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1 Assignment #2: Case Analysis on Psychodynamic, Psychosocial, Attachment Theories, and Family Systems Emilie Grant Master of Social Work Program, Salem State University SWK 700; Human Behaviour in the Social Environment Dr. Mbita Mbao March 1, 2023

2 Psychological Ideas Distinctive in Social Work Theory and Practice Psychodynamic ideas are distinctive in social work theory and practice because they emphasize how past experiences shape a person’s behavior. Payne states that a value of this theory is that “it is deterministic, assuming that present behavior is strongly influenced, some would say determined, by earlier experience and in particular by relationships in childhood” (Payne,2020, p.113). These ideas help identify behavioral patterns by uncovering the individual conflicts stored in the unconscious mind that form as early as infancy. Freud believed that we are not always aware of the root problem or that the conflict may be hidden. The psychodynamic approach emphasizes the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping individuals explore their inner world to understand the client’s personal history. This significant relationship provides a safe space to engage about the client’s past, their family history and examine biological factors that may put meaning to why the individual is in conflict. In the social work field, this allows individuals to gain a broader understanding of their behavior patterns that they may not be aware of so they can begin their healing process. How Mitchell Communicates His Feelings and Internal Conflicts There are various ways in which Mitchell communicates his feelings. For one, he has erratic emotional moods that range from anger to excitement, sadness, and fear. These emotions are communicated by his lashing out in tantrums and inflicting pain upon himself and others. Payne expresses this by stating, “when the caregiver figure is absent, young children exhibit attachment protest: anger, crying and trying to be with the caregiver. Young people and adults may also be distressed when they lose an important attachment figure (Payne, 2020, p.131)”. The recent death of his mother significantly impacted his communication and his behaviors. His attachment to Mayra reflects his need to feel secure and safe; his insecurities make him overly clingy and

3 frightened when she is both in and out of his vicinity. He has difficulty engaging in healthy play when she is with him, and once he does engage, he only chooses toys where he can reenact the tragic accident that occurred six months ago. This play shows his behavioral pattern by him verbalizing the crash and crashing the cars together. He suffers from nightmares and awakes in panic, searching for Myra, unable to regulate his emotions alone. The messages from his behaviors show his lack of security and trust due to the tragic event that eliminated his parents and their unpredictable attachment when he was with them. Three Benefits and Limitations of Using Psychodynamic Approach with Clients There are benefits and limitations when using a psychodynamic approach and theory with clients. One advantage is that it helps individuals gain self-awareness and a view of their unconscious thoughts and feelings. Payne explains this when stating, “values arise from individuals and determinism in psychoanalytic theory; that is, it focuses on people as individuals and leads to their psychology being the main influence of their behavior” (Payne, 2002, p. 97). This would be helpful in practice because it would allow clients to gain insight into past experiences stored in the unconscious mind and how they may influence their current behavior patterns. This includes illnesses and behaviors that biologically may be passed down through generations, such as alcoholism and mental illness. This approach also aids in improving coping skills, which can help clients learn better tools to manage stress, anxiety, and other challenging emotions. Lastly, the practice and theory will help clients obtain a higher level of self-esteem because the therapy helps them better understand their behaviors by making sense of their patterns and providing answers of they may not have been aware of. They can then begin to dive deep and work on the root causes of their behaviors continuing to disrupt their relationships.

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4 The limitations of this approach and theory are that it is very time-consuming, can take a long time to produce a meaningful result, and is unsuitable for short-term therapy. This approach can take months or even years to achieve desired outcomes (Payne,2022). The second limitation of this is how this approach creates unpredictable results. It is based on the unconscious mind, so assessing how each client will respond can be difficult. Lastly, it is hard to have structure when using this approach, making it difficult to compare the outcomes of different clients. The process is tailored to each individual and produces different results based on that notion. Mitchell’s Stage and Representation of Erickson’s Psychosocial Development According to Erickson’s stages of psychosocial development, Mitchell should have a sense of autonomy at his age (three). Erickson described the process by stating, “at each stage of physical, psychological, and social development, there are social tasks to be mastered and conflict to be negotiated” (Laura Melano Flanagan et al., 2008, p.103). The inconsistency and instability of his birth parents, the traumatic car accident, the death of his mother, and even more recently, the custody change that removed his father as the primary caregiver have all had an impact leading to his inability to complete the stage of development where according to Erickson, he should be at. Trust vs. mistrust, according to Erickson’s theory, is the most critical stage of development and should be obtained by eighteen months. Mitchell is now stuck in that stage at age three, where he is resistant, cannot feel secure, and has yet to venture and explore. According to Erickson, if Mitchell had been in alignment with his current stage, Mitchell would have gained a sense of self, personal control, and independence by now (Ruiz, 2020). Mitchell’s conflict in this stage is shown through his resistance to potty training; it has not been successfully met.

5 Mitchell’s Developmental Experiences when Predicting Future Behavior Using Psychosocial Theory. According to this theory, Mitchell’s lack of developmental experiences will negatively impact his future stages and cause conflict with those close to him. Prior stages must be met to be brought forward, and the crisis in each stage of development must be completed successfully. The ego is the focus, and each stage of development is set to enhance oneself. According to his theory, “the ego itself is transformed not only by biological, psychological forces but also by social forces” (Laura Melano Flanagan et al., 2008, p.99). Mitchell has yet to form a healthy foundation thus far to foster healthy and meaningful relationships in the future. Mitchell shows signs of shame and guilt, which were influenced by his first stage of development not being met; he never formed a trust or a sense of autonomy, but rather “shame and guilt.” Applying this theory would predict that around the age of adolescents, Mitchell may have trouble with his identity and understanding who he truly is in the world. However, the theory also suggests that social interactions and relationships along his life path may change his development. The stages not successfully met in Mitchell’s development thus far will lead him to need clarification once he hits adolescence to obtain a true sense of self. If Mitchell has not yet formed a sense of self (autonomy) by his 30s, he will be unable to develop intimate relationships according to Ericksons’ stages of development. This will lead him towards isolation because his lack of self and trust will be the conflict of his forming close relationships. Without intimate relationships, Mitchell will be left unsatisfied and unsustainable unless he revisits and works on earlier stages to understand his unconscious thought process, where his behaviors originated, and how they currently impact him on a social level. Four Functions of Attachment and Mitchell’s Consistency

6 There are four attachment functions, and this writer does not feel that Mitchell’s behavior consistently demonstrates them. The four functions of attachments are to foster a feeling of safety, control emotions and levels of arousal, encourage thoughts and feelings, and provide a foundation to venture out and see the world (Papero, 2015). Mitchell demonstrates his lack of these functions by verbally and physically acting out in fear and being unable to venture out independently and explore. The process of self-exploration is not maintained with Mitchell, shown through his hesitance in play; and the type of play he eventually does choose to engage in. Mitchell’s inability to exhibit these functions is the basis for his feeling that his world is not “ok.” His feelings are incredibly sporadic, and he communicates his feelings by pulling his hair, biting himself, and hitting others. While he seeks security through his attachment to Mayra, he still demonstrates how overly dependable he is with her at this stage. His anxiety is significantly heightened due to his previous unstable attachment to his parents. Mitchell’s Working Model of Attachment and Major Family Dynamics in Contribution John Bowlby developed the internal working model theory, and according to this model, by the age of three, Mitchell’s attachments began to be applied to other relationships. Mitchell’s working model began with his primary caregiver’s behavior towards him beginning in infancy. According to this theory, Mitchell’s mental representation or blueprint of how relationships work was established from his early experiences with them. His father, an abusive alcoholic with mental illness, his mother’s depression and fatigue, and Mitchell witnessing these acts of abuse and behaviors firsthand shaped his working model. He internalized the sporadic and violent nature present in his early stages of attachment and viewed his parental dynamics as such. Mitchell’s working model of attachment formed from his parents has not allowed Mitchell to gain a sense of trust, as they would inconstantly leave Mitchell with Mayra for random lengths of

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7 time. Mayra is now Mitchell’s primary caregiver; his parents have been removed. This has resulted in anger and confusion from his insecure attachments, trauma, and his internalization of the behavior displayed by his parents, which are now shown through his behavior toward Mayra. FEP Concepts Applied to Mitchell’s Working Model of Attachment The family emotional process (FEP) is where children learn to act, interact, perform, and form a sense of self. Mitchell’s biological parents set the stage for this dysfunction which now is presenting itself in his current dynamic with Mayra. Mitchell witnessed the communication between his parents as physically abusive, and his father was erratic, verbally acting out aggression on his mother, who often experienced depression. This could also conclude that Mitchell’s current emotions and behaviors are part of a multigeneration process from his father and paternal ancestors. His father’s abusive nature, mental illness, and alcoholism could have been passed down to him from his father, and Mitchell is currently demonstrating the same dynamic toward himself and Mayra. The concept of the “triangle” is shown through the relationship between Mayra, his father, and himself. Mitchell and his father were once living together; he was Mitchell’s primary caregiver until recently. Mayra and Mitchell’s father’s relationship caused the bond between her and Mitchell to strengthen, which eventually diminished his dynamic with his father. Problematic Reactive Dynamics of Mitchells Family System The problematic reactive dynamics of Mitchell’s family system are shown through dysfunctional communication. One concept of this process is that emotions provide the energy that fuels the family system. Papero explained this by stating that “rising and falling levels of anxiety and tension in individuals and their relationships significantly influence the particular manifestations of family emotional process displayed by a family” (Papero, 2015, p.15).

8 Mitchell’s anxiety and stress from his parents onward, and the accident, which infused more anxiety, created a transference to Mayra in their new family dynamic. Mayra’s concern over Mitchell’s current behavior and development has caused anxiety which is now reciprocated between the two. Another concept is that this process strongly impacts Mitchell because it maintains the specific relationship context of his family, which he continues to develop. Mitchells Family System and Subsystems Mitchell’s family system and subsystems have shifted in the past six months. Mitchell’s original system had never been stable; even when his parents were primary, there was dysfunction due to mental illness, financial strain, and addiction. There was a disconnect between his mother, father, and himself due to his parent’s dysfunctional inconsistent patterns. Mitchell’s subsystems were made up of Mayra and his maternal grandmother, where there was a connection. Mitchell’s current family system and its subsystems are displayed in diagram one on page nine. His primary family system is made up of himself and Mayra. They share a subsystem of health benefits and behavioral support, demonstrating a connection, as well as a subsystem of housing and basic needs confirming the same. His father, now moved from his primary system, has become a separate sub-system of disconnect. The disconnection is also shown through his father’s disconnect with his active addiction, nonemployment, and mental health struggles. Mayra and Mitchell’s system shows a connection with his grandmother, which has remained the same throughout the shift.

9 Diagram 1; Mitchell’s current family system and subsystems

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Mayra Mitchell Father Mental Illness Addiction No Job Health Benefits Behavioral Support for Mitchell M Maternal Grandma Housing Basic Needs 10 SYSTEM SUBSYSTEMS DISCONNECTION CONNECTION

11 REFERENCES Deal, K. H. (2007). Psychodynamic Theory. Advances in Social Work , 8 (1), 184–195. https://doi.org/10.18060/140 Laura Melano Flanagan, Hertz, P., & Berzoff, J. (2008). Inside out and outside in : psychodynamic clinical theory, practice, and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts . Jason Aronson. Noone, R. J., & Papero, D. V. (2015). The family emotional system : an integrative concept for theory, science, and practice . Lexington Books. Payne, M. (2020). Modern social work theory (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. Pietromonaco, P. R., & Barrett, L. F. (2000). The Internal Working Models Concept: What do we Really know about the Self in Relation to Others? Review of General Psychology , 4 (2), 155–175. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.4.2.155 Riggs, S. A. (2010). Childhood Emotional Abuse and the Attachment System Across the Life Cycle: What Theory and Research Tell Us. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma , 19 (1), 5–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926770903475968 Ruiz, Y. (2020). Week 5 Psychosocial Development & Attachment Theory. In YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtt9BIICgKg

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