring for her Katies
feelings, a family session including Sarah would be imperative to give Sarah
a chance to talk out her feelings and begin to understand the alcohol
struggles her mother is going through.
And finally, with Katie’s sister, Amanda. Following their sister’s tragic
death, they both experienced a great amount of trauma from guilt to their
own mental struggles to absent parents. In a way it seems as though they
raised themselves and Amanda could not handle the weight of that. While
Katie has stated that Amanda is recovering, doing well and visits often, she
also states they do not speak about their sister’s death and being able to
speak about that together in a safe counseling space will really help not only
Amanda heal further but allow Katie the chance to explore the guilt she has
always felt which may end part of her need to self-medicate with alcohol.
