Verified Document

Role Therapist Working Single Parent Families Essay

Therapist to Single-Parents Therapists serve many roles in their careers. However, when working with single-parent families, that role gets multiplied. When working with single parents, therapists need to be aware of all of the resources available to the parent and to the children (Kazdin, Whitley, & Marciano, 2006). The therapist needs to be a source of information. They need to be prepared with financial assistance information, with psychological skills for talking to both the parent and the children, and they also need to be aware of the community that the single parent is living in (Weltner, 2004). A therapist wears enough hats as it is, but when working with single-parent families this role becomes all that more important as they become the parent's complete support system.

Single-parent families are not as financially stable as those families that have two parents contributing to everything (Weltner, 2004). Having two incomes may sometimes not feel like enough -- one income can seem impossible to raise children with. As a therapist, one has to be able to teach the single parent how to manage a household on one income. This includes exposing their patient to the many resources that the government has to offer families...

A therapist's role includes being familiar with public policy so that they may serve as advocates for their clients (Weltner, 2004). Any service that the therapist does not directly provide themselves, still need to be familiar to the therapist. They need to be able to refer their single-parent clients to the appropriate resources whenever necessary.
Therapists also serve as liaisons between the client's family's community and the services that their particular venue offers. This enables them to provide outside resources that best suit their clients' needs. In order to properly handle situations that may arise in the single-parent families, the therapist needs to be able to handle any community issue that may affect the well-being of the parent and the children (Kazdin, Whitley, & Marciano, 2006). In neighborhoods where crime, drugs, and violence are recurring problems, the therapist needs to be prepared to assist the children and the parent in getting them either information about safer alternatives or the therapist needs to be prepared to enter these neighborhoods themselves (Weltner, 2004). Becoming familiar with their patient's environment allows a therapist to better communicate with the parent and…

Sources used in this document:
References:

Weltner, J.S. (2004). A structural approach to the single-parent family. Family Process, 21(2), 203-210. doi: 10.1111/j.1545-5300.1982.00203.x

Kazdin, A.E., Whitley, M., & Marciano, P.L. (2006). Child-therapist and parent-therapist alliance and therapeutic change in the treatment of children referred for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(5), 436-445. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01475.x
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Flexible Working Hours Scope Rationale
Words: 4836 Length: 18 Document Type: Term Paper

" (Corrigall, and Konrad) Women tend to value better hours, an undemanding commute, helping others, interpersonal relationships, along with a diversity of basic job aspects more than the job components men value. These preferences, this researcher contends, could adversely or positively affect determinations related to FWH. As "society prescribes different values, attitudes and activities for women and men that lead to differences in job attribute preferences,... women's and men's job

How Courts Deal With Tough Custody Cases
Words: 6441 Length: 20 Document Type: Thesis

Child Custody Family Law, Divorce law The Price of a Child's Future In family law, there are a myriad of philosophical and ethical issues which society must confront. The very personal and intimate nature of family, as well as the permanent ties which bind members of a family together, contribute to the complex and delicate nature of the circumstances where the state gets involved in family litigation. The state has legitimate interest in

Enforcement of Psychology Treatment for the Mentally Ill
Words: 8451 Length: 27 Document Type: Thesis

Psychology Treatment For most of U.S. history up to the time of the Community Mental Health Act of 1963, the mentally ill were generally warehoused in state and local mental institutions on a long-term basis. Most had been involuntarily committed by orders from courts or physicians, and the discharge rate was very low. Before the 1950s and 1960s, there were few effective treatments for mental illnesses like depression, anxiety disorders and

Treatment of Women Diagnosed With
Words: 13264 Length: 48 Document Type: Term Paper

At one point or another in our lives, we are all beginners. We begin college, a first job, a first love affair, and perhaps a first dissertation project. We bring a great deal to these new situations, including our temperament, previous education, and family situations. Yet, as adults, we also learn. In romantic relationships, couples report having to learn how to interact successfully with their partners. College students routinely report

Social Work Biopsychosocial Assessment
Words: 2376 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

multiple factors present influencing the client in the situation described, including social, environmental and psychosocial factors. The client Marvin is currently suffering from emotional, physical and educational neglect largely resulting from environmental factors but also social circumstances. Environmental factors contributing to his case include lack of proper housing and possible nourishment, a family history of substance abuse and poor living conditions. Both child and parent in this case lack

Object Relation, Attachment Theories, And
Words: 26278 Length: 90 Document Type: Dissertation

S., experts estimate the genuine number of incidents of abuse and neglect ranges three times higher than reported. (National Child Abuse Statistics, 2006) in light of these critical contemporary concerns for youth, this researcher chose to document the application of Object Relation, Attachment Theories, and Self-Psychology to clinical practice, specifically focusing on a patient who experienced abuse when a child. Consequently, this researcher contends this clinical case study dissertation proves

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now