Main references come from Murray, C., Pope, A., & Willis, B. (2017) and/or American Psychological Association (2014). You need to have scholarly support for any claim of fact or recommendation regarding treatment. Please respond to all 3 of my classmates with references separately. You need to have scholarly support for any claim of fact or recommendation like peer-reviewed, professional scholarly journals.
Expectation:
Responses to peers. Note that this is measured by both the quantity and quality of your posts. Does your post contribute to continuing the discussion? Are your ideas supported with citations from the learning resources and other scholarly sources? Note, that although it is often helpful and important to provide one or two sentence responses thanking somebody or supporting them or commiserating with them, those types of responses do not always further the discussion as much as they check in with the author. Such responses are appropriate and encouraged; however, they should be considered supplemental to more substantive responses, not sufficient by themselves.
Read a your colleagues’ postings. Respond to your colleagues’ postings.
Respond in one or more of the following ways:
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight gained from having read your colleague’s posting.
- Offer and support an opinion.
- Validate an idea with your own experience.
- Make a suggestion.
- Expand on your colleague’s posting.
- Classmate (C. Rod)
Throughout our lives, our sexuality is a process and it begins at birth. During adolescence is when sexual curiosity peaks and experimentation and relationships begin ( Murray, Pope & Willis, 2017). It is every parents’ nightmare when their child begins to become sexually active and for Jim and Helen, their 14-year-old daughter Juliette has started (Laureate Education, 2011). Helen discovered this information by evading her daughter’s privacy. Helen blames Scott’s parents for lack of rules, not supervising the young couple and their emotional distance.
Two specific issues from this scenario
The parents have decided to seek counseling for guidance on how to address their daughter’s recent sexual activity. They are concerned with their daughter’s mental and physical health. Although Helen and Jim agree that something needs to happen to stop the behavior however, they can not agree on how to approach because of how they found out. Another presenting issue is due to the recent event it has caused tension between Jim and Helen, “been a rough and uncomfortable week with no clear road forward” (Laureate Education, 2011, 4:06) Not only does this couple need to come together for their daughter but remain united in something that has put distance between them.
Two strategies you might use to help these parents
The first thing I would do is validate Jim and Helen’s hesitation and uncertainty about addressing the matter and praise them for not ignoring the problem. It is common for parents to feel uncomfortable and anxious about how to communicate with their children about sex (Morawska, Walsh, Grabski & Fletcher, 2014). I want to bring the parents together and ease the tension that has been between them the last week.
During a child’s maturation of sexuality, their parents will take part in a vital role in their development. Unfortunately, few parents actually have the talk. Despite common misconceptions and fears, evidence has proven that more involvement and communication decrease risky sexual behaviors in adolescence (Morawska et al., 2014). As previously stated the parents in this case do not know how to address the sexual activity with their daughter. I would ask each parent how comfortable are they with their sexuality. Referencing Table 2.3 sample questions for parents: (1) ” How do you communicate with your children about sex or sexuality?” (2)” What values and beliefs do you want to communicate with your children?” (Murray, Pope & Willis, 2017, p. 43)
I would encourage Helen and Jim to be open to discussing sexuality with all their daughters. Providing open communication and support will help Juliette feel more comfortable talking to her parents about her sexual activity. Inform the parents that is is okay to acknowledge this is awkward but we need to have this talk. Juliette is at the age where she can understand the consequences such as STDs, and pregnancy and she needs to be provide education on these life changing risks. Right now the parents, especially Helen, is frustrated at the situation and placing blame on others for her daughter’s actions.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Online snooping case study. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Morawska, A., Walsh, A., Grabski, M., & Fletcher, R. (2015). Parental confidence and preferences for communicating with their child about sexuality. Sex Education, 15(3), 235–248. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Murray, C., Pope, A., & Willis, B. (2017). Sexuality counseling: Theory, research, and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
- Classmate (M. Neg)
Strategies
The parents, Jim and Helen, in the case study shared that they recently found out their daughter is sexually active but they are unsure how to address or handle the situation (Laureate Education, 2011). In order to help the parents come up with a way to have a discussion with their daughter about sex and sexuality understanding their comfort level is important. One strategy I would use as a sexuality counselor to help the parents effectively communicate with their child is to start by asking questions to see where their comfort levels are when it comes to topics of sex and sexuality. It is not uncommon for parents to feel uncomfortable when having to communicate with their children about sex (Morawska, Walsh, Grabski, & Fletcher, 2014). Asking certain questions and getting a better idea of the parents comfort level would allow the counselor to see areas where the parents need tools and support to properly communicate with their child. Based on how these questions are answered a plan can be made to help the parents feel more comfortable with having these types of discussions with their daughter.
Jim and Helen also shared that once they found out their daughter was sexually active they set strict rules to try to lessen the chance of her continuing those behaviors but recently found out their efforts did not work (Laureate Education, 2011). Since setting strict rules did not seem to help I believe building an open communication between the parents and daughter is necessary. Building open communication would allow for the parents to discuss possible outcomes to Juliette’s sexual behaviors such as pregnancy or STDs with her. It is clear that the strict rules placed on Juliette has only caused her to become more secretive instead of getting her to stop her sexual behaviors. Building trust and open communication could help Juliette better understand her parent’s concerns and be an opportunity for her to share how she feels about the situation as well while bringing attention to the consequences of her behaviors. Having this open communication could lessen Juliette’s secretive behavior and allow for there to be a discussion about what has taken place.
Issues
One issue to address would be Helen snooping through her daughters computer (Laureate Education, 2011). Although Juliette is underage so Helen should have access to Juliette’s social media and any online chats there should be a discussion that takes place about what is expected. In order to work on open communication trust has to be built but that cannot be done if snooping is taking place. A discussion should take place about what Helen found by snooping and then rules should be set. Helen should set rules for Juliette and let her know that she will be monitoring her social media so that Juliette is aware and knows what to expect moving forward.
Another issue that should be addressed is the consequences that can come from Juliette’s sexual behavior. It does not seem like there has been much or any discussion about sex education with Juliette based on what was shared in the video. Once comfort level has been built with the parents the counselor should encourage them to discuss further the possibilities and consequences that come with Juliette’s behaviors.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Online snooping case study. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Morawska, A., Walsh, A., Grabski, M., & Fletcher, R. (2015). Parental confidence and preferences for communicating with their child about sexuality. Sex Education, 15(3), 235–248. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
- Classmate (E. Mas)
Communication
As a sexuality counselor, there are various ways that I can assist the parents in the case study have better communication with their daughter. One of the ways that I could do this would be by discussing any previous sexuality related talks that they have had with their daughter. Murray, Pope, and Willis (2017) wrote that puberty sends a flood of hormones through the body to help adolescents move toward being physically, sexually mature. This would be a great communication point for the parents to discuss with their daughter, since she is going through a lot of hormonal and physical changes. Their daughter may not fully understand her new body, and a discussion about this could certainly shed some light on her maturation. Another strategy that I could introduce to the parents would be talking with their daughter in a way that builds trust. Since she was hiding this from them, it seems as though there is a lack of openness and trust within their relationship, so perhaps understanding better language to use with their daughter would be of benefit.
Issues
When adolescents become sexually active, there may be circumstances where there could be issues. For instance, the adolescent may not be having safe sex. Safe sex may look differently for some, and some methods may not be appropriate for others. However, it is typically important that if you child is having sex, that they are doing it safely. This could mean the parents needs to have a discussion with their child about the use of condoms, birth control, or other contraceptives. Another issue that may arise is if they are in their first relationship and having sex, and then they break up. Murray, Pope, and Willis (2017) state that sexual identity often does not have a smooth developmental process. Breaking up with someone whom you have been first intimate with can be extra upsetting to an adolescent. It is important to set the standard for what the potential outcome of this relationship will be, firmly and clearly, as to hopefully lessen their emotions, should the two seperate.
References
Murray, C., Pope, A., & Willis, B. (2017). Sexuality counseling: Theory, research, and practice.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Required Resources
- Course Text:Murray, C., Pope, A., & Willis, B. (2017). Sexuality counseling: Theory, research, and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
- Chapter 5, “Lifespan Development and Sexuality”
- Article:Bloom, Z. D., & Dillman Taylor, D. (2015). New Problems in Today’s Technological Era: An Adlerian Case Example. Journal of Individual Psychology, 71(2), 163–173. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
- Article:Dick, B., & Ferguson, B. J. (2015). Health for the world’s adolescents: a second chance in the second decade. The Journal Of Adolescent Health: Official Publication Of The Society For Adolescent Medicine, 56(1), 3–6. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
- Article:Kerr, B. A., & Multon, K. D. (2015). The development of gender identity, gender roles, and gender relations in gifted students. Journal of Counseling and Development, (2), 183. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
- Article:Morawska, A., Walsh, A., Grabski, M., & Fletcher, R. (2015). Parental confidence and preferences for communicating with their child about sexuality. Sex Education, 15(3), 235–248. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
- Article:Sujita Kumar Kar, Ananya Choudhury, & Abhishek Pratap Singh. (2015). Understanding normal development of adolescent sexuality: A bumpy ride. Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences, Vol 8, Iss 2, Pp 70-74 (2015), (2), 70. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Media
- Animated Case Study: Laureate Education, Inc. (2011). Online snooping case study. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 5 minutes.
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