Analyze Lifeline
For your own reflection , prepare a personal lifeline that charts nodal events from your date of birth to the present. Notice both vertical and horizontal stressors (see page 8 in the McGoldrick, Carter, and Garcia-Preto text). The vertical stressors might include: cultural and societal history, such as poverty, experiences of racism, classism, family myths, family secrets, privilege, or oppression as related to gender, race, sexual orientation, class, age, or religion. The horizontal stressors might include life cycle transitions, death, traumatic experiences, natural disasters, health and mental health, life skills (education, work/career), and family structure. This exploration is intended to give you an intergenerational perspective on the relationship of your individual development to your family’s development through time.
After reflecting on your lifeline, choose one vertical and one horizontal stressor from your past that intersect with each other. In your discussion, you do not need to indicate all events on the timeline, only the two that meet the noted criteria. Write about how these stressors interacted and how they impacted you and your family. For example, one of you may notice that when you were preparing to leave home and go away to school, one of your parents became seriously ill and you stayed at home. Perhaps a critical family event stalled your transition to establishing your individuality. Discuss what you learned from your experience and how it is or will be enhancing your professional role or professional work.
