Research Paper on:
Brief Family Therapy - Case Study

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
it is typically of shorter duration than most therapeutic approaches, it is usually more directive than other models (Niolon, 1999). Research has shown that brief therapy may be very successful  in many different situations, in fact, some studies have shown that about half of clients report significant improvement after just eight sessions and 75 percent after 26 sessions (Niolon, 1999).  Brief therapy has been reported to be most successful with certain types of clients, such as those with high ego strength, those with high anxiety about a specific situation,  those who have a specific problem that keeps the therapy focused, and those who are able to form trusting relationships (Niolon, 1999). These criteria for success suggest that brief therapy  may not be appropriate with the given case scenario. There does not seem to be anyone in the family who is able to trust easily and no one seems to  have very high ego strength. Linda, the natural mother of Marvin, age 9, and Vanessa, age 10, thinks the stepmother, Mary, is poisoning her children against her. Ted, the father,  seems to have concluded the problems in the family are due to the children. Mary has little ego strength, in fact, she was attracted to Ted, her boss, because he  seemed to have a strong sense of self and identity. Ted may then have the greatest amount of ego strength in the family. His mother, Ethel, might be perceived as  being strong because she blatantly called Mary and told her the children do not love her and they should move in with their grandparents. Another reason brief  therapy may not be appropriate for this family is the involvement and emphasis on the children. Niolon (1999) reported: "some family theorists . . . argue that the presenting problem