PSYCHOLOGY:
Psychology
The family chosen was that of Precious Jones’ family in the movie entitled Precious. We see in the movie that Precious Jones and her mother had an unstable relationship which was based on hatred and envy (Clyman, 2009). Precious’ biological father was emotionally and physically abusive. He even fathered Precious’ two children. Out of jealousy, Precious’ mother denied her of her maternal rights to her first born, a mentally-disabled child named Mongoloid. Not only does this show the domineering effect her mother had, but it shows how “disabled” Precious was in her household. She was often seen daydreaming and getting caught up in her imagination. Precious gets kicked out of high-school after being pregnant with her second child at only sixteen years old. It was clear that no one but her mother knew that the conception was due to incestuous rape. It would come as no wonder that Precious acted the way she did. She was reserved, quiet and stuck in her own type of reality. Her mother was emotionally and physically abusive. Although we do not have a back story on exactly why she was like that, except for her short story on when the sexual abuse on Precious started, we can only wonder why she was filled with so much hate. Precious would go without food for some time, and she ate the food that her mother did not want to eat. She was forced to work around the house and clean while her mother pretended to try to get a job, where in reality, she would just watch television. It was in the middle of the movie where Precious started opening up about her life. She finally found a confidant in her new alternative learning teacher, Ms. Rain (Clyman, 2009). It is through this relationship with Ms. Rain that we see the real Precious. Ms. Rain was the role model and mentor that Precious needed and deserved. The movie showed a growing student-teacher relationship that ended in a tight bond. It was the first time an adult really opened up to Precious, and we see how much she really needed someone to take care of her.
The goal of the treatment is to find a solution based on what Precious wants. She had spent her entire life following what her mother wanted. This is okay in some situations, as parents usually dictate their children based on love and care. However, the relationship Precious had with her mother was based on hate (Clyman, 2009). This is not something that can ever be constructive. Although one would think that the environment that Precious was in and the abuse she had received was very severe, she had a way of blocking it out and still being able to see good in the world. She still wanted what was best for her children, even though she was brought up in such a hateful household. This is why the goal should be based on Precious. Her outlook on life as well as her self-esteem should be made a priority (Guterman, 1996). Precious has the willingness to learn and to love. She cares for those around her and genuinely has a good heart. The therapy should be based on her so that her life and situation can improve. It is important that she is surrounded by people who love her and want the best for her. The treatment has already been started by Ms. Rain who was able to somewhat slow down the vicious cycle of low self-esteem and slow productivity (Clyman, 2009). For the first time, we see Precious smile and bloom. This is because she was in a good environment that allowed her to reap her true potential. She was finally able to relate to people and have a maternal bond with Ms. Rain. Precious was also able to talk to her new classmates and find friendship in them. They even went as far as helping her out when she had her second child.
The Marriage and Family Theory (MFT) I have chosen is the Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). This type of talking therapy is based on social constructionst theories (Ziegler & Hiller, 2001). This theory shies away from historical problems that pushed them to seek help. Instead, it only uses these historical problems to trigger questions on moving forward. This kind of theory believes that personal change is constant, and a new direction can be achieved through positive influences. This kind of therapy focuses on what the clients want to achieve and is done through respectful questions and counseling. It will help prepare the preferred future for the counselee and will develop a vision of this future. This kind of therapy includes scaling questions and something known as “problem-free talk” (Ziegler & Hiller, 2001). I believe that it is perfect for someone like Precious because for someone with her historical problems, the past might not be a good thing to look back on. Instead of using the past, or dwelling on it, it is best to seek change in a positive direction. The results that can be achieved through amateur counseling, for example that of Ms. Rain, might be very limited since she would not know what type of questions to ask, or how far into the historical problems to go into. However, professional therapy with an experienced counselor can reap excellent benefits for Precious, since she already has a vision of what she wants for herself and her children (Clyman, 2009). It would only be a matter of developing that vision further and helping her make it into a reality. This can be done once she realizes that all these things are possible, and that the past or historical problems are things that will not hurt her anymore. This talk-based therapy is perfect for an individual like her because she is very reserved and needs someone to confide in (Ziegler & Hiller, 2001).
The approach for intervention would be something like a replacement attachment model. It would go something like “out with the old, in with the new”. This takes us back to the discarding of the historical problems. Since Precious did not have a good role model while growing up, it is best that she is introduced to someone that she can freely talk to about her vision for the future. This might be difficult at first because she does sort of have trust and attachment issues. However, this hurdle was somewhat fixed through her relationship with Ms. Rain. This model is perfect for an individual who is struggling in life as Precious is because it is solution-focused (Clyman, 2009). Someone as young and as emotionally abused as her should not have to look back at her past in order to find solutions, since it was her environment and her mother who caused all of these things. Her problems, although seemed internal, were external. This was what affected her thinking, actions and how she perceived herself. She will be able to see personal growth if she was in a caring and nurturing environment, one that she deserved from the start (Guterman, 1996). This can be achieved through solution-based therapy since she is willing to provide a good future for her children, and she is looking for a better alternative. Precious has taken the first step in looking for a better life since she has chosen to cut her ties off from her mother, who was the cause of abuse.
Precious Jones’ family is one that no one would want to be part of. The emotional, physical and sexual abuse that was directed at Precious is something that no one should ever experience. One would think that someone who has experienced that much abuse would be aggressive, yet Precious was not. She was a kind-hearted human being who genuinely wanted a better life. She did not think of herself, and cared for those around her. This makes the social constructionist theory of solution-based therapy perfect for an individual of her nature. It was hard to tell if her mother was ever telling the truth. It would have been better to know more about the father and what kind of role he played, other than the abusive one. It would have been better to see his relationship with Precious’ mother. At the end of the movie, we learned that the abuse started when Precious was just three years old, and instead of stopping it, her mother became jealous of her. This is something that cleared up the envy and the hatred, however it is still no excuse for her actions.
References
Clyman, J. (2009). Reel Therapy: How therapy is precious. Therapy Today. Retrieved on 3
Guterman, J.T. (1996). Doing mental health counseling: A social constructionist re-vision. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 18, 228-252.
Ziegler, P. and T. Hiller: Recreating Partnership: A Solution-Oriented, Collaborative Approach
