PBL SESSION 29/11/2017

*FAMILY CONSULTATION
Family therapy also referred to as couple and family therapy, marriage and family therapy,
family systems therapy, and family counseling, is a branch of psychotherapy that works with
families and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and development. It tends to
view change in terms of the systems of interaction between family members. It emphasizes
family relationships as an important factor in psychological health.

The different schools of family therapy have in common a belief that, regardless of the origin
of the problem, and regardless of whether the clients consider it an "individual" or "family"
issue, involving families in solutions often benefits clients. This involvement of families is
commonly accomplished by their direct participation in the therapy session. The skills of the
family therapist thus include the ability to influence conversations in a way that catalyzes the
strengths, wisdom, and support of the wider system.

In the field's early years, many clinicians defined the family in a narrow, traditional manner
usually including parents and children. As the field has evolved, the concept of the family is
more commonly defined in terms of strongly supportive, long-term roles and relationships
between people who may or may not be related by blood or marriage.

The conceptual frameworks developed by family therapists, especially those of family

systems theorists, have been applied to a wide range of human behavior, including
organizational dynamics and the study of greatness.

Goals of a Family Program:

Gain better understanding of how your family functions
Identify strengths and weknesses of your family system
Set family goals and devise strategies to resolve problems
Develop and build healthy communication skills within your family
Make useful changes to make your entire family unit stronger
Establish family agreements and make useful changes for a stronger family unit

Who can benefit from Family Consultation?

The purpose of Family Consultation is for the whole family to help to gain education on how
to stop destructive patterns, negative reactions and learn how to have a different relationship
with your loved one.
When your loved one accepts Drug Rehab and/or Alcohol treatment - either inpatient,
outpatient and/or community-based treatment, family members are so excited that their focus
is on the loved one making changes.
It is the family that needs to make personal changes, too, by gaining support and direction
from a family consultant.
If the family does not learn a new language on how to communicate with your loved one, the
family member can sabotage and interrupt your loved ones treatment.
PBL SESSION 29/11/2017

How long is Family Consultation?

Family Consultation can be available for 3 months, up to 5 years. The statistics show that it
takes 90 days of recovery treatment to change old behaviors and two years of consistent
recovery to change old ways of thinking.

Engaging families in an exploration of strengths, values, and goals help to build mutual trust
and respect between them. This, in turn, often leads to more successful outcomes. This
relationship can be built upon when problems arise. In the presence of open communication,
families and helpers can work together to identify the informal and formal supports that can
reduce or eliminate the factors causing harm or risk.
1. Initial Consultation - Develop a thorough history of the problem and the family dynamics.
With this information, we can begin formulating a list of options and a direction of how best
to deal with your loved one. It is important to learn effective communication without any
debate or negative engagements.

2. Preparation - Family consulting requires a commitment from family members by using:

Skype, telephone, emails, and texting as needed, to gain a better awareness and to learn to
communicate with your loved one with a goal of not enabling or feeling like you are being
held hostage by their addictive/mental health behaviors.

3. Treatment Coordination - Treatment planning, helping your family research Drug Rehabs
for your loved one's placement into treatment and follow up with the recovery center, after
the clients enter also following up with the family.

4. Family/Patient Assessment - The family consultant will assess each family member
and/or patient to make recommendations as needed. The family consultant will also
collaborate with the treatment team weekly to follow up on the progress and report the
outcome to your family.

5. Family Consulting - Family Consulting Session includes: working with individual family
members and/or a family group. Sessions are led by Patricia M. Pike and/or her team with a
detailed appropriate action plan that is focused on personal self-awareness, gaining new
insight and finding solutions on best approaches to support your loved one in treatment.
PBL SESSION 29/11/2017

Reflection,
After participating in two PBL session with all my fellow colleagues, I have learned various
knowledge and skills important in life. We mainly discussed topics related to drugs, bully,
abuse, parental laws, family problems, and friendship. Although that topic might seem small,
they are the most important social issue that must be known, as a future medical practitioner.
During our discussion, we shared personal experience situation in society or school and open
up to our thoughts about certain issues. I really appreciate all of my fellow colleagues,
because, without them, I wont be learning so much. Those knowledge learned cannot be
learned from a textbook, but only can be learned through conversation and sharing session. I
hope that we will all grow together through good discussion in the future.