Societal Constraints

us. Rogers puts forward the view that the client held in the therapeutic relationship, when given the

A therapist using narrative therapy considers race, gender, socio economic status, and sexual orientation in congruence with their interventions (Dallos and Vetere, 2014). The theory assumes that people have the skills, values, and commitments that can help them change their problems. The narrative framework of therapy focuses on multiple stories that have shaped a person’s identity (Dallos and Vetere, 2014). The clients can tell their stories and the therapist will find a common theme. The client’s stories will allow them to express themselves using their most memorable events that have “shaped their perspective on the world” (Dallos and Vetere, 2014). Usually narrative therapy will show that the client’s stories are “dominated with problems” and the clients have identified themselves with their issues (Dallos and Vetere, 2014). For example, instead of being a person who has experienced anxiety, the client will explain that they “have always been an anxious person”. The client, along with the therapist, can learn how to externalize the problem, specify the problem, change the negative to a positive, and tell a new, more positive narrative (Dallos and Vetere, 2014).

The aforementioned client described problems with low self-esteem, feelings of constant failure whilst belittling the reported achievements in his life; and feeling the need to constantly better himself. When we tried to formulate the problem collaboratively, we were able to establish that his thoughts were: negative, discounting success, black and white and following rigid rules. He experienced feelings of low mood and exhaustion and noted that his behaviours involved constant checking, trying to multi task, being over thorough, making lists that were unrealistic to achieve and tendencies to avoid tasks and

After an individual fails to meet the normal expectations, they find themselves seeking other spheres where they can be accepted with their unique and non-conventional identities. Andrew Solomon, for example, struggles to meet the expectation of his mother and the society concerning his sexual orientation. At 19 years of age, he tries a therapy that was expected to change his sexual orientation. He “exercises” with various women to meet these expectations. However, in his adulthood, the rejection of Solomon’s sexual orientation and his failure to meet what the society and his mother expected of him led him to find other spheres where his identity could be accepted. He states that in his adulthood; “being gay is an identity; the tragic narrative my parents feared for me is no longer inevitable. The happy life I now lead was unimaginable…” (Solomon 381). In essence, Solomon found his true identity, and this also allowed him to seek for relationships with other people who accepted his true identity. He finds it easy to associate and identify with other disabled people who he considers as minorities and whose identities run parallel to his such as those with autism and

When working with individuals with physical disabilities the TTM model can vary according to how the individual’s culture recognized their disability (Boston, 2015). Gender roles can also affect the process of change (Boston, 2015). The helper needs to empathize with the disabled person to understand how they feel about their disability and the cultural belief system of the client, in an effort to assist the client (Boston, 2015). When a counselor is working with a transgendered person, the helper needs to adjust the model to include the client’s level of social acceptance (Carroll, 2002). The social situation with a transgendered client may not be one of tolerance, therefore the helper needs to be aware of this and balance between the clients needs and the social environment the client occupies (Carroll, 2002). Finally, when working with clients from various populations, the experience should be unique and the therapist should work to help the client feel accepted and understood, the various models can be modified or adjusted to better fit the

In the prior session, the client detailed his family relationships, legal issues, and discussed how his father played a “role” in his life. The activity was selected as a way to get the client to think about someone important in his life and then later process the information. The client was to listen to my prompt and imagine opening an envelope with a letter inside. He would open the envelope, read the letter and visualize the letter for a few moments. After reading the letter he was instructed to explain who the letter was from and what the letter said.

One of the major issues Hispanics encounter is acculturation. Acculturation deals with a merging of cultures or even borrowing traits from another culture. Akins, Mosher, Smith and Gauthier (2008) explain that “acculturation stress refers to societal pressures that force immigrants to alter their lifestyles, behaviors and the way they think about themselves”. When treating Hispanics, one must be careful not to push one’s ideals as to how one believes, pressing the client to act or change their

For this client system assessment, I have chosen a client I engaged with while at work, my client’s name is Keith. Keith is 34 years old and has had many unfortunate circumstances surrounding his life, beginning with his birth. Keith’s family system consists of himself, his mother and two step siblings. Keith was unfortunately the product of a rape, witnessed repeated domestic abuse situations with his mother’s boyfriends and husbands, was abused himself and to this day, Keith continues to suffer in all domains: emotionally, mentally and physically. I will assess Keith’s family system as well as Keith as an individual utilizing Erikson’s Psychological Stages of Development, Bowman’s Family System Theory and Marcia’s Identity Status Model.

Factors of the medical module such as age, external and internal influences and home life may have explained why those things are affecting John’s behavioral problems. Between the massive change in behavior, school and social skills, it is clear that the physical abuse John endured has had a significant impact on his life. John may have been labeled a “deviant” in society because his condition is not widely understood by everyone. Just as there are many people that don’t empathize with certain physical disabilities, there are just as much if not more that don’t understand the weight of a mental disability or disorder. The quick and easy way to dismiss the lack of knowledge is to confine John into the “deviant” category. If John was constantly being reminded of his academic challenges by being labeled as a deviant that may prevent him for striving beyond his given “label”.

Discuss your identity as a professional social worker. How have you worked to recognize and manage your own personal biases and values to practice ethical social work in service of a client/client system’s interests?

In the vignette, it is mentioned that the client Julie, a 34-year-old African American female, is calling about her son 12-year-old son Derik, who seems to be having an adjustment issue relating to her recent marriage to John. Although Julie indicated that she is calling on behalf of her son’s adjustment problem, she spends most of the time talking about her dissatisfaction at work and within her romantic life. When approaching this case through a solution-focused lens, I would stress to her that anyone who is concerned about the problem situation (Derik’s adjustment problem, although it is apparent there are other issues) should attend the sessions. In the initial intake phase, little information is taken, understanding that the client is the expert in what needs to change; as the therapist, my role is to help her access the strengths she already possesses.

Three broad models of criminal behaviors are the following: psychological, sociological and biological models. Actually, it is difficult to completely separate them and it is generally accepted, that all of them play a role in the interpretation of behavior. Though psychological principles can be applied across all the three models, they all have some specific ones, which would help in implementing across different crime control policies.

Over the last 100 years, the underpinning concepts in the fields of psychology and counseling were wrought. Within this period, these concepts have transformed and evolved from somewhat crude conceptions of the psyche toward more holistic interventions and approaches. As the profession continues to move forward, adaptations of the original theorists regarding the nature of man and the development of personality continue to emerge. These adaptations, along with the integration of new concepts and ideas, continue to contribute to the field. The author describes his view of man and human nature, personality development, and explores potential implications for counseling.

The central focus of feminist counselling is gender, therapists must understand and be sensitive to how psychological oppression and socialization influence identity development.

Psychodynamic theory revolves around the basis that the psychosocial development stages and the unconscious mind are essential to understanding human behavior (Walsh, 2013, p. 55). This broad theory encompasses several other theories such as ego psychology, psychoanalysis, relational and object relations theory, and self-psychology. For the purpose of this client intervention, the focus will be on the ego psychology practice theory. This practice theory identifies the client in their social environment and the role of the ego in human behavior (Walsh, 2013, p. 56). The client in this case is thirty-four years old and facing marital problems with her husband of twenty years. Changes over the last few years had caused her and her husband to slowly drift apart. After realizing the distance in their relationship, the client worked to spend more time with her husband and open up herself emotionally to him. Soon after, her husband told her he wanted a divorce since he no longer loved her. She sought the help of a therapist to help her work through the relationship problems.