Case Conceptualization 1 Running Head: CASE CONCEPTUALIZATION Case Conceptualization Emil Cunningham Counselor Education 530 The Pennsylvania State University Case Conceptualization 2 Case Conceptualization Family Name: The Griffins Counselor Name: Emil Cunningham Identifying Information: The Griffin family is a middle class white family that lives in the suburbs of a town Quahog in Rhode Island. The household is comprised of one family pet, three children, and two parents. They are in order Brian Griffin, Stewart Griffin, Chris Griffin, Megan Griffin, Peter Griffin, and Lois Griffin. Following is a more detailed description of each family member. Brian, the family pet, is a dog. His age is unknown and although he is a dog, he has on occasion maintained several jobs, varying from film director to businessman. Currently he is out of work and continues to write his novel, which has been a work in progress for over three years. Brian’s highest degree attainment is some college, he initially dropped out of college and then upon returning for his senior year, he officially failed and has not had any desires to return to complete his degree since. It is important to note that although Brian is a family pet, he is often asked to complete similar deeds as any human would ask of another, such as driving the children to the store, babysitting, or taking on a job to acquire extra money for the family as needed. Stewart, who prefers to be called Stewie, is the youngest child of the Griffin family at only one year old. Due to his age he does not maintain any employment, nor has he had any educational training. Chris, is the middle child of the family. His is 13 years old. He is currently in middle school. As a part time job he has a paper route for the neighborhood. Megan, prefers to be called Meg, is the eldest of the Griffin children at 17 years old. She is currently in high school and has worked several jobs ranging from a waitress at a Diner to a store clerk. Peter, age 42, is biological father to all of the children and husband to Lois. He has had multiple employments over the past years. His most current job is working at a local brewery as an office worker. His educational background is unsure. He met his wife over 17 years ago while working on her father’s country club as a towel boy. Lois, age 40, is biological mother to all of the children and wife to Peter. Her current employment is piano teacher and homemaker. Her educational background is some college although how much is uncertain. She often reminisces of her times at Kent State University in Ohio. Presenting Problem: The family was referred to me by the local day care center. Stewie has been having problems interacting with other children in his day care class. He has been caught fighting, trapping students in the closet, making inappropriate sexual gestures towards the other children, and constantly speaking of how is going to kill another child whenever he/she/ze interrupts him during his play time. Stewie has been attending the same day care center for several months and his behavior has only worsened as his language acquisition and understanding has improved. His interactions with the family resemble much of the same exchanges he has in his day care center. While at home he often talks of trying to kill his mother and devising multiple plans to end her life. Stewie also has a very strained relationship with the family pet, Brian. He and Brian often engage in severe physical violent acts towards one another. Case Conceptualization 3 The family’s response varies greatly. Although Lois is the intended target of all of Stewie’s hate and violence, she does nothing but continue to love him unconditionally and treat him as if nothing were wrong. Lois has even watched Stewie tie up another child for attempted thievery of his tricycle, but when approached about the situation, Lois only acknowledges the behavior as a children’s game. Peter does not react to the problem. He is often not around when Stewie presents himself in this manner. However, it has been explained that at one point in the past Peter attempting to gain some affection from his youngest son began physically abusing Lois. Both Meg and Chris are also not typically around during Stewie’s violent acts. If they do happen to be around it is because all three children are engaged in an act of violence towards one another. When Stewie is violent in school it is often a result of another child doing something that hinders him from accomplishing a goal he has. When in the household, this at times appears to be the case as well. Stewie is very adamant about inflicting harm on his mother when he is refrained from either playing a game or using a new toy he has. It is at these times that Stewie typically chooses an instance in which Lois is performing daily household chores such as cleaning or doing the laundry that he chooses an opportunity to inflict harm on her. Most of Stewie’s attempts go unnoticed by Lois or passed off as simply a child going through a phase. Stewie, however, is not always engaged in a violent act. These times often occur when he is being occupied by a game or when he is watching a television show or interacting with the entire family. It seems that when Stewie is occupied with doing something that is either family related, such as watching television, or playing by himself, such as having a tea party with his dolls, that he is not engaged in trying to inflict harm on another individual. These exceptions to his behavior are quite revealing because they may prove that if a treatment plan for the current problem is not produced, then as Stewie becomes older and is forced to interact with more people outside of his family on a regular basis, he may display more violence towards others. Stewie’s behavioral problems although reported to me by the day care center, had been noticed by Brian. It is because of the love-hate relationship that Brian and Stewie have that Brian was able to more clearly notice Stewie’s violent behavior. The remainder of the family does not acknowledge that a problem exists with Stewie. Lois is concerned with the family and because a worker at the day care center recommended Stewie to me, Lois is concerned. Peter, Chris, and Meg all seem to agree that their time could be better spent elsewhere, although because Lois cares, they feel some obligation to attend to Stewie’s need. It should be noted that the day care center and the family have never really had a strong relationship with each other and as such the family should be commended for visiting my office out of the recommendation from the day care center. The family has in the past made some attempts to solve Stewie’s behavioral problems. Lois retells of a situation wherein Stewie began misbehaving at the dinner table and she disciplined him with the use of corporal punishment. Lois stated that this seemed to work until she noticed that Stewie not only stopped acting out, but became extremely terrified of her as well and began to avoid her. Brian states that when Stewie has been overly violent towards him, he proceeds to wait until the opportune moment to find a way to react violently towards him as well, unfortunately only enforcing the cycle of abuse. Chris states that when he notices that Stewie is in need of something, he simply provides him with his desire to keep Stewie happy and then proceed along his own path. Peter and Meg tend not to notice the behavior and because they are often not the recipient of Stewie’s violent outbursts, have not made any attempts to rectify the problem. Case Conceptualization 4 Clinical Hypothesis: Peter-father/husband/breadwinner Lois-mother/wife/homemaker/gatekeeper Meg-daughter/scapegoat Chris & Stewie-brother/son Hierarchy- Christ and Stewie are more important than Meg Subsystems- good one Lois and Peter against children Bad one Peter/Chris vs. Lois/Meg Bad one L/P/C/B/S vs Meg Awk one Peter/Brian vs Lois Rules-peter is allowed to drink excessively Meg is always wrong Lois is always right Decision Making-Peter always makes the decision, unless Lois is upset Kids do not have any say in the decision making process Family Boundaries Normal-Peter to Chris -Peter to Stewie -Peter to Brian -Lois to Chris -Lois to Peter C/H -Brian to Stewie E/H -Stewie to Lois Distant -Meg to Lois Triangles-see above subsystems Family Communication Quantity/Quality- P2M-not good -P2C- off and on -P2S-distant -P2B-good -P2L-off and on -L2M-not good -L2C-good -L2S-good -L2B-good -L2P-off and on -M2C-not good -M2S-good -M2B-off and on -C2S-good -C2B-good -S2B-off and on -each has their own voice, L2P-speaks lovingly and at times condescendingly, actually most speak down to Peter, except Chris who idolizes his father. .