Family and the Church



Family and the Church

The Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems

The Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems was developed in an attempt to bridge the gap that typically exists between research, theory and practice. The Circumplex Model is particularly useful as a "relational diagnosis" because it is system focused and integrates three dimensions that have repeatedly been considered highly relevant in a variety of family theory models and family therapy approaches. The model is specifically designed for clinical assessment, treatment planning and outcome effectiveness of marital and family therapy.

Family cohesion, flexibility and communication are the three dimensions in the Circumplex Model. These three dimensions emerged from a conceptual clustering of over 50 concepts developed to describe marital and family dynamics (Hellerman, 2001). Although some of these concepts have been used for decades (power and roles, for instance), many of the concepts have been developed by family therapists observing problem families from a general systems perspective.

The Drama Triangle

The Drama Triangle shows the dramatic roles that people act-out in daily life that are unstable, unsatisfactory, repeated, emotionally competitive, and generate misery and discomfort for both people, sooner or later (Kennedy, 2007).

The switching that occurs between Persecutor - Rescuer - Victim generates the Drama and the painful feelings that occur when people have hidden agendas, secrets, and then manipulate for dysfunctional personal advantage. The problem about being in the Drama Triangle is that people have NO stable [Parent-Adult] limits on behavior. NO guidance - people are out of rational control and do NOT use enough words to identify the problem or do problem-solving.

Differentiation

When people experience intense negative emotions, a natural response is to regulate these reactions in an attempt to feel better. A commonly used strategy, when possible, is to consume alcohol. Reliance on alcohol to diminish negative emotions, also referred to as self-medication or drinking to cope, has received widespread attention in work aimed at understanding substance-use problems (Kennedy, 2007). Although the role of negative emotions in predicting alcohol use has been widely accepted, questions arise as to why only a subset of people turn to alcohol when they experience unpleasant feelings. In the present study, we examined whether people who readily differentiate among emotional descriptors to describe their felt experiences are at less risk for drinking in response to negative emotions compared with people who are less discerning of their discrete emotions.

Family Life Cycle

The emotional and intellectual stages you pass through from childhood to your retirement years as a member of a family are called the family life cycle. In each stage, you face challenges in your family life that cause you to build or gain new skills. Gaining these skills helps you work through the changes that nearly every family goes through (Hellerman, 2001).

Not everyone passes through these stages smoothly. Situations such as severe illness, financial problems, or the death of a loved one can have an effect on how well you pass through the stages. Fortunately, if you miss skills in one ...