Nursing.

Experiential and Narrative Family Therapy

The Smiths, a family of five, present with their 14-year-old male son, Joshua, who is identified as “the patient.” Almost immediately, the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner notices the subtle struggle between the parents to be heard first, often talking over one another. Joshua finally blurts out, “You see, you two are crazy, and you think it’s me.” Joshua’s father immediately becomes angry, and Joshua’s mom is quick to rush to Joshua’s side. She begins to argue with her husband about his treatment of their son.

The Smiths and other clients like them may be candidates for both experiential therapy and narrative family therapy, and it is important to note that these are distinctly different therapeutic approaches. Experiential therapy examines experiences of the “here and now,” whereas narrative family therapy focuses on retelling one’s story to understand why one behaves in certain ways. When assessing client families and selecting one of these therapies, you must not only select the one that is best for the clients, but also the approach that most aligns to your own skill set.

This week, you compare experiential family therapy and narrative family therapy.

Assignment: Experiential Versus Narrative Family Therapies

Although experiential therapy and narrative  therapy are both used in family therapy, these therapeutic approaches have many differences in theory and application. As you assess families and develop treatment plans, you must consider these differences and their potential impact on clients. For this Assignment, you compare Experiential and Narrative Family Therapy.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Compare experiential family therapy to narrative family therapy
• Justify recommendations for family therapy

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide on experiential and family therapies.

The Assignment

In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following: 

• Summarize the key points of both experiential family therapy and narrative family therapy. 
• Compare experiential family therapy to narrative family therapy, noting the strengths and weakness of each.
• Provide a description of a family that you think experiential family therapy would be appropriate, explain why, and justify your response using the Learning Resources. 

Note: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The sample paper provided by the Walden Writing Center provides examples of those required elements (available at  http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

Part 2: Family Genogram

Develop a genogram for the client family you selected. The genogram should extend back at least three generations (parents, grandparents, and great grandparents).

Hernandez Family Episode 6

Hernandez Family Episode 6
Program Transcript

FEMALE SPEAKER: So last week I showed you how to make a genogram, like
this one. Now, the idea behind making a genogram is to help you draw a picture
of your family history. And then we use that to discuss the relationships and
connections among your relatives. OK? So Juan, why don’t you start off and talk
about what you came up with.

JUAN HERNANDEZ: So we’re starting with my family. My father, Hector, he’s still
alive. And he married my mother, Freda. And she passed away two years ago.
And then there’s their children, myself– I’m the oldest– and then there’s my three
sisters, Marie, Senta, and Rose.

FEMALE SPEAKER: Good. And Elena, what about your family?

ELENA HERNANDEZ: Well, here’s my father, Anthony. He met and married my
mother, Sofia. They are both still alive. They had five children. Firstborn was my
brother Daniel, then my brother Tomas, then my sisters Martina and Camila, and
there’s me, the baby.

And then I met Juan, and we started our own family. And we have two beautiful
sons that you met, one, Junior, who is eight, and Alberto, who is six.

FEMALE SPEAKER: Good. So for the last several weeks we’ve been talking a lot
about how you discipline your sons at home. And both of you mentioned how
your parents used to punish you when you were growing up. Juan, why don’t you
talk about that and point to anybody on the genogram as you mention them?

JUAN HERNANDEZ: Sure. So my dad, when he was mad at me he would send
me to get books from the encyclopedia. And he’d make me hold them out,
straight out like this, until he told me to stop. It caused so much pain in my arms,
I mean, my arms felt like they would break off.

And my mom, she did basically the same thing. Except when she was really
mad, when would make me get more books than my dad. I hated those books so
much. I never went near them on my own. To me, they only meant one thing,
misery. And now, I guess I inherited that from them.

FEMALE SPEAKER: Elena, how about you?

ELENA HERNANDEZ: Yes, misery. That’s what it was like for me, too.

©2013 Laureate Education, Inc. 1

Hernandez Family Episode 6

Hernandez Family Episode 6
Additional Content Attribution

MUSIC:
Music by Clean Cuts

Original Art and Photography Provided By:
Brian Kline and Nico Danks

©2013 Laureate Education, Inc. 2