Introduction
The author will relate his family of origin in the context of a systemic analysis, an underlying theme, and identify an evidenced based practice (EBP) which will address the challenges presently affecting the family. The author conducted interviews with two family members and conducted a review of family artifacts for anecdotal information. While there is no particular reason to doubt the validity of the information related by said interviews, the author makes a point of addressing any bias which may influence the interviewee. A review of empirical and scholarly literature was conducted to decide upon the proper EBP. It is the goal of the author for the reader to have a good understanding of the family of origin, to the point …show more content…
Distance relationships, even those tied by blood, can be difficult to maintain and cultivate (Bangerter & Waldron, 2014). Before the internet proliferated into our everyday lives, the family communicated mostly through letters and the occasional phone call. These communication methods were few and far between. Even now with Facebook, Skype, etc., the family barely communicates. This is one unwritten guideline; it is ok this way, but if one calls or messages the other, it is as if they have had no break in communication. Family members have rich conversations when they do talk. This how it has been for as long as I remember. My grandmother Ruby from the maternal side says, “I think it’s like this because we are simple people. We all grew up spread across the South, so we didn’t see each other but once or twice a year. Cars weren’t an option because we were poor, and we had no telephone anyway” (R. J. Tolbert, personal communication, February 14, …show more content…
These themes are, divorce, death, and adoption. My paternal grandmother was adopted from an orphanage in Oklahoma. My brother and I were adopted after my mother passed away. There have been many divorces across generational lines which have upset individual family systems and subsystems composed of children, and, or, mother-daughter father-son type of subsystems. Death is perhaps the number one theme if we were using a ranking system. As previously mentioned, there have been so many deaths among elders and their children that the larger family system has fractured into many smaller systems, who do not interact with each other as much as one would expect a normal family to. Death, however, can be a transformative process for the bereaved, and even growth psychically (Berzoff, 2011). Interestingly, nearly every family member who has had either the death of a spouse or divorce, have not stayed single for very long. It is my supposition, that this behavior is driven by a desire not to be alone, which is due to so much death and divorce happening within the greater family system, particularly in prior generations, not to mention the changes in living situations due to these events (Berzoff, 2011). As noted by McGuinness, “divorce reverberates in children’s lives for many years…Divorce is not a chance natural disaster but involves human error” (McGuinness, 2006, p.
The author will relate his family of origin in the context of a systemic analysis, an underlying theme, and identify an evidenced based practice (EBP) which will address the challenges presently affecting the family. The author conducted interviews with two family members and conducted a review of family artifacts for anecdotal information. While there is no particular reason to doubt the validity of the information related by said interviews, the author makes a point of addressing any bias which may influence the interviewee. A review of empirical and scholarly literature was conducted to decide upon the proper EBP. It is the goal of the author for the reader to have a good understanding of the family of origin, to the point …show more content…
Distance relationships, even those tied by blood, can be difficult to maintain and cultivate (Bangerter & Waldron, 2014). Before the internet proliferated into our everyday lives, the family communicated mostly through letters and the occasional phone call. These communication methods were few and far between. Even now with Facebook, Skype, etc., the family barely communicates. This is one unwritten guideline; it is ok this way, but if one calls or messages the other, it is as if they have had no break in communication. Family members have rich conversations when they do talk. This how it has been for as long as I remember. My grandmother Ruby from the maternal side says, “I think it’s like this because we are simple people. We all grew up spread across the South, so we didn’t see each other but once or twice a year. Cars weren’t an option because we were poor, and we had no telephone anyway” (R. J. Tolbert, personal communication, February 14, …show more content…
These themes are, divorce, death, and adoption. My paternal grandmother was adopted from an orphanage in Oklahoma. My brother and I were adopted after my mother passed away. There have been many divorces across generational lines which have upset individual family systems and subsystems composed of children, and, or, mother-daughter father-son type of subsystems. Death is perhaps the number one theme if we were using a ranking system. As previously mentioned, there have been so many deaths among elders and their children that the larger family system has fractured into many smaller systems, who do not interact with each other as much as one would expect a normal family to. Death, however, can be a transformative process for the bereaved, and even growth psychically (Berzoff, 2011). Interestingly, nearly every family member who has had either the death of a spouse or divorce, have not stayed single for very long. It is my supposition, that this behavior is driven by a desire not to be alone, which is due to so much death and divorce happening within the greater family system, particularly in prior generations, not to mention the changes in living situations due to these events (Berzoff, 2011). As noted by McGuinness, “divorce reverberates in children’s lives for many years…Divorce is not a chance natural disaster but involves human error” (McGuinness, 2006, p.