Essay Example on My Journey to Becoming a Marriage/Family Therapist

Introduction

Family and marriage therapy involves the relationship partners conceding there is a problem in their relationship and then finding the right professional to help close the gap. Psychotherapy allows families and couples to settle their hitches and differences. The therapy also plays a part in improving communication skills and conflict-resolution. This paper provides a detailed discussion of my background in becoming a therapist as well as therapeutic models that to be used in marriage and family therapy.

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Personal Sexual Beliefs

I became aware of sex at around seven years when I watched a TV show that had a few scenes. At first, I thought it was a disgusting and horrifying act, but after asking my dad what it was, he told me that is how children are produced. I thought my parents had done it three times in their life since we were only three children in the family. Later in Middle School, my friends influenced my mind to understand the fun in sex.

In my family, sexuality was not an open subject of discussion. It was a secret topic that nobody was bothered to talk about, especially my parents. I once tried to discuss it with my parents, but they told me it was an act for the married people only and that it is a sin. Growing up, I had the perception that sex should not be a topic for everybody to talk about and especially in public.

My dad and mom expressed a high level of affection for each other and most are times they would joke with each other and even sit close to each other. Also, my parents showed a lot of affection to my siblings and me, that we developed a strong bond and felt free to engage each other at any time. As a result, I have always wanted to express the same affection to all people close to me and help them overcome some challenging situations.

I grew up with the perspective that sex is meant for married people. For me, sexuality was a topic for grownups, and it dint appear to me that I would ever engage in the act unless I wanted to have children. However, having watched several movies with sex scenes, it seemed to me that the act was not only meant for reproduction but also fun since I saw some unmarried youths do it.

While in the Middle School, my friends influenced my mind to understand the fun in sex. Some had more exposure to sexuality and even tried the act. They considered it as something obvious between a girl and a boy and which did not automatically result in having children. Friends changed my mind by demonstrating how the actual action is done such that I wanted to try it sometime to feel the pleasure which they had highly praised.

Before being corrupted by my peers, my Christianity background made me believe that sex was a secret act only allowed for married people. The belief condemned sex between young and unmarried people, and any involvement would be punishable. Up to the moment, I still hold the view that sex should be between two people. It should not be done with multiple partners as well as young children.

Just like my Christianity background, my cultural upbringing has influenced me to think that sex is not meant for all people. Sexuality should be respected and restricted only to adults. Additionally, my culture has influenced me to believe that sex should not be commercialized and should be done with consent.

Being a male, I think that sex is an issue that should be open for discussion for people of all ages. There is need to create awareness and provide relevant information concerning sex. I think that people should be open-minded in discussing their sexual issues and not concealing any information just like they would address any other topic. My gender makes me believe that females make the best client in family and marriage therapy as they are open to sharing information concerning their sexuality compared to their male counterparts who are fond of concealing some crucial information.

People have the rights to choose the kind of relationships they want to engage in. Same-sex-relationships are no exceptions and people should have the freedom to choose their partners regardless of their gender. As long as the same-sex partners have a mutual understanding to be in a relationship and love each other, then they are good to go. Such people should not be judged but instead should be guided on how to make their relationship stronger and lasting.

Education has been a significant influence on how I perceive sex. It is through school that I have gained more knowledge concerning reproduction and sex education. Some of the key lessons include safe sex practices which make me think that sex is not just any involvement for any time but rather an involvement that needs precautionary measure to avoid hurting others and contracting infections.

Marriage and Family Therapy Models

My values, experiences, and beliefs as a professional marriage and family counselor will allow me to embrace multicultural sensitivity to work with clients from different backgrounds effectively. I will be in a better position to understand the clients within the context of their cultures while providing counseling services to them (Hardy & Bobes, 2017). My traits as a counselor will allow me to respond to different clients in a manner that does not demoralize their beliefs and thus facilitating the offering of professional solutions. On the higher end, my values and beliefs will allow me to develop the right approaches to solving particulars to meet the clients' needs.

The strategic MFT model

The main objectives of the strategic model of marriage and family therapy to eliminate the boundaries between family member as well as realigning these boundaries to strengthen the relationships. Under this model, a therapist has the responsibility of identifying the issues that bring about divisions in the family by requesting the involved parties to tell their side story (Minuchin, 2018). Assessment in this model is based on identifying the role of the family members and their interaction patterns. The therapist acts as the choreographer who develops the strategies to facilitate family and marriage restructuring. The therapist then offers the directive to the parties involved after which he/she oversees the change.

The structural model views relationships as rigid structures with rigid boundaries and dis-engaged relationships. Being a therapist using the structural model, I would address the family issue by involving all members of the family to ensure active involvement such that all parties reach a consensus (Becvar & Becvar, 2013). I would also apply short term therapy to make sure the issue is solved within a short period. Handling a sex issue between a couple using the structural model calls for the active involvement of the clients where they both express their concerns and become part of the solution.

Freudian therapy

The Freudian therapy main objective is developing consciousness and enhancing the functionality of the ego, which in turn helps the clients become less controlled by the superego demands. The Freudian approach assumes that the clients' thoughts are unconscious, and hence the focuses on motivating them to become conscious, which results in gaining insight (Ewen, 2014). The therapy applies several techniques to encourage the client to become aware of their actions and adapt some corrective measures.

In applying this model, the therapist is responsible for assessing early childhood experiences to identify how such events could have affected the present actions of a client. The therapist spends time with the client listening to the client talk about their lives after which he/she deduces the events that might be causing certain behaviors (Ewen, 2014).

Freudian therapy focuses on emotions and how they are voiced in relationships. In this case, breakdowns in relationships are as a result of past experiences which keep recurring to the client resulting to quire behaviors. Being a family counselor, I will address a couple's issue through an individualized approach, where each partner has his/her session (Ewen, 2014). The therapy will be continuous for quite an extended period where I get to learn and asses the past experiences and unconscious forces that might be causing a fight in the relationship. After gaining the insight of the unconscious forces, the next step is developing strategies to help the clients manage relationship and sex issues that might emerge in the future. On completion of the personalized sessions, both partners come together to form a collective solution to avoid conflicts in future.

Conclusion

Therapy involves identifying and treating both mental and emotional issues that may arise in a love relationship. The main objective is to offer solution-based assistance to eliminate existing problems between partners. A therapist's value and beliefs allow him/her to respect and uphold the cultural competency of the clients, thus developing a stronger counselor-client relationship. However, for all this to be accomplished, families and couples must acknowledge their relationship weaknesses and admit the need for counseling services.

References

Becvar, D. S., & Becvar, R. J. (2013). Family therapy: A systemic integration. Pearson Education.

Ewen, R. B. (2014). An introduction to theories of personality. Psychology Press.

Hardy, K. V., & Bobes, T. (2017). Promoting cultural sensitivity in supervision: A manual for practitioners. Routledge.

Minuchin, S. (2018). Families and family therapy. Routledge.