You are a school counselor and working with a student Tami, age 9. Tami transferred into your school halfway through the school year after her family immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. Tami lives at home with her mother, her father, and her two younger siblings. The teacher sent Tami to speak to you after she became visibly upset in the class when discussing an upcoming Grandparent's Day activity. Tami has a very close relationship with her paternal grandparents, who are back in Jamaica and taking care of her older brother and sister. She has been struggling with having very limited contact with them since moving to the United States. Upon speaking to Tami, she discloses to you that her parents do not allow her to go out and play anymore and also mentioned her mother slapping her for asking to go out and play. Given the cultural aspect here, how do you handle working with this family? Please be sure to use Systemic Theory to explain what the family is currently experiencing and to discuss the interventions you would use with this family.

First off, let's discuss systemic theory. The idea of systemic theory in psychology is that things are interconnected—such as family units. The emotions of an individual in the family cannot be understood without understanding the emotional state of the whole family, because they act as a unit. The emotions of every individual in the family affect the others, and in order to properly treat the issues in one individual, you must address or at least understand the emotional state of the others.
In this situation, there are some clear issues that need to be addressed for Tami. There first needs to be a discussion with her and her parents about the transition from Jamaica. She is clearly affected by the move and is having a difficult time adjusting. Her parents are also not helping the situation by refusing to let her play and even, on occasion, by hitting her. The physical violence needs to be addressed and intervened with as well.
The issue with her missing her grandparents seems to stem partially from distress over a lack of compassion and gentle treatment. She reveals that she has a very close relationship with her grandparents, and so it could probably be assumed that they were more gentle with her than her parents. Digging to the root of the emotional issues that make her more upset about missing her grandparents could help Tami function better despite her sadness. If she is treated with more kindness and allowed more freedom as a child by her parents, she will have other pleasures that will distract her from the sadness of missing her grandparents and help her enjoy herself and relate to the new country.
Using systems theory, we'd address the attitudes of every member of the family, because the stress of the move is likely wearing on her parents as well, which makes it more difficult. By discussing with everyone how best to treat each other, the parents may be more inclined to make Tami feel at home and have some more freedom, thus lifting her spirits.