FAMILY SYSTEMS
Family Systems
Misti Burney
Grand Canyon University: SOC-386
January 10, 2020
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FAMILY SYSTEMS
Family Systems
In the case study “Using a Family Systems Approach with an Adoptive Family of a Child
with Special Needs,” the Laurent family is discussed. In this family dynamic, the father Andre
and mother Marie Clothilde, adopts Marie Clothilde’s extended nephew, Michel, after a
disastrous earthquake hits Haiti, killing Michel’s entire family. Both Andre and Marie Clothilde
are immigrants from Haiti with Andre being in the country longer than Marie Clothilde, making
him more fluent in English and more experienced with the school system in the Boston area they
reside in.
Michel, new to the country, is dealing with his feelings from his recent loss of his
entire family and his transition to a new country. He has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic
stress disorder due to the recent events he has experienced.
A new family system, the microsystem, is created in the adoption of Michel. Andre and
Marie Clothilde go from being a couple to a family unit with a few different family subsystems.
