Galager Family Reflection Paper

On October 12, 2016 I drove to Wittier, CA to meet the Galagar family in order to conduct my second family assessment. In order to prepare for this meeting I utilized Wright and Leahey (2013) Nurses and Families: A guide to Family Assessment and Interventions textbook in order to guide me in discussion to continue to get to know the Galager family, who continue to be guarded and reluctant to answer questions. My question guide, Family Sense of Coherence (FSOC) Scale and Questionnaire, as well as the Ecomap can be found in the Appendix section of this Field Notes document. This field note is my reflection not only on the meeting, which will address the ecomap development and FSOC discussion with the family, but also my reflection on my growth …show more content…
As I walked up to the house I can hear the dogs barking and the family talking inside. Mrs. Galager opened the door for me and greeted me inside. Mr. Galager was in the living room and though he said hello he appeared to be a looking for something. Galagar’s eldest daughter had a friend visiting her and she stayed for the duration of the meeting, as she was invited by the family to stay. She sat in the living room, with Sofia who stated, “I will seat here, but you can ask me any questions you might have.” Although we met at the dinning table the open floor design of the house allowed me to see part of the living space were Sofia was seating across from her friend. Neither Sofia nor her friend spoke for the duration of the meeting and it appeared that they were on their cellphones. As I reflect on this arrangement, perhaps Sofia did not want to be asked questions and removing self from the immediate space gave her that advantage. I found myself not asking her as many questions at that time as I would have liked to. However, perhaps it worked out better than I expected because this meeting yielded a lot of information that Mr. and Mrs. Galagar are reluctant to discuss, which I will discuss later in this family assessment field note reflection. Additionally, Laura did not come out of her room even when she was asked to do …show more content…
I realized that this question was very personal and maybe uncomfortable to them, however, I felt the need to explore this with them and bring this issue to their attention. Galagars did not have anything in place and they do not know what to do, “We don’t trust anyone.” Patriarch of the family became emotional and began to tear up when I inquired about reaching out for help, “I tried, but she does not want to,” pointing at his wife; Sara, sat quietly and uncomfortable, “I had nothing to offer to that family. What am I going to tell them?” They were referring to an event that happened a few years ago, when a family in the similar situation, child diagnosed with developmental disability, reached out to them to speak. I acknowledged Sara’s reaction and inquired about how that family might have been of help to them. Sara was not able to answer this question and sat quietly thinking. It appears to me that the family is so closed off from others, they are not able to see that other families might be of help to them. I asked if they seek support from their extended family, “We do not want to bother them, they have their own stuff to worry about.” Ray pointed out that one of his cousins is also in similar situation and although he