Ordinary People: Treatment Plan

The Jarrett family from the movie Ordinary People have a variety of issues. Complicating matters is the complex, tangled nature of these issues. To combat these issues we need a clear plan. In the absence of a clear plan there would be a great deal of floundering about. Floundering which would likely end in opening hurts we can not resolve. Therefore let us be clear about what we are setting out to accomplish. Step 1 – Access Causes First we must look for the root causes of the turmoil in the Jarrett family. The initial crisis was caused by the death of the Jarrett family's older son Buck Jarrett. His death in a sailing accident has left each of the surviving members of the family with their own issues. In response to this initial crisis, the younger son Conrad attempted suicide. After a period of time in a hospital Conrad has come back to his family. Though the course of the movie we see several issue arise. By the movie's end some issues have been resolve while others have surfaced. So where are we at the movie's end? Where are the family members and what treatment plan can we put in place to help them mend their family? The reactions from Calvin, Beth and Conrad to these two critical events are very different. Younger son Conrad blamed himself for his brother's death and felt guilty for surviving the accident. Beth could not deal with the death of her eldest son and consistently ignored her problems and those of the family to present an ideal front to their social circle. Calvin realized something is wrong and has begun to work to resolve family issues. In order to move forward from this point, we must now look deeper into the problems between the family members and what may be causing them. Up to this point Calvin and Conrad have made significant progress on their personal issues and their relationship. Their relationship with Beth is now better understood but is much worse. That is, the facade is gone but nothing is yet