The Gang Gets Evaluated by a Future Social Worker on their Behavior

We are going to observe the behavior of the characters in the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and their interactions with each other. We will analyze the main reasons to why they behave the way they do around each other, considering how they can drastically affect each other in such a negative manner. This would be done with a microlevel intervention, since we are working with five individuals. Some of the individuals have larger roles in terms of their microlevel group, not just in the roles in their workplace where they usually interact, but in their negative behavior towards each other as well. We will mainly focus on specific interactions when one of the members was replaced with a mannequin of a similar appearance and how the group reacted with it. Each individual had issues arise from the mannequin that revolved around specific issues they struggled with throughout the series. In the episode

The Gang Makes Paddy's Pub Great Again the character Dennis is replaced with a mannequin because he left the group to be with a woman who supposedly had a child because of him. During one scene, they all seem to be positive toward each other while discussing their plan to earn money; then they acknowledge the mannequin, where they begin to assume that it's thinking the negative thoughts that Dennis would say to them, assuming the plan was a bad idea. (Day C., McElhenney R., Howerton G., 2005). They received a sort of microlevel intervention when a character named Cindy explained how they don't need Dennis's negativity back in their lives, which was noticeable during their discussion for their plan. Their social functioning would be labelled difficult because they are aware of their negative traits and have those negatives used against them by their group, yet they continue to interact with each other. This behavior was why they decided to have Dennis return to their group instead of keeping Cindy, who was more of a positive role model for them, and the group was aware of her positive intentions with them. Cindy could have possibly failed to replace Dennis due to her lack of knowledge of the group, which it vital when working with few individuals for a microlevel intervention. Understanding each member of the group would help find solutions to fix their negative bonds, as they struggle to show their deeper feelings when together.

The most reliable method for social workers to use for a situation like this would be use a casework. The group prefers to be around each other, despite the negative tension they all share with each other and bizarre methods of team work, which would make group work difficult with their lack of commitment. This could focus on the individuals themselves without the negative stigma surrounding their group. Dee, Dennis, and Frank are all related as brother, sister, and legal father respectively. Charlie and Mac both knew each other as kids and have interesting past and present relationships with their fathers, one being Frank but being unaware of it until adulthood, and the other being son of a convict who was oblivious of his father's actions. With the characters having plenty of insight of one another, casework could bring out information that could locate those negative chains they are all linked to. The family systems approach provided basis of understanding one's influence provided by their families, such as development and role expectations. (DuBois, 2013, p. 75). Using this method could help us understand their perspectives because we lack the full knowledge of their past experiences, which could explain their negative behaviors. Understanding their past and experiences without their father and Frank's past would provide possible explanations to their behavior, which could lead to possible outcomes that may lead to healthier relationships within their group.

In short, the group seem to somehow stay connected with each other despite their negative influence on each other. Dennis, a member of the group shows his negative influence on them by his actions towards the group. Even during Dennis's absence, they were still hostile toward each other, especially towards Mac. It's important to look at the group individually rather than a group would help find clues to their behavior, as their presence with each other seem to influence negative behavior toward each other. They are aware of the bad influence they share on one another, but don't attempt to fix that negativity. Understanding their experiences individually without the group's influences through casework could lead to discoveries that can help us understand their behavior and find possible solutions to lower the negativity.

References

Hornsby D. (Writer), & (Biermann T. (Director). (2018, September 5). The Gang Makes Paddy's Pub Great Again [Television series episode]. In R. McElhenney (Executive producer), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Los Angeles, CA: FXX.

DuBois, B., & Miley, K. K. (2013). Social Work: An Empowering Profession (8th ed.). U.S.A.: Pearson.

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