MSI Form Description Paper Example

Introduction

MSI is a stress-free method that can be employed to gather important data from two persons in a relationship, pertaining to all crucial aspects of their union. The method is presented in form of an MSI-Form, which is a two-page document with 150 questions that are focused on seeking a range of information on a couple's relationship. The tool is widely employed to evaluate the nature of a conflict in a relationship or marriage, by enabling couples to communicate feelings that are hard to express (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015). In this case, it is regarded to be an inexpensive or economical method of gathering a broad range of sensitive data pertaining to a relationship.

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The MSI tool is appropriate for couples who are either in a traditional or non-traditional relationship (Whiston, 2012). It can be completed in approximately 25 minutes and each partner responds to the questions by selecting "True" or "False" items (Whiston, 2012). If the couple has no children, they are required to provide answers for 129 questions (Ampuero, 2014). In addition, some dimensions of a couple's relationship that are covered by the questions include those pertaining to the partners' role orientation, aggression, time together, disagreement on finance and effective communication. Other dimensions include sexual dissatisfaction, family's history of distress, child-rearing conflicts, global distress, dissatisfaction with the children and communication when solving problems.

The completed scores for each partner from the MSI-Form can be plotted against each other on a graph for comparison. The graph can be created using the Auto-score TM feature to form a single profile for the data collected from both couples. The graph focuses on sex-specific norms attained from the collected data and this information is employed to provide a single set of scores. In this project, the MSI-R will be used to assess the relationship of a young couple aged 25 and 26 years (wife and husband) respectively, living in the United States. The couple does not have a child.

Couples Description

The couples interviewed are both United States citizens and they are married. In addition, they have been living in the United States all their lives and they got married five years ago. The couple has a fairly stable relationship although they often have different opinions about things. Additionally, during the interview, the couple appeared to be on edge when speaking with each other, particularly when they were talking among themselves and away from the company of others. During the interview, it was evident that the couple were not much in love with each other and they were probably still together due to the financial commitments or assets like the house purchased together. Lastly, autonomous was exercised when administering the MSI-R form to the couple and they participated in the interview voluntarily.

Test Interpretation

In regards to the response consistency and adequacy of the couple during the MSI results analysis, it is evident that the partners interviewed provided a good description of their relationship in a consistent manner. Also, each partner appeared to have understood their questions well and none of them required any clarifications as to the meaning of the statements used in the MSI form. In addition, the couple appeared to have read the meaning of each statement of a question carefully and considered its meaning in respect to their relationship. Also, upon completing answering the questions, the couple agreed that they were contented with the responses they had offered in the MSI-R form.

As such, it was conclusive that the responses were adequate and consistent. In addition, in regards to the global distress analysis, the MSI results collected portrayed that the two persons provided a description of their relationship in a relatively similar manner. In addition, the partners openly acknowledged that they experienced minor difficulties in their relationship as well as dissatisfaction with some characteristics manifested in each other. Also, the couple illustrated that they often emphasize the minor conflicts they have as a couple and at the same time ignore the positive facets of their relationship. The global relationship MSI-R element also revealed that in overall, the couple had a light distress in their relationship.

The stated distress is characterized by feelings of alienation as well as slight anger towards each other. Nevertheless, despite the differences that were manifested in the two partners, the couple acknowledged that they have devised an effective method of addressing their problems. Also, the coupling problems do not affect the couples' relationships or interactions with other people outside their marriage. In addition, the couple stated that they often go out together or with a couple of their friends and have a lovely time without getting into a relationship conflict. As such, it highly likely that the couple will remain together in the long run and also build their relationship better in the future.

The results of the effective communication facet of the MSI tool illustrated that there is a possible problem for the couple in respect to the emotional intimacy that the couple experience in their relationship. In this case, the couple felt that each did not receive emotional support from his partner as he/she would have desired. Also, the two individuals stated that their partner had a lack of understanding on some important aspects of their relationship. Also, the couple acknowledged having a limited level of mutual disclosure of their personal feelings. In respect to their problem-solving communication capabilities, both individuals portrayed in the MSI form that they are experiencing a critical problem in their communication.

The couple is generally ineffective in solving all their coupling problems. Also, the two individuals felt that their partners often overreact to minor conflicts and this has made the couple unable to discuss sensitive issues. In respect to aggression, the couple portrayed that it could be a problem since each individual in the relationship acknowledged feeling intimidated by their partner severally during the relationship period. In this case, aggression among the couple has also been characterized by slamming of the door, yelling angrily and even throwing things at each other. If the couple will not obtain an effective way of solving their conflicts, aggression might become a critical problem in their marriage.

The MSI form analysis also revealed that the time the couple spends together is also a potential problem that might significantly affect the couple in the long run. Additionally, that is because the couple's companionship is very low as they rarely participate in any form of leisure activity together. Moreover, the assessment of the MSI form also revealed that disagreement in regards to finances is a major problem affecting the couple's relationship. In addition, that is because both individuals feel that their partner has a poor management of finances and they have had major arguments about finances in the past.

Sexual dissatisfaction is already a major problem facing the couple in their relationship. The couple feels that each partner does not cater to their sexual needs sufficiently. Although the sexual component is present in their relationship, each partner feels that they would do better sexually with other people. In addition, role orientation is not a problem in the couple. Additionally, this is because both partners feel that they should share household activities equitably with no roles specifically assigned to a single individual. Also, the partners feel that equality in respect to each other's career is important and they do not have any form of gender role conflicts.

The MSI results also revealed that the family history of distress element could be a possible problem likely to affect the couple in the future. Additionally, that is because there were some disruptions in the family relationships during childhood, which they fear might also affect them in the future. Such distress due to past family histories must be addressed by the couple soon to prevent them from affecting their marriage. Ultimately, the couple does not have any form of dissatisfaction on children since they have no children at the moment. Nevertheless, they plan to have children of their own in the future.

Clinical History Protocol/Assessment

Reason for Referral and Chief Complaint

The reason the couple came for a referral was to take an MSI assessment. For several months now, the couple had been experiencing problems in their marriage but they had not been able to successfully communicate about the problems. However, by taking the MSI assessment, the couple believed that they would be in a position to attain responses for relationship questions that relate to their marital problems, which ordinarily would find had to talk about. Examples of the problems the couple were having in their marriage include those related to aggression, time together, finance, role orientation, and sexual dissatisfaction. Also, the couple stated that the mentioned problems started twenty-four months ago and until to date, they have not been able to find a solution to the issues.

Work

The evaluation of the couple's work history revealed that the husband works in a bank as a teller while the lady works in a microfinance firm as an accountant. The teller works at the banking hall counter serving various transactions to customers. On the other hand, the accountant is responsible for bookkeeping functions at the microfinance firm. The couple stated that they enjoy all aspects of their work and they have no roles they feel are difficult. In addition, the couple has been doing the same work since they were married and they confirmed that they enjoyed their work.

Earlier School

The couple being interviewed stated that they both performed excellently in their academic performance during their early school years. Moreover, both individuals did not experience any behavioral problem in school or seek any special form of help in school. Also, none of the individuals repeated a grade and the individuals were also good performers at their respective high schools. In addition, the couples' grades compared well with their abilities since they portrayed a high level of achievement in their curricular activities. The husband performed excellently in business studies while the lady yielded a high performance in the accounting subject.

Leisure

The evaluation revealed that the couple enjoys traveling together. Also, the couple stated that they also enjoy going out with their friends and they love watching movies while they are alone. However, none of the two individuals play any form of a team sport. Moreover, the couple stated that they only spend five hours every week doing various things with other people. However, 80% of the couple's free time is spent by the partners doing their own things. The current leisure activities by the couple are entirely different from what they used to be when they were younger. That is because as a couple, the two individuals had to find a common leisure activity that they both enjoyed so as to increase the time they spend together.

Interpersonal Relationship and Social Interactions

The interview revealed that the couples only relied on themselves for emotional support. Additionally, the couple is very reserved about their emotional needs to their friends and extended family members. As such, there are no external support systems that are present to assist the couple with their emotional...