The Science of Marital Counseling: A Failed Case - Essay Example

? The Science of Marital Counseling: A Failed Case The Science of Marital Counseling: A Failed Case Introduction and Definitions of Marital Counseling The science of psychology is devoted towards increasing life satisfaction of individuals that seek guidance. The featured science is also known to use medications, electric treatments and prolonged hospitalization to achieve the above-mentioned goal. But, things get challenging when a psychologist had to set on the journey of saving a troubled marital relationship because it involves working for the enhancement of satisfaction in two people who in most of the cases happen to have divergent personality types. Roles and Responsibilities of Psychotherapist The process of development and enhancement of any marital relation is the toughest assignment any psychotherapist can face because this sort of assignment is usually long-term and its chances of failure are much higher than any other kind of therapy. However, most of the cases of marital counseling come to a psychologist in a worst situation. In fact when things are falling apart and therefore both husband and wife are using these kinds of phrases such as I am not going to live with him or her, he or she is unbearable and I would prefer death than living with him or her. In majority of marital counseling cases, therapist manages to smooth the process of divorce or separation whereas, reunion occurs randomly as a result of couples’ joint psychotherapy (Anderson & Hasler, 1979). But, despite the overwhelming odds, the psychotherapist is supposed to work wholeheartedly to facilitate reunion process. The key duties and responsibilities of a therapist primarily include the ability to mitigate any major confusion among wedded individuals (Harper, 1961). The psychotherapist is also anticipated to conduct separate meetings with both husband and wife so that he or she can adequately get an idea of misconceptions prevailing from both ends that are indeed tearing a relation apart. After understanding the problem with particular marriage, a therapist is supposed to motivate both partners to be open to each other and seek apology for being rude and insensitive to each other’s physical and psychological needs. In this way, the therapist will be able to form an environment of trust and mutual respect. These features will foster a relationship and make it prevail longer. Furthermore when married individuals begin to respect each other then they with the passage of time become embarrassed over their past behavior which in turn motivates them to keep things smooth in the future. The role of psychotherapist does not end here because he or she is supposed to counteract any future disputes so that an overall environment of mutual trust could remain intact. The psychotherapist is also supposed to encourage a troubled couple to engage in sexual intercourse because according to researchers physical relations have the ability to enhance marital relations (Gottman, 1999). Importance of Privacy and Personal Space Finally, the psychotherapist is never encouraged to invade privacy or personal space of people because these actions can cause couples to abandon therapy. At last, it is the fundamental responsibility of any therapist not to make any relation worse by being judgmental and insulting whereas, he or she is encouraged to present a soft front to pained humanity where people can get their frustration and anger out. It is also important to note that when people get rid of anger by shouting on someone then the job of psychologist becomes relatively simple because after unloading anger people’s thinking and ability to follow logic gets reinstated and if at that time, the individual is presented with logical arguments, he or she will respond to them positively. Based on above-mentioned argument, psychotherapist should assist patients in expressing their emotions before discussing and solving problems. Analyzing the Case Jane and John have been married for quite a while. But, Jane is getting highly dissatisfied with her relation with John because she believes that John and his secretary are having an affair. The matter got worse when Jane found out a love letter in John’s clothing and then Jane decided to opt for a marital psychotherapy. Restlessness of Ms. G In the case, a restless therapist that goes by the name of Dr. Good intentions who was in such a hurry that she failed to give the couple made up of John and Jane sufficient time that they needed to resolve the problems. It is suffice to say that the process of rehabilitation did not even initiate before its termination. The psychotherapist was primarily responsible for blowing the case up because she never gave both individuals enough time to get their frustration out; instead when Jane was looking to express her frustration towards John, the respectable Doctor prevented her by stopping her from speaking loudly (Gottman, 1999). This particular event ruined the chance of any recovery because the couple left the office with heavy feeling of being neglected and therefore it provided them little reason to resume therapy. More Mistakes of the Doctor Firstly, Dr. Good intentions forgot to conduct separate sessions with John and Jane, which could have assisted her in comprehending the problems both individuals were experiencing. Secondly, the Doctor did not give sufficient time to John and Jane before arranging a combine meeting. Thirdly, psychotherapist never had a chance to foster trust and sexual relation between Jane and John because the marital counseling lived to have only one abortive meeting. The featured Doctor neglected to conduct a meeting, when Jane first called rather than, Ms G went out of the state to attend a conference and when she returned, the condition of marriage between Jane and John had worsened. Therefore the notable lack of interest from Ms G played a significant role in evaporating the residue of affection between Jane and John. A Hypothetical Treatment Plan An experienced psychotherapist on the other hand, would have firstly conducted a series of separate in-depth interview with both the partners in order to ventilate emotions and get to the bottom of problems which are fundamentally responsible for ruining a beautiful relation. Secondly, when the psychotherapist would have felt that the time is right then he or she might have arranged a joint meeting. In that joint meeting, the psychotherapist would be playing a role of facilitator who would provide a support to logical and reasonable arguments of both individuals. But, at the end, psychotherapist is going to point out that Jane and John are collectively responsible for troubling their marriage (Gottman, 1999). This conclusion would have made Jane and John feel embarrassed and abashed, which would have caused them to keep things smooth in the future. Findings This paper highlighted the fact that it is very hard and difficult job to save an undermining marriage because psychotherapists are approached, when everything else fails. However, the misconceptions and confusions among the partners are noticed to have been acting at a subtle level and they are well entrenched that make rehabilitation of a relation difficult. The foremost duty of any psychotherapist is to present a soft front to pained humans that are in search of psychological healing. But, to fulfill this responsibility a psychotherapist is supposed to overweigh the needs of others in comparison to their own, which Ms G cannot do in the case therefore her need to attend a conference limited her ability to do the job while ruining a relationship between Jane and John. Additionally, the doctor forced Jane and John to fill a questionnaire that was developed in order to gauge their happiness with the marriage however, it was an unnecessary step at the beginning of a marital therapy, instead it could have been better if Dr G could have attempted to make a headway with the couple, lack of which, caused the devastation of a marital relation. This analytical effort was developed in order to highlight the factors that actively contributed towards failing the marital counseling of Jane and John. The foremost reason was Ms G’s lack of dedication towards this case, which further deteriorated the condition. Secondly, Ms G did not give Jane and John sufficient time and space to mend a breaking relation. The psychotherapist also did not help the couple in building a trustful environment that could have helped in healing the troubled marriage. The experienced psychologist would have dealt with the same case differently because he or she would have conducted solo sessions with Jane and John before he or she would have decided to move forward with combine marital therapy. Conclusion This analytical paper has reviewed a case of unsuccessful marital therapy and therefore leaves a note of concern about current strategies used to rehabilitate marriages for psychotherapist. In view of this effort, a therapist cannot rehabilitate a relation but he or she could play a role of facilitator in the process. Importantly, he or she cannot make decisions for the patients because patients are free to make their choices. The psychologist’s job is to help in the implementation of couples’ decision as effectively as possible. But, in this case Ms G could not even move ahead from the opening session and therefore it is safe to assume that she failed to provide a soft front to the couple. Finally, Ms G was not willing to share the pain with Jane and John that is a necessary first step in any kind of therapy. References Anderson, S., & Hasler, J. (1979). Counselling in general practice. Journal ofthe Royal College of General Practitioners, Vol 29 , pp.352-356. Gottman, J. (1999). The Marriage Clinic: A Scientifically Based Marital Therapy. Norton Professional Books. Harper, F. (1961). Lawyers and Marriage Counseling. Journal of Family Law Vol 1 , pp.73-88. Read More