Integrative Project In Counseling

University of Phoenix Material

Miller Family Case Study

Review the following case study.

Choose a therapeutic scenario from the options at the end of the case study.

The Miller family consists of married parents (Jim, 43; Stacie, 41), and their 4 children (Mike, 19, is a freshman at the state university on a baseball scholarship; Liz, 17, is a senior in high school; Erin, 15, is a sophomore in high school; and Sarah, 11, is in the 5th grade). They live in a very comfortable, suburban, middle-class neighborhood, and have resided there for the past 10 years. Integrative Project In Counseling

Jim came from a lower middle-class family that seemed to always struggle to make ends meet. Both his parents are still living in a town about 3 hours away. His dad worked long hours at the factory and would often head to the bar after work. The family didn’t see “Grandpa Jimmy” as an alcoholic, but he definitely liked to unwind before coming home. He was never abusive — just sort of “absent” emotionally. Jim’s mother was a homemaker and did what she could with what the family had. Jim had one older brother, but he died in a boating accident when he was 5 and Jim was 3.

Committed to providing a better life for his family, Jim learned to work hard. He is a sales rep for a large pharmaceutical company, with an annual salary of $95K. But during the last 2 years, he has earned approximately $105K. He attributes his higher earnings to his hard work, long hours, “wining and dining” his physician clients, and staying up on the latest research on the medications he reps. He was promoted to regional sales manager 3 years ago, but it didn’t go well. He did not like managing people as much as taking care of his clients, so he requested to return to his old territory and has been much happier (although his long hours mean he is home less frequently). He enjoys being a dad and sees his primary role as a provider. He misses coaching Mike’s youth baseball and basketball teams, and has adjusted to Mike being away at college by working longer hours. His daughters are his “angels,” although he admittedly feels like he is losing touch with them, their interests, their friends, etc. He believes the best thing he can do is continue providing for them the best he knows how, even though it means he spends less time at home. Integrative Project In Counseling

In addition, the arguments between him and Stacie seem to have increased. She is beginning to resent his increased time away from home and tells him the extra money isn’t worth it. Jim resents being caught in the middle of her inconsistencies — on one hand, she wants him home more, and yet on the other, she always seems to talk about traveling, getting “upgrades” for the house, driving a nice car, etc. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too,” he reminds her. And while he would like more leisure time too, he doesn’t mind avoiding the emotional “drama” by working longer hours.

Stacie is a small-scale entrepreneur and has made a business out of her artistic and fashion interests by making custom jewelry and selling the merchandise online and in small boutiques. Her business occupies about one-quarter of the basement but is content spending 10-20 hours a week with it. Stacie has a small group of loyal customers and feels like she has found her niche. She also has visions of growing her company, but feels like she carries most of the parenting load and doesn’t have the time to expand her business. In particular, Stacie feels like there are days when she can barely keep up with the girls’ activities and demanding schedules. While she appreciates having a fairly comfortable lifestyle, she feels growing resentment that the vast majority of household and parenting obligations fall on her shoulders. She has attempted to talk with Jim about her frustrations, feeling like she is alone on the homefront, but it doesn’t take long before they both become defensive, even argumentative, so she has learned it’s best to not even bring it up.

Stacie grew up in a comfortable, middle-class home. Her father, who passed away 4 years ago from pancreatic cancer, was a strict authoritarian and was deeply entrenched in what Stacie used to call “prehistoric gender roles.” He never did any of the household work, and the only parenting Stacie remembers her father taking part in was the role of disciplinarian. She was close to her mother, but could never understand why she put up with his lack of involvement in the home. She recalls her mom would always defend her father, saying “He works hard all day providing for the family; that’s what a good father and husband does”). Stacie remembers thinking, “That’s not how my family’s going to be when I get married!” Her mother lives alone and is healthy and active. Stacie has an older brother and a younger sister, with whom she gets along well. They both have “nice” families and both live within 45 minutes of Stacie.

Mike is the only son and seems to be the “golden child.” He is good looking and charismatic, and has always been an exceptional athlete. His grades were never stellar, but he was always able to somehow pull off decent grades without much effort or extra studying. Growing up, he was fairly mischievous, but not really a behaviorally-challenged boy. Mike pushed the boundaries a bit — he got caught smoking weed once in high school — but was generally well-behaved throughout his adolescence. Mike is adjusting to college life, has worked his way into a starting position on the baseball team, and is managing to maintain a low B average while pursuing his Recreation Science degree. Integrative Project In Counseling

Liz is a senior in high school, but has drifted from her previous plans to attend medical school and become a pediatrician. Up until the end of her sophomore year, she was a stellar student, almost obsessed about getting straight As and took pride in her academic achievements. She dreamed of saving the world one sick child at a time. However, during the summer between her sophomore and junior years, she met a group of free-spirited kids who seem to have influenced her toward a different path. She became a bit more defiant at home, and while she is not “out of control,” there is definitely a confrontational approach behind her interactions with family, especially toward Jim. In responding to her father’s requests, she typically makes comments such as, “You’re never here anyway, so why should I listen to you?” Rather than argue with her, Jim’s typical response is to withdraw, making an under-the-breath comment like, “It’s your life — screw it up if you want to.” He feels sad about the conflict, but doesn’t seem to have the energy to take a stand. Stacie has also felt the pain of the growing distance between her and Liz. She is confused about how their relationship changed so drastically, but despite the increase in arguments between them, they both report getting along “OK.”

Erin loves school and has always gone above and beyond in her studies. She takes pride in her organization skills and recognizes she is a bit more mature than many of her peers, especially the out of control boys who always seem to disrupt class). She is already preparing for college by reviewing the SAT manual and usually spends her free time reading, programming, etc. Erin is disgusted that Liz seems to have “thrown her life away by hanging out with those losers” and rarely spends time with friends her age in typical social settings. She is not socially awkward, but rather sees her peers as uninteresting, and going nowhere since all they talk about is dating, music, and the latest fashions. Erin frequently stays up after bed time, as Stacie confides in her about some of the frustrations of managing the household. This usually leads to Erin taking on extra chores, preparing meals, etc. in order to feel as though she is taking some of the load off mom’s shoulders. She is quick to volunteer to pick up the slack and seems to enjoy her relatively new role as mom’s confidant.

Sarah has always been the quiet, yet sometimes “odd” one of the family. She likes to play with her dolls and stuffed animals alone in her room, sometimes for hours. Stacie noticed some aggressive play on one occasion, where one of the stuffed animals was “killing” all of the other characters and Sarah was speaking in very angry tones. She has never had any social or general behavior problems at school, but tends to be quiet and stays to herself most of the time. Sarah doesn’t seem to be shy; she just seems uninterested in interacting with the other kids at school. According to Stacie, Sarah is just different from the other girls. When they were her age, they were into fashion dressups and wanted to wear makeup. Meantime, Sarah has shown no interest in that sort of thing. She does, however, enjoy going on picnics, visiting her grandmother, and sitting down to read. During the last few months, however, she has not wanted to visit extended family and has begun reacting to her mother’s requests to do her chores with angry outbursts that include yelling and then shutting down. Stacie assumes Sarah is going through a phase and misses her older brother. Integrative Project In Counseling

Possible Therapeutic Scenarios:

1. Jim and Stacie have agreed to see a marriage counselor to improve their relationship.

2. Jim and Stacie are seeking family therapy, because they are worried about Liz’s defiance and Sarah’s “odd” behavior.

3. Jim and Stacie are seeking child counseling for their youngest daughter, Sarah, to help her work through her recent reactive and odd behavior.

4. Jim and Stacie are bringing their 17-year-old daughter, Liz to counseling to discuss her recent lifestyle shift and adversarial behavior. They are concerned she may be using drugs.