There are two individuals involved in the case, characteristics of whom are to be provided. They are a couple; Michael is a white male who is 34, and Lisa is a white female aged 32. Their relations may be considered traditional, with a little extent of conservatism. Both of them believe that true love happens once and that they have found each other. This couple has no prejudice towards other cultures and is always open to something new to a particular degree. Their relations are significant – Michael and Lisa trust each other and are ready to provide support on a regular basis.
This family has never faced any critical problems in terms of their relationships. Michael and Lisa have a plethora of common friends and even work at the same company; however, in different departments. Still, they are convinced that not seeing each other at least for a little part of a day contributes to warm and consistent relationships. It seems reasonable to state that Michael and Lisa are happy and always ready to overcome any obstacle on their way. It should also be noted that they are involved in the field of TV shows and fully satisfied with their pleasant well-paid job. Recently, after they realized that they have a solid financial background, Michael and Lisa decided to conceive a child.
Here, an unexpected issue has arisen – after several months of trying, they understood that there is a problem of an undefined character. Michael and Lisa have not been successful in conceiving a kid, and a number of pressing psychological issues have taken place. It became clear that they needed help within the scope given. The couple decided to appeal to professionals who could assist them in resolving the problem – both physically and psychologically. They are anticipating that after this assistance, they will be able to conceive a child.
From the abovementioned facts, it seems apparent that the family has some strengths and resiliency factors. First, it is their healthy and strong relations that are founded on love and mutual trust. Second, they have no cultural differences and share visions of each other. Third, Michael and Lisa have common friends who are ready to support them during the therapy process. Fourth, they have a significant financial background and live in a wealthy area, which may be considered as favorable external conditions. The couple has the opportunity to take a vacation and have their time if this would be advised by a therapist.
The first model that was chosen in order to appeal to the case was structural family therapy. Therapists who adhere to the fundamental principles of the latter believe that assessing family relationships is inseparable from intervention. Rather than using diagnostic tools and conducting preliminary interviews, the assessment process is integrated with psychotherapy. Family interaction patterns are assessed as the therapist shapes the therapeutic system. In assessing family relationships, the therapist tries to expand the conceptualization of the problem (Colapinto, 2019). Hence, by appealing to such an approach, Michael and Lisa may view their problem from different perspectives.
The choice of goals in structural family psychotherapy is based on a hypothesis about the nature of the problem and the corresponding structure of the system. The psychotherapist directly intervenes to change the patterns of interaction in the family, and therefore, to eliminate the behavioral sequences that exacerbate the problem. Thus, the goal of structural psychotherapy is to change the patterns of transactions. This aim is both immediate and promising at the same time, determining the content of the psychotherapeutic intervention. It seems clear that the described model would also assist in defining what the couple requires most in resolving the problem appropriately.
The second chosen model is a solution-focused brief therapy that may be useful as well. The solution-oriented approach is based on finding and creating solutions rather than analyzing and finding the causes of problems. The focus is on hopes, resources, strengths, and positive exceptions. To solve a problem, it is not necessary to spend a long time researching the causes of its occurrence, according to this approach (Zhang et al., 2018). The second model will help in resolving the issue directly – for example, if its physical essence will be identified, the treatment plan will be developed shortly.
The appropriacy of the mentioned models may be found in scholarly and peer-reviewed sources. Particularly, Finney & Tadros (2019) discuss the integration of structural family therapy with high-conflict couples. Despite the fact that Michael and Lisa do not conflict a lot, the article’s findings can be extrapolated as they have a great extent of generalizability. It was shown that the model can be used in extremely unstable relationships and can resolve issues of various characters. The provided stages can be utilized in Michael’s and Lisa’s case. Then, Zhang et al. (2018) prove that solution-focused brief therapy may be easily used under modern conditions. Their discussion gives a great number of cases to which one can appeal while resolving the chosen couple’s issue.
To conclude, the two models that seem appropriate to use in the case are solution-focused brief therapy and structural family therapy. It was claimed that the latter approach would contribute to understanding the issue from different perspectives, as well as to define the most acute aspects of the problem. The former therapy will be useful in undertaking particular actions to overcome the issue of conceiving a child. It might be suggested that in conjunction, these models will help the couple to follow a coherent, proper, and well-developed plan.
References
Colapinto, J. (2019). Structural family therapy. In B. H. Fiese, M. Celano, K. Deater-Deckard, E. N. Jouriles, & M. A. Whisman (Eds.), APA handbook of contemporary family psychology: Family therapy and training (pp. 107–121). American Psychological Association. Web.
Finney, N., & Tadros, E. (2019). Integration of structural family therapy and dialectical behavior therapy with high-conflict couples. The Family Journal, 27(1), 31–36. Web.
Zhang, A., Franklin, C., Currin-McCulloch, J., Park, S., & Kim, J. (2018). The effectiveness of strength-based, solution-focused brief therapy in medical settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 41(1), 139–151. Web.