When one reflects on whom one was, whom one is, and whom one is going to be, one usually ends up with the same answers, or similar answers at the very least.  This could lead to one being an artist and another serving as an emergency technician.  Another being a cook while someone else is a teacher.  Each person, at least at one point in one's life, reflects on who they are and has to sit down and make decisions to what they want to be in life and where they plan on going.  As I ponder the questions of where I have been and where I am going, I cannot help but to think of all that I have been through in my life to get where I am today.

          There have been several obstacles to overcome in order to become the person that I am today; struggles that I have never seen in others in their search for who they are supposed to be, albeit I know that many have been there too.  Anne Lindbergh said that she felt alone, as if she was the only woman struggling through all that she was going through.  As I read the words of this amazing author, I was dumbfounded at how well versed she was.  It is prima facie that she knew what she was talking about throughout the entire book.

          As I look back on the past, search through the present, and focus on my future, I have come to understand that although my path may have never been traveled by anybody else, nor will it ever be traveled again, and I know that many of the facets of this journey have been experienced by others.  For years I struggled just to make it through the day.  Each day was horrific, repulsive, dreadful and downright terrifying to me.  There were few moments that I wanted to be around anyone, needless to say, even to be alive.  My mind tormented me continuously, both day and night.  This seemed to be a constant battle that went on for years inside my mind.  Had I been given the opportunity to be alone on an island or in the mountains, I still am not quite sure that I could have gained the same understanding that Anne Lindbergh had, more than fifty years ago.

          Several times while reading, I noticed the in-depth vocabulary that Mrs. Lindbergh used to describe her feelings.  This is very much so how I have tried to describe what I was dealing with when talking with others.  Over the years, the words have changed, but I still have that same tendency to articulate to the best of my ability, how I feel, my frustrations, fears, hopes, dreams, goals, and any other ideas that seem to go through my mind about myself, by using a various pallet of words.

          The best way I can reflect on myself, both in thoughts of where I have been and where I am going, is through music.  I see my life as an opus, a creative composition that I will write for as long as I live, with all of its crescendo's and decrescendo's, various tempo changes and pitches, tonal progressions, each note written in its perfect place, with perfect chords and modalities and some chords that ring in dissonance and modalities that are at times inharmonic, and each rest; these all lead to a perfect, beautiful masterpiece of music that my life moves to every day.
          As I reflect on my past and where I have been, and knowing that each note that has been written can never be changed, although I wish I could change some of those moments in my opus, I realize that each one of those moments makes me who I am today.  From a life of depression, fear and despair, like the phoenix rising above the ashes to be reborn into a new personification of beauty, so too have I risen from the ashes of my past to go on and fulfill great works by helping those around me in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community, through psychology, intercultural communications and music therapy.  With this in mind, I have come to an understanding that my life was never meant to be my own, that I was placed here with a purpose to help others, and it has given me a greater joy to live with this in mind than the thought of wanting to die.  The illustration that Mrs. Lindbergh used in this novel, "Gift From the Sea," in regards to how the mother Argonaut leaving her shell for a new life once her eggs have hatched and the young swim away, is a prime example of how I hope my life can help others after I graduate.  It is my desire to assist others, especially those in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities, to be able to come to the surface of the sea that they feel that they are drowning in, allow them to hatch and swim away, until I leave that shell in my life and start an even newer chapter.

 

 

 

Introduction:

 

The Miller family is a family of five; Bill, 38, Judy, 37, Brian, 18, Lauren, 16, and Tina, 7.  Judy's sister, Linda, is the sister who is always dropping in unexpectedly without knocking, unless her husband is with her.  Both Bill and Judy's parents are disliked by the family; they love them greatly, but the entire family goes out of their way to avoid them like the plague.

Bill and Judy were high school sweethearts meeting their junior year.  After graduation, both of them started college; however Bill dropped out after three weeks of classes.  Bill is currently working as a salesman, selling toilets in a department store similar to Sear's, while Judy makes most of the family income as a dental assistant.

The children have their own issues that they deal with on a daily basis.  Brian is always thought to be gay and effeminate, although he is straight and attracted to girls. He is now leaving for the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.  Lauren thinks she is the queen of all and feels that she shouldn't have to do anything that she doesn't want to.  Tina is fairly level headed, although she is a bit crude, rude, and quite disgusting.

Initial Counseling Call:

Judy called into the office on April 4^th, requesting counseling for their family before their son leaves for University.  She described the family as distant and close at the same time, and said that she is concerned for the future of the family since Brian is leaving and that she would like to get some various issues resolved.

Her initial concerns are: (a) Brian is gay and hates his father, (b) Lauren feels as if she is a prisoner in her own home, and (c) she is tired of Bill sitting around the house doing nothing when he is not working.  She is also extremely concerned that Tina plays with fire and sharp objects and has an imaginary friend.  Judy also says that her sister has become overbearingly annoying by coming to their house every day and that suffers from low self-esteem and wallows in her self pity all the time. 

With what Judy has given me over the phone, it is my opinion that there are several underlying issues that this family is dealing with that are the cause and not the symptoms that Judy has described to me.  She also informed me that the family has tried therapy before and it ended in disaster.  She has given me the information of the previous psychologist, and upon contacting him and asking him about the Miller family, he told me that he did not want to hear that name ever again, to never call back and then hung up on me.  Unfortunately I was able to find out any more information in regards to why the Miller's had been to see this other therapist in the first place.  It is my opinion, however, that in light of this, there are more issues that the family is dealing with than what Judy has told me.

With this information, I set up an initial counseling session with all members of the Miller family to begin in two weeks. 

 

Family Case History:

After having counseled the Miller's in their first session, I have found that the three main problems that Judy wants to see resolved are not the issues at hand.  She describes the three presenting problems as; 1) the children are "scary" and "weird," Judy avoids the school programs, and Bill "hates kids."  2) Bill is lazy when he comes home from work and sits in front of the TV all night drinking beer. 3) They cannot stand the rest of their family; this includes Bill's parents and Judy' biological and step parents along with her sister.

After having met with the family during their first session, it is my opinion that their absolute issues are as follows:

1. Bill and Judy lack responsible parenting skills.
2. Bill is an alcoholic, lacks responsibility, and seems to check out of the family system as soon as he comes home from work.
3. Both Bill and Judy are afraid of becoming who their parents are.

After discussing these presenting problems with the family, I have found that Bill and Judy are coming to realize that the problems that Judy came to me for, are actually problems that they actually have more so than anything that has do with the children themselves.

 

Strengths and Weaknesses:

As I discussed the concept of family dynamics with the family, we took an inventory of each person's strengths and weaknesses.  The biggest common denominator in the family's strengths is that they are very dedicated to the family, inside the home.  This is also the case with their biggest weakness as well, being extremely sarcastic, especially to each other, and constant fighting and bickering.

Bill's strength's lie in his carpentry and culinary skills, ability to hold a stable job, very personable, is overly protective of his children, has motherly and fatherly instincts, and is a very dedicated family man.  His weaknesses however include, paranoia, spending the family's money frivolously along with Brian's College Fund (which is kept in a coffee can above the refrigerator), belittling his family, torturing his son, very homophobic, having avoidance issues, and alcoholism.

Judy's strengths actually balance out many of Bill's weaknesses and compliment many of his strengths as well.  These include, the ability to earn a stable income, the ability to manage a well kempt home, motherly instincts, dedicated to her husband, and very logical.  Her weaknesses however are, spending Brian's college fund (also known as "The BCF"), hates things that deal with the children's education, has anger issues, hates people in general, especially her boss and his wife, and is the codependent older sister to Linda.

Brian has many strengths, most of which are, his ability to handle finances, his intelligence, a great outlook on life, and very logical.  Although he has weaknesses, his pale in comparison to his parents, which include avoidance issues, specifically home life itself, anger issues toward his parents for not taking the time to care, and despises his father for ignoring him.

Lauren is in a class all of her own when it comes to strengths.  She is quite beautiful enough to be a model, has multiple talents and the ability to create various craft projects, and has great street smarts.  Her weaknesses though, definitely outweigh her strong points.  These include suffers from depression, low self-esteem, extremely hateful, very vain, and when it comes to school, she struggles with most of her subjects.

Tina is an amazing child with strengths that include, intelligence, having the tendency to outwit the rest of the family, including her aunt and grandparents, being extremely clever, having an exceptional imagination, and the ability to pull the best practical jokes on the entire family.  Her weaknesses are her fears and frustrations; these show through by scaring the crap out of the entire family on almost a daily basis, in her imaginary friend and the tricks that her imaginary friend plays on everyone, and playing with sharp knives, scissors, and fire.

 

 

Theoretical Approach:

In working with the Miller family, I have found that in assisting the family to strive for organizational changes on their structural model and the structural outlook, as presented by Salvador Minuchin, not only will Bill and Judy be able to work together as parents but will also as a whole with the rest of the family.  This will also help them in understanding the proper hierarchical organization and the functioning of the family's subsystems as a whole.

As Judy originally had described her objective for the family, and we have already refocused what are the true presenting problems, I believe that by using both Bill O'Hanlon's Solution-Oriented Brief Family Therapy and Steve de Shazer's Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, the Miller's will be able to change the presenting problems on their own.

Counseling Plan:

As I have already met with the Miller family once, I have described to them the following counseling schedule that I would like to put into action.  I am going to be meeting with the family every two weeks and working predominantly with Bill and Judy to help them find out how to change their presenting problems.

During the second session, I will be meeting with the children to determine wherein the issues lie with their parents, as this is the first presenting problem that has been discussed.  In the following three sessions, I will be meeting with Bill and Judy together and individually.  After these sessions, it is my goal to have helped the Miller's in making major progress by the seventh session. I believe that I will only need to see them one final time in July to follow up on their progress before Brian leaves for University.

I also have referred Bill and Judy to a child psychologist that specializes in children that are in danger of hurting themselves or somebody else.  It is my opinion that Tina is in need of specialized one on one therapy with the counselor that I have referred them to.  I have personally explained to them that I am concerned with everyone's safety.

As for Brian, I have talked to him privately about the issue of his sexuality.  He has told me adamantly, that he knows who he is as a young man and that he has no issues with his sexuality.  However, due to the constant badgering, belittling and torturing of the rest of the family about the possibility of him being homosexual, I have recommended that once he has arrived in Pennsylvania to attend school, he might consider finding a counselor who can assist him in dealing with his frustration over this issue.

 

Progress Plan:

I have assigned each of the family members to keep a private diary of the times that are most common that the problems at hand seem to be most profound.  Each of the children will be keeping a diary of the parents and each other, while Bill and Judy will keep progress of each other and two of the children that I have assigned to each.

After meeting with Bill and Judy in the third session, I will evaluate their progress and find the most common times that each of the presenting problems happen the most.  My desire at this time is to assist Bill in understanding the repercussions of alcohol and suggest that he refrain from drinking and to consider attending A.A. meetings.  I also will suggest that by allowing Judy to handle the finances at this time, he will be less likely to go out and have a drink with his buddies.  I will be referring him to see a therapist who specializes in therapy for alcoholics in order to take this step towards change.  I will also be working with Judy to become more involved with the children's education and extra-curricular activities and I will be assisting her in taking the initiative to do some volunteer work once a month at Tina's school.

Finally, I have requested that each of the family members spend at least two hours of productive and quality time together with one other family member at least once a week.  This is to include not only each of the other four members in the house, but also to spend this same amount of time with the grandparent's and with Judy's sister.  In so doing they will be able to have this part of their homework done by the sixth session scheduled for June 13.

After I had explained to the family how the sessions will go, I ask for their input individually how they would know when things were getting better.  Their consensus came back that ‘mom and dad would be far more productive and active in the children's' lives and that dad would stop drinking and help out around the house.  Bill and Judy also agreed that when they are able to sit down with any of their parents and carry on a conversation without arguments or complaints, they know that they are reaching their goal.  Judy also explained to me that she would know the therapy was helping when Bill receives his promotion to management.

 

Techniques Used:

As Bill and Judy have come to understand their parenting skills are in need of dire repair, and that the dysfunction of the family is actually teaching their children to have a misconstrued idea of how the hierarchical organization actually works.  The subsystem functioning will need to be relearned by the children as well in order for the family to come together and work as one.  It is my belief that each of the family members will have to undergo a relearning process on an individual basis of how the family structure is supposed to be.

I am not inclined to change the family, so I am leaving this up to them.  Ultimately, it is their decision if they desire to change the way life is in their home.  It is my goal to help them understand the prospect for change is completely up to each individual member of the family unit, and the family as a whole.  When having my initial counseling session with the family, Bill, Judy, and Lauren were all asking if their way was the correct way in finding the solution, I explained to them that there are multiple perspectives and that no one way was wrong.  Since they have had an issue of thinking that their own ways are always right, I wanted them to understand that many solutions are out there that could assist them in changing the family dynamics.

While it is Judy's desire to find out how the family developed these problems, I was inclined to make sure that each member of the family understood that speculating about how each problem arose would not get them anywhere.  Because of this, I am having each member work on discovering their own creative solutions to help the whole family wok on changing their situation.  As we work together to find the solutions to the presenting problems at hand, I will be focusing on their strengths more than I normally would since each member of the family seems to focus on the others' weaknesses.  After explaining this approach for change, I told them that change was inevitable and that the true issue now was when it would occur.

As I continue working with the family I will be asking them various questions that are central to this approach using the: (a) "miracle questions"; (b) exception-finding questions; and (c) scaling questions.  In using these with each member individually, and comparing them as a whole, I believe that I will be able to assist the family in the appropriate manner in finding their solutions.

 

Legal and Ethical Issues:

I am a little concerned that the Miller children may have been neglected.  I also have been just as concerned in the welfare of Brian's mental health with the constant mental abuse from the family.  In light of these issues, I have been in contact with the Illinois Child Welfare Agency, and informed them of the possibility of neglect and mental abuse.

I also have had a long discussion with Bill about the ethics and standards that I not only have as a Family Therapist, but also as my duty to the AAMFT.  He has offered to buy me season tickets to the Chicago Bears if I allow the family to attend therapy for free. I also had to deal with the issue of confidentiality.  This was a major problem in the family's prior counseling experience.  Not only has he had tendencies in the past to badger information out of someone, he is insistent upon finding out what everyone has said about him.  I have also explained to him that due to client privilege and my personal belief, I would not be able to discuss anything with him that another family member had shared with me.

 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, it is my opinion that with the exception of Bill, the rest of the family is willing to work on changing their situation.  By using the structural outlook as presented by Minuchin along with O'Hanlon's Social-Oriented Brief Family Therapy and the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy presented by Shazer and associates, the Miller family should change their presenting problems and many of the underlying issues.  I believe that the family as a whole wants change and is willing to do whatever it takes to be a family without the major dysfunctionality.

Bill is my only concern since he is not apt to change.  I plan on focusing a little more on this issue with him so that he understands that even though change is inevitable, many times it is even beneficial.  Although he is somewhat resistant, and originally was dead set against coming to family therapy, I see that he is already beginning to understand the benefits of family therapy and recognizes that his family is in dire need of change.

I believe that over the course of the next two and one half months, I will be able to help the Miller family in understanding how to have a less dysfunctional family system.  It is also my opinion, that the symptomatic issues that Judy had originally called for will be resolved along with the presenting problems being able to be changed through the family's cooperation of one another.

 

 

Michael Riddle

History 110

Instructor: Richard Bullough

 

                      

The History of the Vikings

 

The history of the Vikings dates back to 750 C.E. in Scandinavia - Sweden, Norway, and Denmark - finally succumbing to Western Civilization around 1100 C.E.  These people were known as the Danes originally, but over time it is suggested that this change of identity was because of the possibility of the people coming from the region of Viken, modern day Oslo Fjord in Norway.

Over their 350 years of major history, they were notorious raiders of countries all over the world. These Norseman throughout this period raided, traded, and founded settlements throughout Europe, Britain, Iceland, Greenland, North America, Constantinople, Russia, Asia Persia and Arabia.

Throughout history, the Viking civilization, which is an ethnic term that has been misused, have had stories told about how they were an unkempt, murderous people, that were of the lowest class of people; far be it from the truth.  The great warriors were actually quite meticulous about their appearance and were of the upper class of citizens.  Even more ironic, was that not all Scandinavians were Vikings and for most of them they preferred to stay at home and farm their land.

Women were not allowed to be Vikings, or vikingar.  This was an exclusivity that belonged to men.  They could however, and did, play a part in settlements.  Before the Vikings came to Iceland, it was uninhabited; therefore, in order to populate this settlement, they needed to be taken with the men on their voyages to this region.  The daily life of a woman depended on her status.  There were three types of classes for these women; the slave-class, the yeoman, or the farming middling social class, and aristocratic class.

Food was a vital need for the Vikings.  It takes a lot of energy to pillage a village or monastery.  The man of the homestead usually would help himself to some of yesterday's stew made from beans, turnips, carrots, lamb bones, and peas, along with a piece of last weeks, now stale, bread.  The children would have a breakfast of bread and buttermilk.  At midday, the men would share some cottage cheese and if they were very lucky to have it, some fruit.  This would also be accompanied by a little bit of butter with more stale bread.  To quench their thirst, either fresh water from a stream nearby, the left over buttermilk from that morning, or even some weak ale.  Occasionally their evening meal will be a fairly large one because of one of the three Viking feast nights.  This meal would include, horsemeat that had been spitted and roasted rather like a kabob, this was due in part to the sacrifice given to the gods, (unless they were of the Christian faith, then they would have roast lamb), salted fish and pork, goat and plenty of fresh bread.  For desert they enjoyed fresh fruit with a drizzle of honey.  The beverage of choice was mead, a fermented alcoholic beverage made from honey, water, and yeast.  This was usually drunk from drinking horns made from various animal horns.

The religious practices of the Vikings were mostly pagan, until they started their various invasions of Europe, when Christianity was introduced into their society.  One of these practices was divination through runic stones.  These stones, or sometimes pieces of wood, were carved with the Elder Futhark.  These were the ancient Runic letters. (See additional papers given.)  This is similar to the tarot card readings of today.  And like the tarot, there were many types of rune castings; one rune quickie, the norns (three-rune quickie), Roman method, and nine-rune cast.  This was a common practice of the Norse Vikings of the Dark Ages and of the modern day Viking religion, Asatru.

The Religion of the Vikings

 

The Vikings idea of worship is not like the Christians.  They had a high respect for their gods, and just as modern day Vikings, called Asatru, they believed that each one of these various gods had powers beyond what mortal men could or would ever have.  They were and are known still to this day as heathens and were very proud of their beliefs.  Their beliefs are pretty much the same as they were during the European Dark Ages.

Each of these gods and goddesses, like the Roman and Greek gods and goddesses, had their place in the Viking belief.  The head god of all the gods is Odin.  He is called the Allfather, who is wise, just, and understanding.  He is also the creator of the universe.  This includes, Asgard, the home and citadel of the gods, similar to Mt. Olympus, Midgard, or the middle world where men dwell; Bifrost, the rainbow bridge which connected Asgard and Midgard that the god's could walk to and fro Yggdrasill, the giant ash-tree that holds all the worlds, and Niflheim, the land of the dead, and Valhall, the great hall of the fallen warriors, which has a total of 540 doors and each allows 800 of these great warriors to walk.  In German, Odin is known as Woden or Wotan; the name Wednesday is derived from Woden's day

The next of these gods was Odin's wife and queen, Frigg.  She is cited as being foremost amongst the goddesses, as would be proper for being Odin's wife.  She presides over human marriages.  In the times of the Vikings, there was Frigg's day, in modern day it is known as Friday.

Before the universe was created, there were two sets of gods; the Æsir and the Vanir.  The Æsir were the main set of gods, and the word itself being derived from various languages, means "goddess," "breath," "god or deity," and "demigods."  The Vanir is a subgroup of the gods, and in Scandinavian, vanir means "friend."  Ultimately these two groups of gods became entangled in a war at the beginning of time known as the "Æsir-Vanir War."  This eventually brought all the gods together into a single unified group of gods.  In the writing, Völuspá, the first poem in Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda, it is in stanza 24 that both of these are mentioned:

24. That was yet the battle of armies, the first one in the world.

Odin let fly and shot into the army,

The shield wall of the æsir was broken,

The battle-wise vanir knew how to tread the field (Lindow; 2001).

The Æsir were the gods who cared for men and consisted of Odin and Frigg, along with Hönir, Odin's brother, the shining god; Thor, Odin's son, the god of thunder and whom Thor's day is now known as Thursday; Tyr, the god of war; Balder and Höd, the twin sons of Odin and Frigg, Balder being the god of daylight, and was the most beautiful of the gods, who died at the hands of his twin due to the guiding hands of Loki, and Höd being the god of darkness, because he was blind, and who was tricked by Loki to kill his brother; Hermod, Odin's messenger; and Heimdall, the divine watchman who kept guard over Bifrost."

The Vanir were the gods of nature.  These were, Niord, the god of the shore and shallow summer sea; Frey and Freyia, Niord's son and daughter, Frey ruled over the elves of light and Freyia was the goddess of beauty and love; Aegir, the lord of the deep and stormy seas, along with his wife, Ran, who would catch sailors in her net and drowned them.

Finally, there was Loki.  This was the god of the fire that burns on the hearth, and was also quick to change his shape and laugh, was neither of the Æsir or the Vanir, but was on good terms with them and had sworn an oath of brotherhood to Odin.  When Loki had helped guide Höd's mistletoe dart through the heart of Balder, it was decided by the other gods that his punishment should be to spend all eternity tied to a rock in a cavern below Midgard, where he would remain until all time had ended. 

Viking Warriors and Historical Figures

Throughout the history of the Vikings, there have been many warriors and historical figures associated with either the expansion of the Norseman, or North-man, tribes.  Some of those who discovered or colonized lands, include; Leif Ericsson, the discoverer of Vinland; Erik the Red, the colonizer of Greenland; Ingólfur Arnarson, who is credited with colonizing Iceland; Rollo of Normandy, the founder of Normandy; and Oleg of Kiev, who led the offense against Constantinople.  Harald Hardrada and William the Conqueror, both fought to conquer England in 1066 C.E.  The former of the two, who was a king of Norway and fought along side his men, was unsuccessful and died at Stamford Bridge.  William however was a ruler of Normandy and became the victor at the Battle of Hastings.  {Olaf Tryggvason. King of Norway from 995 to 1000 A.D. Forced thousands to convert to Christianity. Once burned London Bridge down out of anger of people disobeying his orders (conjectured to be the origin of the children's rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down").}

The Valkyries were servant women who waited on Odin and they chose the most heroic warriors to place in Valhall.  Most of the Valkyries names are difficult to pronounce, but if you would like a list of them, you can type in "Valkyries Names" in your search engine to find some list of many of these great servants.

Writing also plays a large role in the viking history.  Many authors works are still around today because of aral and written preservation.  A few of these composers are; Snorri Sturluson, Eyvind Finnsson, and Haukr Erlendsson.  Unfortunately, many of the writings from this period have no author listed.  A few of the more popular works are; "Codex Regius," or The King's Book, which includes "Poetic Edda," a collection of Old Norse poetry, which is the single most important source of Norse Mythology; and finally "Prose Edda" written by Snorri Sturluson.

And in closing, I call out a traditional Asatru Viking blessing:

Hail Odin!

Hail Thor!

Hail Frigga!

Hail the gods and goddesses of the Æsir and the Vanir!

Hail the kinfolk!

Hail our honored Ancestors!

 

Bibliography:

Lindow, J., (2001).  Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs.: New York, NY, Oxford University Press

Picard, B.L.; (1961).  Tales of the Norse Gods and Heroes.:London, Great Britain, Oxford University Press

Lovgren, S.; (2004).  National Geographic: Vikings' Barbaric Bad Rap Beginning to Fade.,Retrieved May 22, 2008, from web site: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0217_040217_vikings.html.

Michael Riddle
PSYU 455
Chapman University College


It is my belief that this chapter in itself was the reason that I needed to take this course at this time in my coursework. As a loving, supportive husband to a blind, deaf, gay male, I suppose that this chapter was intended to assist me in seeing that there is more than therapy that I may need in order to handle the fact that blindness and deafness not only affects and impacts my husband’s life, but it also affects and impacts mine as well.
Secondly, being in a civil union with my partner, and planning on being officially married this summer, I find the PREP (Preventive Intervention and Relationship Enrichment Program) to be something that both Ryan and I would greatly benefit from. Had we been offered this kind of help before we had our originally commitment ceremony five years ago, we definitely would have taken up the opportunity to learn all we could about being a couple and being in a committed relationship from a therapist. This type of program in therapy seems to be, in my opinion, the exact thing that every couple should have to go through, rather prior to marriage, in a great marriage, or even in a troubled marriage. It is my judgment, and although to my knowledge this has yet to be tested, that this might actually decrease the divorce rate that has seemed to become an epidemic of great proportions in this country.
Finally, there was a section that actually fascinated me. In the last twelve years, the Coalition of Marriage, Couple, and Family Education has seemed to make a great deal of difference in “empowering people to function more effectively within marriage, family, or work situations.” The text notes that this is the “testifying to the coming of age of this subspecialty.” This could not have been more correct. With California’s Supreme Court decision this last week saying that it is unconstitutional to deny two men or two women the right to marry; I see this as becoming a new topic, gay and lesbian marriage, very soon for this program. However, it is my opinion that more practitioners, not of the clergy, should be trained in this subspecialty so that the LGBT community can actually receive the help that they desire in their marriage or relationship that they desire without feeling like they will be condemned for who they are and their beliefs. Maybe this is an area I may have to look into so that I may be of more assistance that what I am looking at doing now in the LGBT community.

 

Michael Riddle

PSYU 455

Chapman University College

 

Narrative therapy, in the start of this chapter, essentially makes a great deal of sense to me.  This is an area in my personal life that in my opinion, I continue to work through on a daily basis.  I have constantly seen myself as insecure not only scholastically, but also in my employment; I am not sure if it is because of the way that I have perceived my performance or rather it is due to constantly being told that I would "never be good at that," implying anything that I chose to do. 

It seems to me that I am always down on myself to do only the best and no less.  As I have seen it, I cannot do anything less than perfect.  If so, I am a failure.  This actually has taken place in the past few weeks in this class.

About three weeks ago I received an eight out of fifteen on two of my papers.  In my thinking that I performed so poorly, I thought in the negative manner that either "I am a lousy student.  I can't even receive fifteen points on a paper."  Or "I guess that I must have done something erroneous for Susan to detest my paper and give me this grade."  Yes, I comprehend that neither of those statements is true, however, I am working on reprogramming my thinking to think positive instead.

Later in the chapter, the author talks about "externalizing the problem."  This is also an area that I deeply need to work on.  My whole issue has been that I believe that I am always the problem.  According to the text, this is not true.  Moreover, it is my belief that making this externalization, that my problem is not the same thing as who I am.  (This might be one of those issues I may eventually need to seek therapy for in my own life.)  If I understand the authors correctly, as long as I can identify that self-loathing and self-hatred have been controlling my life, as I have seen it, then I can move forward and change my thinking.

 

Michael Riddle

PSYU 455

Chapman University College

 

 

After reading this chapter, it has made me realize that, in my personal opinion, most people that I have talked with and researched, would benefit more from Solution-Focused Brief Therapy than any other type of therapy.

While reading this section specifically, I realized the difference in how a client is asked by their therapist the various questions.  For example, the Miller family, whom I will be counseling for my term paper, came to me with major family issues.  Traditional therapists would have asked the simple questions like, "So what brings you here today?"  For this family, that question would not be a great start to their therapy.  Let me explain a little bit about this family and why I say that.

Bill and Judy have been together since their high school years, married right out of high school, tried to attend college and in so doing wound up having their first child, Brian.  After Brian is born, they have two more children, Lauren and Tina.  Bill works for a store similar to Lowe's and sells plumbing fixtures while Judy works as a dental assistant.  The family cannot seem to keep Judy's sister, Linda out of the house.  Neither of the parents can tell their parents to let them live their lives and raise their kids the way they seem fit.

I believe that working together with the family to change the situation would be better than trying to fix the problems fot them.  Granted this family definitely is dealing with various issues, but I believe that if I work together with the Miller family, they might be able to have a better home life with each other.

Obstacles still exist for same-sex couples
BY DAVID CASTELLON • dcastell@visalia. gannett.com • May 16, 2008

Thursday's California Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage came as welcome news to Michael Riddle of Visalia.


In 2004, he and his partner paid for a marriage license in San Francisco after the city's mayor decided to allow same-sex marriages there. But three weeks before their wedding day, legal challenges put a halt to the ceremonies.

On Thursday, Riddle, 35, again was making wedding plans — until bureaucracy got in the way.

At the Tulare County Clerk's Office in Visalia, Riddle was told he couldn't obtain a marriage license. The problem, said Deltra Kibler, a supervisor at the clerk's office, is that the current marriage-license application has spaces for the "groom" and "bride" alone.

Until the California Department of Vital Records approves new documents with a "partner" designation, she said, the county can't issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"All the crazy laws. I don't understand at all," a clearly frustrated Riddle told Kibler. "There are those who want to get married, and me and my partner want to get married."

Kibler said she doesn't know how long it will be before the documents are changed. Riddle asked whether he and his partner could have a wedding ceremony and apply for the marriage license later, but was told no.

"It's a misdemeanor to marry [people] without a marriage license," Kibler said.

By late afternoon Riddle was the only person to come into the clerk's office seeking a license for a same-sex marriage, she said.
Another roadblock
Outside the clerk's office, Riddle described this bureaucratic delay as the latest obstacle members of the homosexual and lesbian communities must endure, despite advances in gay rights over the past decade.

"We don't feel that the laws have been in favor of us," he said. "Several of our friends ... they go to the hospitals or there is a death, and the partner is not allowed to be in the hospital or [make final arrangements] ."

Riddle said he and his partner have been together for more than five years. In March they had a private ceremony with friends "to prove we are committed," he said.

But they'd still like to be formally and legally married.
Steps being taken
Lea Brooks, a spokeswoman the state Department of Public Health, which oversees Vital Records, said her agency is evaluating the steps necessary to comply with the court's ruling. It will send guidance to counties "soon," she said.

The creation of new marriage-license applications won't necessarily pave the way for same-sex ceremonies, however.

The state Supreme Court ruling becomes permanent 30 days after being issued. Tulare County Clerk Gregory Hardcastle said Thursday he had received no word on whether Vital Records might wait until after the 30 days elapse to issue new marriage licenses.

Also, the Supreme Court could receive a petition to reconsider its ruling. If the seven judges decide to take up the case again, their decision could be suspended while they reconsider, Tulare County Superior Court Judge Paul Vortmann said.

Another possible challenge for gay and lesbian couples: finding someone willing to marry them. Riddle said a large number of local churches will not perform same-sex marriages even if they are legal.

County judges are an option, Vortmann said.

"I'm surely going to perform them because that's the law," he said. "We are obligated to perform ceremonies during normal business hours."

Vortmann said he doesn't know what would happen if a judge declined to perform a same-sex ceremony.

"It's never come up," he said.

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If you would like to read from their website, go to
http://www.visaliat imesdelta. com/apps/ pbcs.dll/ article?AID= /20080516/ NEWS01/805160316 /1002

 

Joan of Arc: A Heretic or a Saint?

 

Michael Riddle

 

HISU 110: Western Civilization

Instructor: R Bullough

Discovering the Person

 

Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée lived in the tiny village of Domrémy in France, which was perched on the left bank of the River Meuse.  Jacques and Isabelle raised three boys; Jacques, Jean, Pierre; and two girls; Jehanne, and Catherine.  "The name Jehanne is rooted in the Latin Johanna, the feminine of Johannes, or John; in English the name takes many forms, of which includes, Joan (Spoto; 2007)."  Consequently, thus begins the history of Joan of Arc.

Joan was born around 1412, since in medieval society had no concern for specific date's, the date of her birth, January 6, was only given for symbolic reasons.  As for her name, Jean Minet, which she was baptized with, it was to honor two of her godmothers and five godfathers named Jean.  During the first twelve to thirteen years of Joan's life was nothing that was extraordinary, so we have modest if any history on this period of her life.

As accounts have it, Joan was burned at the stake, early on the morning of May 30, 1431, under "heresy," "witchcraft," and "sorcery."

Joan as a Devout Catholic

Joan was a devout Catholic all her life and attended Mass frequently.  As a child she was raised in the faith, learning the Lord's Prayer, the Ave Maria, and the Credo from her mother.  She also received her religious education through various means: sacrament, or communion, through her village priest; various episodes from the Bible, through sermons at Mass; and the events in the lives of Christ and the Saints, through the paintings, statues, and windows in the church.

At the age of 12 or 13, Joan began having her visions and hearing voices, of which were Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Margaret of Antioch, early Christian martyrs, and also of Saint Michael, the Archangel.  It was said that because she "heard voices," she was a mystic.  The voices of the Saints expressed to her to pray often and attend church frequently.  Later in these visions, the Saints would tell her to lead an army against the English and the Burgundians.  It was during these battles that Joan would foretell events that would eventually happen to her, including injuries in battle and even her own death.

The Hundred Years' War

In May of 1337, a war between the English and the French broke out, eventually known as the hundred years' war.  It was not until 1453 that this war would end.  It is said this war was to have been started by the English king, Edward III, "by asserting a claim to the French throne when the French king Charles IV died without an heir (Kagan, Ozment, Turner; 2004).  It was during this war that Joan was born and died.

In 1429, Joan had convinced the captain of the dauphin's force, along with the dauphin himself, which she had a calling to help the army fight for the rightful king of France, Charles VII.  After being given troops and commanding them as their captain, Joan led a miraculous victory over the English at the battle of Orleans in May of the same year.  During her battles, Joan was known for carrying "a banner with a picture of ‘Our Savior' holding the world ‘with two angels at his sides,' on a white background with gold fleurs-de-lis (archive.joan-of-arc.org; 2008)."  Her victory at Orleans would bring about the crowning of King Charles VII of France at his coronation, July 17, 1429.

Les than a year later, in April of 1430, Joan received another vision informing her that she would be captured and imprisoned before "Saint John's Day" (June 24).

The Young Lady as a Man

Medieval Theology had a great hold on Christian beliefs during the fifteenth century.  One of these beliefs was regarding the issue of "cross-dressing."

In the "Summa Theologica," which was written during the 13^th century by St. Thomas Aquinas, "[cross-dressing] may at times be done without sin due to some necessity (Williamson; 2008)."  It was during the 12^th century that St. Hildegard von Bingen wrote in her theological work "Scivias," "men and women should not wear each other's clothes except in necessity.  A man should never put on a feminine dress or a woman use male attire...Unless...a woman's chastity is in danger (2008)."

When it actually come's to the fact of Joan wearing men's clothes, she explained that she obeyed the voices of the saints by "cutting her hair, dressing in a man's uniform, and picking up the arms."  Later, it would be because she was forced as a prisoner, once again, to wear men's clothes that she would be sentenced to death.

The Trial and Execution of Jean "the maiden"

The trial and execution of Joan "the maiden," was a farce at best accounts.  Pierre Cauchon had bribed church officials concerning "a murder" that was ordered by Duke John -the-Fearless of Burgundy.  This murder would be under the guise of an Inquisitorial trial.

During her imprisonment, although Inquisitorial procedures required women prisoners to be held in the church-run prisons and guarded by nuns, Joan was imprisoned in a secular prison and was left with no choice but to cling to her soldiers' outfit.  This was "her only means of defending herself against rape since a dress didn't offer much protection (Williamson; 2008)." 

Joan's trial was such a farce with charges of, "having magical powers," "pouring wax on small children's' heads," "listening to demons," "dressing in men's clothes," and eventually the charge that became her death sentence, "relapsed heretic."  This so called relapse was brought on by the guards and by Cauchon, by ripping her dress off of her and giving her no choice but to wear the men's clothes.

At her murder, Joan was given a cross made of sticks and placed it under her garments close to her breast.  This was the most likely her only way of trying to keep at peace during her suffering.  Donald Spoto explains Joan's experience of death as such:

"Death by burning was considered so dreadful that there was a so-called merciful gesture performed just as the fire was lit: the executioner climbed a ladder behind the stake and either cut the throat or strangled the victim to death.  This was not done to Joan, who endured a protracted torture and death because the pyre was built unusually high for all to see (2007)."

This last act allowed one final wish for Joan throughout her agonizing torture; "with her last breath, (she) sang out the name of the Lord Jesus (2007)."

Joan Darc's Exoneration

It wasn't until 1449 that the appeal of Joan's case would be initiated.  In 1455, the appellate court finally began hearing testimonies regarding the "murder" of Joan of Arc.  Finally on July 7, 1456, in ritual tradition, once Joan had been exonerated, a copy of the original verdict against Jean "the maiden" was torn up.

Although it wasn't until 1869 that the beatification process was initiated, Joan would not be beatified until 1909 and finally canonized into sainthood on May 16, 1920, by Pope Benedict XV.

References:

Kagan, D., Ozment, S., Turner; F.M., (2004).  The Western Heritage (Eighth Edition):  Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Spoto, D.; (2007).  Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heritic Who Became a Saint.: New York, NY, Harper One

Williamson, A.; (2008).  Joan of Arc Archive.,Retrieved May 3, 2008, from web site: http://archive.joan-of-arc.org.

 

Michael Riddle

PSYU 455

Chapman University College

 

 

Growing up in a family unit where arguments were an ingredient on a daily basis, I noticed that as I studied this section, my family may well have positively benefitted from family therapy.

It is my conviction that my parents learned their quarrelling behaviors from their parents.  I believe nonetheless, that this behavior can be unlearned.  On the other hand, the element that strikes me, is that I do not recollect hearing or having any knowledge about my mothers parents ever fighting, while I do know that my dads parents, and for that issue the whole family, always fought.

The second matter with my parents is something that I have learned from them and am now trying to unlearn myself, that is, the "here-and-now" problems.  {It is my perception that this is supposed to focus on present situations and not the past.}  My parents were infamous for this, and depressing to utter, I have done the same thing, bringing up the past troubles and now focusing on the "here-and-now."  As long as I have the opportunity to change this learned behavior in my existence, I will be a more contented individual and my bond with my husband can cultivate further.

I also have been focusing a lot of my awareness on me and my husband's best-friend's since I have been taking psychology course-work here at Chapman.

Adam and Zack have been together for six years and have a brilliant, loving relationship; the predicament that they have on the one hand, is their cognitive distortions connecting them.  Zack, the younger of the two, is relentlessly condemning Adam of having an affair if he hasn't come home from work right away and has his cell phone off; the arbitrary inference.  Adam, supplementary, deals frequently with the same illustration in the text in the biased explanations.  Our friends are absolutely not devoid of the normal marital tribulations; finances, work, etc.  Conversely, these distortions seem to be the most widespread troubles in their marriage.

 

Michael Riddle

May 4, 2008

Chapman University College

 

 

Strategic therapy is the chief means that I encompassed in trying to facilitate people to advance all the way through their problems when they have come to me for help and advice in the past.  Nevertheless this is the first time that I have heard the appropriate vocabulary and the suitable traditions to use these ideas.

As I have been the individual that many of my friends come to for help and advice, I have tried to help them become conscious that one of the chief components in any manner of relationships is communication.  This seemed to be easier said than done before.  Nevertheless, now I realize the proper method needed in supporting others in their communication skills and awareness.

This chapter also gave me the opportunity to take a deeper look and get a better insight into the communication behaviors that my husband and I have had for the last year toward one another.  For example, the communication that I have used in our relationship, is that I shriek or squabble over the house being disarray and that "I seem to do it all."  Because of this, I despise how I have communicated this across to him.  My husband additionally seems to get depressed and engrosses all of his feelings towards my rejection of a filthy house.  This is definitely getting us no where.  It seems to me that we are in a first-order change when a second-order change is truly needed.

Finally, in retrospect to this chapter, I realize that this is the way that I desire to counsel people.  I am looking at the diverse methods and theories of family counseling, and although this chapter, and for that matter this course in general, seems to have me bearing in mind that these models and theories could actually be used on an individual basis as well.  The strategic models that were defined here in this chapter will unquestionably be a focal point for me to use in counseling; certainly, all depends on the technique and the client.