Individual Family Systems Theory

Individual Client System The client is a Caucasian 54 year old Veteran who has been married for 27 years to his wife, who is now his primary caregiver. They both have two daughters who are currently in college in north Florida. The Veteran served in the Air Force from 1983-2004 and achieved his Master’s degree in Science Management during his active duty. The Veteran was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in his mid-twenties while serving in the Air Force. With this MS diagnosis, the Veteran continued to serve in the military for 20 years and taught at several Air Force bases using his degree, until his symptoms interrupted his military duty. The Veteran had to retire and become a stay at home dad until his daughters went off to college.
This theory states that behaviors are “carried out in a social-relational context” to guarantee that a an individual’s basic needs are being met (Almagor, & Ben-Porath, 2013, pg. 398). The thought of losing resources from a system can create distress, but when communicated, the individual is able to regain homeostasis if listened to (Algamor & Ben-Porath, 2013). This theory also states that an event impacts all members of the family. It sees how communication, roles, rules and power structure impact the family as a whole (Nichols, 2013, pg. 58-60). Keeping the Family Systems Theory in perspective, one is able to understand that with the diagnosis of the client, his family is also affected. It helps to explain the psychosocial factors that the wife experiences: caregiver burden and role change. However, because the wife is experiencing this, there is a constant loop; the Veteran is then also affected by her experiences as well, which can contribute to the depression and anxiety that he
The theory states that a person is not separate from their social context (Sokol, 2009). The first stage is trust vs mistrust, and occurs from birth to year one. Autonomy vs shame and doubt occur during early childhood, while initiative vs guilt occurs in pre-school years. By age 5-11, children should be going through the industry vs inferiority stage. During adolescence, they go through the identity vs confusion stage. Intimacy vs isolation is the signature stage of early adulthood, while generativity vs stagnation occurs throughout adulthood. The last and final stage is integrity vs despair which occurs during older age (Sokol, 2009). The Veteran is currently in the seventh stage: generativity vs stagnation. In this stage, individuals focus on their careers and families. This is when they strive to be active members of the community. However, due to the Veteran’s illness, he is unable to work and care for his family. His health has diminished to the point where his cognition has also been impaired. Not being able to participate and fulfill in this stage can be why the Veteran is depressed and anxious. He is unable to fulfill the role and stage that he should be in, and therefore may feel like an unproductive member of