Schwieger 1
Grant Schwieger
Professor Fairchild
Interpersonal Communications
2 November 2016
Individual Case Study
Introduction
Case Study #3 is about a young married couple, Brent and Rachel. They are still in their
late twenties, and are settling into their lives. They have twins in kindergarten, a house, and both
have promising careers ahead of them. However, their careers are where some issues arise.
Rachel feels her career is best suited living somewhere else, and Brent feels it is best to stay
living where they are. This relationship needs some compromising to fix the problem.
Section A: The Core Issue
Brent and Rachel are experiencing problems in their relationship due to both being
unwilling to use the neutralization strategy (180).
Section B: The Situation
Brent and Rachel are still young and starting to realize what paths their careers may take
them. Rachel has an internship in a nearby city and thinks it would be best for them to move
there (14). However, Brent works for his family’s firm and finds it best for them to stay put (15-
16). They have tried to discuss the issue, but it turned into arguments and now both are ignoring
the subject (16-17). They are both becoming more and more busy, creating more stress for them,
and making it harder for them to talk.
Schwieger 2
Part C: The Causes
Brent has been unable to do his fair share of taking care of the kids and helping around
the house because he has been putting in a lot of extra time at work (21-23). Rachel has exams
for her finals and for her license to study for, as well as her internship. Since Brent has been so
busy, she has been busier than usual taking care of the house and children. This does not leave
her as much time as she would like to study, which is worrying her (24-27).
Another cause of the issues in their relationship is the lack of communication. Rachel has
an inkling that Brent views her school and work as less important than his, but does not talk to
him about it because she does not want to fight (28-30). Brent does not tell Rachel how he feels
because he thinks she will eventually side with him, so he is content waiting it out (18-19).
Neither one is sharing their feelings or thoughts, and they are not very close in their ideas. This
