Family of Origin

With regard to my role as counselor, the traditional structure of my ethnic culture and background in general and my particular position in the family in particular. As is the case with many children of immigrant Greek parents, my emotional bonds with my parents are quite close, and their bond is close. More important, the family unit is considered central to the whole of human experience within the family. That is consistent with the fact that my mother had a very close bond with her parents as well. The extended family, which includes five brothers and their families, is geographically close, with all of the brothers' families living within 50 square miles of one another. Large and informal family gatherings are not confined to special events but are a feature of everyday life. It is hard to overstate the importance of these facts, which are completely consistent with the view of Nichols an

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, I realize that this, too, could be too simplistic since at some level the individual confronts the prospect of ownership of his or her feelings irrespective of family dynamics. The role of the therapist would be to assess and help the individual sort out the interplay of individual and family aspects of experience. Because I am not a parent, it might seem that I cannot speak with certainty about how family dynamics affect me in that area. On the other hand, as the firstborn cousin, and a male, on both the paternal and maternal sides of a family whose behavior and traditions are consistent with traditional patriarchy, the fact is that, among my cousins, I have always had a certain "status" as the "oldest." That, of course, hardly counts as parenting credentials. However, within my family, I have been uniquely positioned as a child within my immediate family circle and within that of my aunt and uncle's. In adjusting to my aunt and uncle's household when I returned to California for school, I was able to observe and appreciate differences in parenting styles and in family dynamics. This was especially valuable since I came into a "new" family household in which the firstborn, four years younger than I, was a girl and the second b
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2358
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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