| Empirical research and surveys of counseling center directors both suggest: (1) there is a high prevalence of psychological disturbance in the college student population, (2) the severity of psychological problems appears to be increasing with time, (3) that college students' psychological difficulties are related to both their experience in their family of origin and the management of their separation from the family, and (4) there is high level of perceived family of origin dysfunction amongst college students. Adapting to life at college can be a particularly challenging time for individuals. Both family systems theory and family of origin studies demonstrate that issues such as student-parent conflict, dependence on emotional support and cross-generational coalitions are all associated with maladjustment to college. Family-therapy-with-one-person approaches to increasing differentiation are associated with satisfactory adjustment in individuals. In this connection, this dissertation reviews both the empirical and theoretical literature on student adjustment to college. Based on this literature, it is suggested that a need exists for a group-based workshop aimed at increasing students' differentiation from their family of origin. A program of intervention designed to address the particular needs of college students is presented. This program is distinctive in that in applies the family-therapy-with-one-person approach to a group-based workshop. The format provides the participants the opportunity to learn basic family systems concepts with the aid of popular movies and increase their understanding of their family of origin through concrete experience, reflective observation, conceptualization and active experimentation activities. A plan for evaluation of the program is also proposed. |
