Family Assessment

Family Assessment
Student’s Name
Univeristy Affiliation
Family Assessment
Family description
The family examined in this dissertation is a blended family that includes a father, a stepmother and three children. Derick is the name of the father who is currently aged 50 years, and the stepmother is called cate and she is 48 years old. Among the three children are one male by the name of Elijah and two females by the names of Melisa and Esther. Melisa is the oldest amongst her siblings, and she is 24 years old. Derick is her biological father, and she is a step sister to Elijah and Esther. Elijah is 20 years old but married, and her younger sister is only four years younger than him. Cate is the biological mother of the last two children. Melissa’s mum passed away during her teenage due to a fatal car accident. She also had a younger brother who was only six years younger than her, but she also perished during the accidents. Cate had divorced from her earlier marriage due to alcoholism and infidelity of her former spouse. Derick and his current wife met ten years ago during a corporate meeting since they worked for the same organization. Because Cate cannot do much of the housework, there is a house help in the family who does many chores.
Profile of each family member 
The father is now a prominent business person who runs an enormous local restaurant. He terminated his employment after her wife Cate was diagnosed with cancer five years ago. Cate, therefore, ceased to be employed, and both opted to start a business at home while taking medication.

Earnings from the restaurant are the primary source of revenue for the family. The mother works part time in one of the local institutions as a counsellor. She also helps her husband in the running of the restaurant when she is available and probably when the number of customer’s increase.
All the children have a birth spacing of 4 years, and they, therefore, have a loose bond between them due to the age gap. The eldest daughter finished her university studies last year, and she is currently in her internship program waiting to be employed as a bank accountant. However, she is also not married although she is dating the son of the county sheriff. Elijah refused to join campus, and he opted to start his automobile repair shop. He is progressing well after Derrick funded his whole project. Esther is on her final grade awaiting to join college the next year.
Presenting issue(s) faced by the family
The family has been financially stable for the last few years and the salary that Derick and his wife earn has been adequate to sustain the needs of the family. The father was willing to pay the school fees of all his children, but some such as Elijah were not willing to continue with their education. The youngest is still continuing with her studies. However, the major problem that is present in Derricks family is the lack of union between the siblings. Mellissa is involved in several fights and quarrels with children of her stepmother. Similarly, the local area has become flooded with restaurant businesses, and the competition has stiffened. As a result of this issue, the primary source of income in the family is becoming affected. The issue has brought more problems because Cate cannot do without her medication. As if not enough,
Family history
Everyone in the family is more concentrated in their personal lives and their occupations rather than focusing on the regular family activities that unites all family members together. All this can be grounded from their predecessors. Derick’s father was an army commandant who spent petite time with his family. Derick’s mother on the other hand merely united her family for events such as reunions that could have joined family members together. In fact, there was a case where two of members of the extended family meet during Derick’s father’s burial only to learn that they were related but they had first met in a very different situation. Derick’s mother (Elijah’s granny) spent most of her time teaching since she was a teacher at the time of retirement. Unfortunately, derricks dad passed away while tending to one of her mission and duty in fighting terrorism. Her mum, on the other hand, is very old, and she can barely take care of herself.
Derick has only two siblings who are all females, and they are all married. However, Derick had had a distant relationship with her sisters concerning his father’s will and properties. Her married sisters ganged up to file a case in a court of law complaining that Derick had illegally acquired his father’s properties without everyone’s consent. Their father left them massive wealth, and since the constitution demands an equal share of the inheritance among all siblings, Derick has nothing else but to share it with them. Nevertheless, Derick feels that he deserves to have the whole share of the inheritance because he was the only son, and he took care of much of the expenses incurred by his father’s ailment and death. He is convinced that the sisters are mere opportunists who never even had time to check on their dad and only came home during his burial and for that reason they merely meet for family reunions. The relationship between Derick and his sisters worsened after he married his current wife, Cate. Melisa is the only link between derricks family and her extended family. Being the only daughter of Derick’s late wife, is loved by everyone, and her grandmother enjoys her accompaniment. Sometimes she has to take spend some time with her ageing and ailing grandmother.
Family internal functioning
It is worth mentioning that the nuclear family is larger than one may expect because they have two dogs, and a cat and Derick loves them as much as he loves his family. Derick loves the two large outdoor dogs because they offer the family maximum protection. In that case, he insists that the dogs be taken care of by all means. Despite the fact that they do not require a lot of care and attention compared to indoor pets, they consume a lot of food but Derick brings them food from the restaurant and fresh meat every evening. The family has been functioning quite well financially even after the parents cease working for the organization above mentioned. However, as the children advance in age, they have continued becoming hectic to handle especially Melissa. Disagreement between Melisa and her stepmother, Cate, have intensified. Unlike many cases where the stepmother is believed to be the one mistreating a stepchild, Melissa does not respect Cate at all. She never seems to be touched by the fact that her step mum is ill and need special treatment. Derick loves his wife but loves Melissa even more to an extent that he is always on her side.
Elijah, on the other hand, is a victim of early marriage problems. Derick automobile shop gives enough money to sustain his family, but he is very violent over simple issues. The wife, who is only 19, is emotionally and psychologically stressed. The wife is confined indoors much of the time for she has been denied personal freedom and household chores are always a priority. Elijah has not yet finished building his house and is, therefore, living in his father’s mansion. His wife, Maureen, helps the house help with much of the housework and Cate loves her very much. Esther is now about to finish her final grade and will be joining the family for a while before entering campus if she passes well. I must admit, unlike others, she is more obsessed with becoming a doctor to help her mother but his father wishes that she becomes an engineer. The family is, therefore, successful in most of their whereabouts. Being a rigid Christian, Derick has taught his family how to live by the expected Christian standards. Therefore, the family always has family prayers together, especially when taking their meal. This has been helpful to Elijah and Melissa, who have issues with Maureen and Cate respectively.
Family ecological assessment
Derick’s family ecology is not as complicated as the extended family. Therefore, the assessment here shows the contributions of each member of the family, the strengths and weaknesses of others things. Melissa often visits her neighboring aunt, a sister to her mother, and she is always happier there. She claims her aunt gives her the motherly love, unlike her stepmother. Elijah was not as bright in school as his sisters and for that reason he was always aspired to be a businessman like his father. However, while is school, he had a behavioral disorder and were part of the reason for his disinterest in continuing with studies. For example, when he started his first grade, he would sometimes act inappropriately in certain classes like the math’s class but showed a lot of interest in business science subjects. On the other hand, Esther loves her stepsister despite her continued hatred for their mother. She was the first person to oppose her sisters Melissa’s wish to go live with her aunt. Esther is brilliant in school but not as bright as she used to be before her mother was found to be suffering from cancer. The illness changed her academic goals, and she likes spending more time with her mother.
Cate’s cancer has not only affected her physically but also emotionally. Although she tries her best to keep her family together, the environment is always tensed with Melissa around. It is hard to understand the cause of Melissa’s dislike for her stepmother. Most are the times when Melissa only diners when their father is eating together with them. Cate tries her best to show Melissa the motherly love she seeks. However, things were a little different seven years ago, and she never used to treat her with the same love and tenderness. Lately, Cate has been doing everything in her power to unite the family. Her husband has also been working hard to sustain the family. His sisters’ pressure over the inheritance has been affecting him too. His mother is very old and ill, and he need the resources to ensure that she gets the right medical support. The good thing is that she is also a beneficially of the support given to the elderly by the government.
Genogram
455295032385050101500CM, 78
00CM, 78
10191752857500013239750DM, 79
00DM, 79
2647949177165040005001485900C, 48
00C, 48
48196501457325CB, 51
00CB, 51
2571750DD, 82
00DD, 82
952501524000DS1, 54
00DS1, 54
10001251476375DS2, 52
00DS2, 52
18859501466850D, 50
00D, 50
38004750CD, 80
00CD, 80
31432504352925Ma
00Ma
20193004324350SS
00SS
20764503171825Me, 24
00Me, 24
40290753143250Es, 16
00Es, 16
30099003162300El, 20
00El, 20

1904999507900

5257800195580441960018605552959004241804314825424180001628775186055714375186055 Very close relationship
2276475143510428625133984001343025133985
46482003936917811751079517811751079400Remarriage 10 years
2571750163195

47339254191004629150296545449580025844513811252584454286250325120256222528702000
Separated after death Complicated relationship Divorced
490537575565EX
00EX
1714500424814001076325167640105727516764097155091440DW
00DW
33909001104902400300110490002419350120015
952501727208572520129500752475153670left104140DS
00DS

23431502489203409950229870
Dating
468630091440 Primary Family
1847850281305
Key:
DD – Derick’s dadDS1 – Sister oneCB – Cate’s brotherEl – Elijah
DM – Derick’s mumDS2 – sister twoDW – Deceased wifeEs – Esther
CD – Cate’s dadD – Derick DS – Deceased sonSS – Sherriff’s son
CM – Cate’s mumC – CateMe – MelisaMa – Maurine
Family Categories Schema
Some of the most clearly distinct family categories here are family roles, problem-solving techniques and communication. Derick’s family can be considered to be a health family because is not necessarily average and it is also not lacking in negative characteristics. All the positive features described above are enough proof that the family is healthy. The family is an open system that consists of the system within a system. For example, the extended family did not have family gatherings that are why the lack of unions contributed to the current issues between Derick and his sisters. The instrumental task that Derick has is to provide for his family, and support/unite his extended family. He provides food, money and other material support to his mother, wife and children. The family does not discuss their emotions among themselves quite often. However, Derick can understand when either of them has any need or something affecting him or her. Also, he does not communicate with her sisters directly due to a previous encounter where his eldest sister used very abusive language while confronting him. It is very clear that in this family when there is a difficulty in one area, it creates problems in the other areas too.
Intervention plans for each identified area
The extended family was not as united as the nuclear family before Derick’s father died. However, he has been intervening with all possible measures and despite the grudge between him and his sisters, he does everything for the benefit of everyone, above all his old mother. When Elijah finished his final grade and refused to join campus, his father was kind and caring enough to help him start his automobile repair shop. He was not for the idea of not continuing with studies, but it was clear that Elijah could not change his mind. Cate has been trying her best to settle their scores with Melissa. For that reason, she is also part of the family intervention plan not forgetting that she does her best not to be a burden to the family because of her illness.
From the family assessment, it is easy to identify how a typical family operates. The problems that are experienced and the best approaches to handle them. The family assessment is also a learning experience on how parents are supposed to relate to their children. In other words, the parent-child relationship. Additionally, Derick’s extended family also teaches on the importance of having family gatherings. They do not only bring the family members together but also enhance the family bond such that the members support each other accordingly. The family assessment, in this case, is very effective in showing the problems that parent face especially when they have rebellious children who are never willing to cooperate. In other words, this family assessment provides children with adequate insight on what relation is or is not healthy. It is also worth noting that Esther plays her role well in uniting the members of her nuclear family. That will help anybody comprehend the family setting with which he or she is involved and adjust consequently to the demands of the situation.