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Counseling Theory Vignettes
Sample vignette response:
A narrative therapist would listen respectfully to John and Mary’s stories, and to understand the influence that these stories have had on their lives (Corey, 2013). “Because of the power of dominant culture narratives, individuals tend to internalize the messages from these dominant discourses, which often work against the life opportunity of the individual” (p. 410). Growing up in a culture where he may have experienced racism and prejudice, John may have internalized a story that children must toughen up to the world.
“Within the family, African-American parents use a number of disciplinary actions that prepare children to live in a racist environment where unfairness and discrimination are common. In that vein, respect for authority is typically nonnegotiable in African-American families; children who are disrespectful receive the most severe forms of punishment-usually physical” (Evans, 2013, p.65). Thus the heavy-handed discipline John experienced himself as a child may be an acceptable cultural narrative of his own parenting style with his sons today.
John’s view of the school of hard knox may represent his narrative that his sons should attend school where they will learn to, cope with racism, which includes developing a tough skin. Mary may have internalized a story from her own childhood where traditional African-American mothers raise daughters to be empowered and independent but for their sons, independence is not stressed as strongly and punishment is not as severe, often enabling their male children (Evans, 2013).
This could explain her desire to protect and her sons from harmful aspects of life and John’s harsh disciplinary measures. The therapist must be aware of stereotyping and learn how to recognize diversity issues and work with John and Mary in the context of their worldview. It is an ethical obligation for counselors to develop sensitivity to cultural differences (Corey, 2013). While John’s style of discipline may be culture-laden, the therapist must look at his or her own professional obligation according to the legal and ethical code of the state in which they work.
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The response to each counseling theory vignette should be 1-2 pages per vignette for a total of 5-6 pages for the entire assignment plus reference page. Do not copy and paste the vignettes into your written response
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Vignette One
Jack, a 28-year old man, tells you: “Most of my life I have felt pushed and pulled. My father pushed me into school, sports, and so forth, and over the years my resentment grew for him. He was always directing and controlling my life and beating me when I challenged his authority. My mother always gave me a warm, unconditional love and tried to pull me under her protective wing. My parents divorced when I was 18 and without parental control I began a life of self-will in my relationships and in my use of drugs and alcohol.
On graduating from college, I rejected my father’s wishes to pursue a career and returned to school to seek another degree. In some ways it’s just a place to be that I like. Most of my life revolves around living for today, a hedonistic style that has no concreteness of goals and aspirations, with a lack of definition of `what a man should be.’ I float in and out of people’s lives.
They see an image of me as a despoiler of women, a drug freak, and a cold bastard. My fear is that I am nothing more than that image, that I am empty inside. I want to be able to open up and let people see the warmer, more sensitive sides of me, but I have terrible difficulty doing that. I have a strong need to become close and intimate with others, yet I never let myself become vulnerable because I fear being dependent on them and trapped by their love.”
Assume that Jack comes to you for personal therapy and that all you know about him is what he told you above. Answer the following questions on how you might proceed with Jack within a Psychoanalytic frame of reference:
1. As a psychoanalytic therapist, do you think that Jack’s current unwillingness to become vulnerable to others out of his fear of “being dependent on them and trapped by their love” has much to do with his mother’s unconditional love? How might this experience be related to his relationships with women now?
2. Jack describes his father as an authoritarian, controlling, and cruel man who apparently had conventional ideas of what he wanted Jack to become. What are the underlying psychological aspects that you see involved with Jack’s rejection of his father’s wishes? How might you use psychoanalytic counseling theory to explain the fact that in many ways he became what his father did not want him to become?
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Vignette Two
Alice and Javier, both in their early 30’s, have been married for 7 years and have three young children. Javier is a Latino, and Alice is a Pacific Islander. Neither his family nor hers was very supportive of marrying a person “not of your own kind.” Consequently, Javier and Alice do not see their parents very often. She feels a real gap without this connection with her family; he maintains that if that’s the way his family wants it, so be it.
They have been having a great deal of difficulty as a family for several years. Alice seems to think that Javier is far too strict with the children, demanding full obedience without question. He admits he is a hard taskmaster, but he says that’s the way it was for him in his family.
Alice would like to get a job, yet she stops herself from considering it because Javier becomes extremely upset when she even mentions the issue. His response is: “Why can’t you be satisfied with what you have? It reflects poorly on me if you have to go outside and get work!” Alice has tended to assume the role of keeping peace in the family, almost at any price.
This means not doing many of the things she would like to do, lest it lead to an escalation of the conflicts between them. Alice has finally decided that even if it rocks the boat and causes a storm, she cannot continue living as she has. She has asked Javier to go to counseling with her. He has agreed, reluctantly, mostly to understand her better and “do whatever can be done to help her.”
Assume that Alice and Javier come to you for personal therapy and that all you know about them is what they told you above. Answer the following questions on how you might proceed with this couple within an Adlerian frame of reference:
1. As an Adlerian therapist you will want to make sure that your goals and the goals of Alice and of Javier are in alignment. How might you go about this? What if Javier and Alice have different goals? How might the fact that he is a Latino and she is a Pacific Islander be significant in setting goals?
2. If you had to speculate at this moment, what are Alice’s “basic mistakes”? Javier’s? What specific Adlerian techniques might you be most inclined to employ in working with this couple?
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Vignette Three
Paul, a 30-year old gay man has recently found out that he has AIDS. Though he is in a period of remission, he knows that the disease is terminal. Paul is seeking counseling to help him deal with this crisis and at least get the maximum out of the remainder of his life. He is filled with rage over his fate; he keeps asking why this had to happen to him. He tells you that at first he could not believe the diagnosis was correct.
When he finally got several more professional opinions that confirmed he had AIDS, he began to feel more and more anger—toward God, toward his healthy friends, whom he envied, and generally toward the unfairness of his situation. He tells you that he was just starting to live the lifestyle he denied himself all of his adult life and that he had a direction he was going in professionally. Now everything will have to change. After he tells you this, he is sitting across from you waiting for your response
Assume that Paul comes to you for personal therapy and that all you know about him is what he told you above. Answer the following questions on how you might proceed with Paul within an Existential/Person Centered frame of reference:
1. Paul tells you that one of the reasons he is coming to see you is his desire to accept his fate. How would you work with him to gain this acceptance? What specific things might you do to help him find ways of living the rest of his life to its fullest?
2. Do you see any possibilities for helping Paul find meaning in his life in the face of death? What diversity issues and ethical considerations might arise in your work with Paul?
Counseling Theory Vignettes
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Counseling and Psychotherapy
Order Instructions:
Find articles from professional journal dated within the past 5 years. A minimum of eight (8) research articles are required to complete this assignment.
For the final research paper you will be comparing and contrasting 2 schools of counseling and psychotherapy: Psychoanalytic and Humanistic/Existential
Your research paper must include:
compare and contrast both theories
discuss evidence-based research on applicability of each theory and treatment
present research on the pros and cons of each theory to specific populations
integrate research on culture and diversity in regard to the applicability of each theory
create an original case example that ties in your research (this should only be ½ to 1 page)
Your final paper should be 8-10 pages plus a title and reference page
Counseling and Psychotherapy
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Counseling and Psychotherapy
Research paper
Introduction
The emergence of various methods of treatment in the practice of psychology is as a result of the different schools of thoughts that were developed to cater for the patient’s specific needs. These methods are applied by the therapists depending on their preference and the problem that is sought to be solved. It is also guided by the cultural and personal attributes of the client in accordance with the estimation of the therapist. Some of the main schools of thought include the humanistic/existential model of therapy and psychoanalysis method.
Humanistic school of thought
This school of thought does not have specific beliefs as the other school of thoughts as it focuses on the exploration of the human holistically. It focuses on the development of the client by the exploration and reflection on the meaning of life as per the client’s view, the choices available to the client and the decision that follows. It seeks to decipher the meaning of life and proceed on the view that life is all about the choices people make. Despite the fact that external forces such as culture and the past happenings playing a big role in how people turn out, the life one lives is fully determined by the choice people make (Watson and Bohart, 2015).
The human capacity is the principle focus in this school of thought. This mode of treatment is mostly used in the treatment of personality disorders such as schizophrenia, family and other relationship issues in addition to addiction problems. This is because of the focus it places on the self actualization of the client and hence seeks to resolve personal issues. In the treatment of the same, it helps the client to dig deep into themselves to rediscover who they are and focus on who they intend to be and hence help in the resolution of these personal issues.
The proponents of thus school of thought argue that despite the huge role the external factors in our lives play in shaping one’s personality and behavioral traits, the same is fully determined by the choices and decisions one makes. It focuses on the self actualization that everyone is capable of achieving and the power to make decisions as to what constitutes good and evil.
This type of psychology places its focus on the individual and overlooks the cultural and other environmental factors that would affect behavioral characteristics. Since it is only by the full understanding of oneself can true happiness be achieved and peaceful coexistence attained. It therefore neglects to consider the factors such as culture and other external surroundings that have a major influence on the personal traits and behavioral tendencies that one exhibits.
Psychoanalysis school of thought.
In this method of practice, the importance of knowing and understanding the unconscious mind and interpreting it for a better understanding of who one really is. This is because of the role it plays in the determination of behavioral characteristics (Elliot, 2015). This school of thought focuses more on the external forces that push one to behave in certain way and propagates that idea that the past, especially one’s childhood, and instinctual drives that lead to certain behaviors.
The focus on childhood experiences during therapy and the responses that people put up as defenses when reacting to certain circumstances are the principle focus in this method of treatment. This mode of treatment is used to address issues such as depression and anxiety. This is because it seeks to address mental issues that may have arisen as one grows up. The purpose is to help the client to face the past in an effort to overcome the negative impacts of the past occurrences and face the present and future as the client desires.
It does not consider the experiences such as cultural considerations in the shaping of one’s behavior and neither does it give due regard to other environmental factors of the same. Its major proponent is Sigmund Freud who placed his focus on sexual behaviors and insists on the maturity of one’s personality at the age of about six years. These sentiments were however disputed by other theorists who subscribed to this school of thought.
Humanistic and psychoanalysis schools of thought.
In both schools of thought, the importance of the individual and his power to make changes is emphasized. This is because of the recognition of the fact that one is responsible for their own happiness and that the result is contagious. The focus on the mental effects of behavioral characteristics is important as the manifestation of the behavior is just a spill-over effect of the mental feelings (Shahar and Mayes, 2017). The outbursts as well as other observable behavioral characteristics are all considered to be as a result of a certain thinking analogy that leads to the client’s actions and beliefs and hence by making right their mental faculties, the results will offer explanations as to the way the clients act.
The focus on the childhood of the client is equally important as it is a major contributor of the unconscious thoughts and feelings people have. In the understanding of both the past of the patient, the therapist is able to guide the patient to the understanding of their unconscious self and hence find a way of dealing with it. In so doing the therapist will have applied both concepts of the humanistic school of thought and the psychoanalytic school of thought in the furtherance of the understanding of the client’s mind and hence the rightful solutions…….
Counseling and Psychotherapy
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Strategy For Couple Counseling Through Church Ministry
Not a single marriage unit is devoid of conflict. This is because every couple comprise of two clearly different people, with different backgrounds, experiences, personalities and emotional dispositions. In spite of the compatibility between a husband and wife, these two distinct individuals will always have fairly different viewpoints which will create tension and even conflict in the marriage union (Solomon, 2008). Some of the core sources of conflict in marriage include careers, in-laws, money, sex, children and a host of other marital related issues.
When marital conflicts are left unsettled they could cripple a relationship and even lead to divorce or separation. Many couples do not have acumen for proper communication, hence they are not able to articulate their problems and this could be a major setback when it comes to conflict resolution in a marriage unit (Egan, 2006).
The major difference between couples living in marital bliss and the loveless couple is not found in whether they have conflict or not, it’s found in whether they care for each other and they are able to articulate and resolve their problems. The objective of this paper is to uncover the root of the problems between the partners in this conflicted couple for the purposes of providing a ministry plan for resolving their problems.
Couple Counseling
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Case Study: Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Couple
Strengths Of The Couple:
According to the information educed from the facilitator’s report concerning Walter and Pam, key elements concerning this couple come out prominently. Foremost, the couple has a potential to live and work out their issues together because they have a lot in common, some of the strengths they share create a backdrop for a strong affectionate love relationship.
Notably, every marriage has got its pressures, the question is not how to avoid tensions in a relationship but how to broach them when they come (Clinebell, 2008).The reason why tensions should not be allowed to escalate particularly in this couple is because they could lead to isolation and later abandonment, thus Walter and Pam must be taught how to act when conflict occurs.
Walter and Pam have demonstrated the ability to manage their finances; in this area they have demonstrated adeptness because they scored above average. The couple is able to plan and budget their money together, this is a plus for the couple because they are able to avoid unnecessary tensions arising from impulse buying and unmet family needs. Planning together enables them to have common financial goals thus they are able to invest wisely and plan for the future (Ron, 2012).
Planning together also eliminates suspicion which could arise when each partner is managing their own funds. The word of God states that God commands blessing where there is unity. It therefore goes without saying that as the couple plan their finances together and execute their plans in unison God is going to bless them and expand their territories in the area of finances.
Couple Counseling
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Remaining in accord in a marriage scenario has been difficult since Adam and Eve, this is because two distinct individuals with their own goals must enmesh and hope to experience oneness as God intended. Unfortunately, human beings are selfish and each craves his own independence. The prophet Isaiah portrayed the human egocentric problem many years ago: “All of us like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Every human being is selfish and intuitively looks out for number one, this directly leads to conflict.
It’s imperative to find out the areas where couples have similarity in order to build a ground for unity and harmonious marriage relationship. For example, Walter and Pam watch their health closely, they are both active and adhere to the rules of good nutrition. This is a positive attribute as it will enable the family to work out on their lifestyles to make sure that they age gracefully, this also minimizes their doctor visits and ensures that they will raise healthy children.
Pam and Walter have a knack for solving problems amongst other parties and even their own children, this strength enables them to create an amiable home environment where their children can feel secure since all their emotional needs are met. Moreover, the couple is able to create time to spend with their children and understand their social and emotional needs. By taking care of their children they provide a safe space for growth to make sure that their children are not trailed by psychological and mental disorders later in life.
When children are in good health, couples are able to forge ahead and achieve their goals in life. This marriage offers Walter and Pam a tremendous opportunity to overcome selfishness, as they give out their time and support for others and their children they are able to move attention from the self thus becoming a better couple. The answer for ending selfishness in a marriage is elaborated in the teachings of Jesus who taught us that instead of wanting to be first, we must be willing to be last; instead of being served we should serve. Jesus would wish for each person to love their spouse in the same measure as they love themselves. God’s plan for couples is to give up, give in and give all in order to honor His name.
Couple Counseling
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In this couple there is another attribute of the man (Walter) which serves as a bridge for solving many unresolved issues in the marriage. Walter has the ability to forgive easily and let go when hurt by his spouse or others. Human beings will try to love and protect each other no matter how hard they try, at one point they will fail and failure will hurt the other party (Navidian & Bahari, 2014). The definitive relief for hurt is the calming salve of forgiveness (Steele & Plenty, 2015).
This couple therefore has the key for maintaining an open and intimate love relationship since Walter is able to ask and grant forgiveness quickly. As Pam works out her relationship with God, she will also find the grace to forgive others easily. Jesus taught his disciples that said, “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matthew 6:14–15). This instruction clearly teaches all the God fearing couples to be forgivers.
The forgiveness of God entails giving up resentment and the human desire to punish willingly (Kennedy, 2008). It’s an act of sacrifice freely letting the offending party off the hook. As a follower of Christ, an individual should not do this under coercion, screaming or objection rather one should do it with a gentle spirit and love Paul argued the church of Ephesus to be kind to one another tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ had forgiven them (Ephesians 4:32).
As Walter demonstrates his ability to willing forgive and let go of an offence, Pam will be able to comprehend its significance and gradually learn to forgive easily as its an healing balm to every heartache.
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Couple Counseling
The couple is also blessed because they adhere to Christian teaching and therefore have there spiritual beliefs etched in supreme God. This is an area of unity, it mean that the couple can fellowship and even present their problems to God in one accord through prayers. By following into the teachings of the word of God they can grow together and learn how to love, please and respect one another. Paul admonished the Philippians;
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:1-4.
Followers of Christ must conquer selfishness so that they do not give the devil a foothold in their marriage. Being a God fearing couple, Walter and Pam will be taught by the Lord how to be selfless considering others better themselves. In this kind of scenario there will be no room for name calling, violence or criticism. Once humility takes root in a marriage, there is room for forgiveness understanding and operating in harmony. The couple in this case study has a major strength in that they are able to handle transitions.
Transition is likely to bring strain and stress the family as a whole. Owing to their resilience, this couple is able to avoid anger disrespect and demands during any transitions in their family (Mack, 2010). In order to enhance more growth in this area, the couple should be taught how to find solutions to their problems without hurting each other’s feelings. The interest of every spouse should be given a consideration so that any arising conflict can be resolved amicably.
Couple Counseling
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Weaknesses Of The Couple:
The major root of conflict in a marriage is owing to the fact that opposites attract, so people tend to married by people with varied personalities who bring, strength spice and difference in their lives(Milne,2006) ). For example, the extroverted people are attracted by the introverts; the docile people also tend to go for the hyper active types. It’s a strange phenomenon but mainly that is how people get paired in marriages and the difference in their personalities inevitably brings about conflict because of varied reasoning and perceptions.
After being married for awhile due to the varied temperaments, the attractions amongst couples may become repellents. This could lead to mean remarks, unnecessary arguments and misunderstanding when handling finances (Egan, 2006). Often, couples find their disparities so wide that they don’t understand why God put them together. You may find that your backgrounds and your personalities are so different that you wonder how and why God placed you together in the first place.
The key to resolving any tensions in a marriage is foremost understanding and accepting the differences amongst the couple in order to resolve them (Backus, 2005). Just like Adam accepted Eve, God’s gift, each one is to accept their spouse. God in his wisdom and mercy gives every individual a spouse who completes them in a very special way. In the given case of Walter and Pam, Walter is more reserved and does not know how to handle friends and family; Pam on the other hand is more amiable and opens up their home for the relatives and friends.
Although she means well, this exuberant character does not go well with Walter and he often feels like strangers are enclosing on their space. In order to work out on this weakness, Pam must be considerate and minimize the innumerable visits from others, as she orients Walter to her world she could try and visit her friends rather than her friends visiting her frequently. Slowly, as Walter learns and accepts her perception and attachment to friends he will be able to create a room for her to entertain friends and visitors.
Couple Counseling
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This couple also experiences another problem in the area of sexual satisfaction. This is a problem commonly found amongst young couples especially when the children are young. Often women place a lot of time, energy and attachment to the children to the point that they neglect their own husbands (Steele& Plenty, 2015). Often, men suffer silently and this could have an emotional toll on the couple. Romantic love cannot blossom unless the emotional needs of every partner are met.
The facilitator should help Pam and Walter to make a commitment to create and maintain romantic love, identify habits that destroy romance in their relationship and overcome those habits and finally identify the most important emotional needs of every partner (Milne, 2006). Once emotional needs of every partner are met, romance blossoms and this creates way for sexual satisfaction. The frequency and quality of sexual relationship that the couple will have will depend on the level of their emotional satisfaction,
Walter should set aside quality time to talk and enjoy the company of his wife. He must often help her with household chores to create time for their intimacy and he should be gentle, caring and understanding. Women crave more affection; they value gifts and like to spend time with their men talking (American Psychological Association, 2012). Walter should create room for all these to create ease and affection in their marriage. On the other hand Pam should respect and support her husband, give him space and make sure that she has reserved time for just the two of them.
Couple Counseling
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Romance in a love relationship must b cultivated and nurtured to make sure that it does not die away. Each partner in the relationship must identify and communicate their emotional needs, when making love women like to be touched and adored. Men also like watching the physique of their women during love making; it’s therefore the duty of Pam to stay attractive and sexy for her husband. Sexual satisfaction is not automatic it comes as a result of hard work, the couple must plan and deliberately take the necessary measures to make sure that they give each other maximum satisfaction. Consulting, a marriage counselor could help the couple voice out their needs and how they would like those needs to be met.
In the area of leisure activities, Walter is a bit closed up. Often, they don’t to find a common ground on what is best for their leisure activities. Pam is a very extroverted individual who values fun and pleasure so she does not have a problem with the family leisure activities. Often, because Walter is not very talkative Pam does not understand some of his attributes, she does not like how he spent his leisure and some of the habits that he shows.
This area brings in friction because the couple has not agreed on what is suitable for the family in general and how each individual can spent his/her leisure time. In order to resolve the conflict in this area, each partner is supposed to set aside his/anger or bitterness and keep the relationship current. The couple must resolve to remain in solid fellowship with each other and the children no matter their differences this will ensure that they are not isolated because of their differences.
Lack of proper communication has been a great impediment to this couple; this challenge hinders the couple from resolving their day to day conflicts. The quality of the family communication is low and hinders ease in flow of information which could escalate into misunderstanding. This couple can be terrific even in the face of the various conflicts and stresses, the goal of goal of re-establishing and sustaining love in marriage is important than conflict resolution. When a couple is bonded through love and understanding conflict resolution becomes a lot easy, when there is love proper procedures for resolving conflict are instituted minimizing chances of misunderstanding.
Couple Counseling
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Notably, Pam has weaknesses when it comes to managing her personal stress, when she encounters a stressful situation she doesn’t have the ability to internalize her stress she allows it to trickle to others even affecting the children. The best way to handle personal stress is foremost, identifying the cause of stress and then working out to eliminate all the factors leading to stress.
Moreover, it’s very prudish to talk to someone about the stressful situation as this helps a person to organize her thoughts. Therefore, Pam should come up with a strategy on the proper procedure to follow any time she is going through a stressful situation to avoid impacting the family members negatively
Strategy For Counseling And Supporting The Couple Through Church Ministry.
In order to counsel the couple in this case study effectively the ministry will devise an effective plan of action to help meet the objective of stabilizing this couple together and ensure that they attain social and emotional stability. This couple comprise of two individuals, each has got his own experiences, background and personality. Owing to some unacceptable habits and interesting idiosyncrasies they may not fit together easily. Each partner has got his expectations to be met plus trials and tribulations in life which the couple must overcome; all these factors inevitably breed a ground for conflict.
Step (i) The Couple Must Know And Accept Their Differences
Pam and Walter were brought up in different environments and they were taught varied habits, values and traditions. Pam is an extrovert while Walter is an introvert, while Pam likes to party with friends and relatives Walter would rather have his space. All these are differences between the couple that must be understood and accepted. The couple must work out to find an area of compromise to avoid straining each other.
From the personality profile its apparent that Walter scores below average on most of the traits, for instance in regard to social change and emotional stability he scores below average. Pam on the other hand records higher scores above average (Risse, 2012). These results imply that both parties are different with varied personalities, its imperative for the two partners to know their differences in order to minimize areas of friction in their relationship (Collins, 2007). They must be encouraged to have a free communication through which they will be able to share their emotions and perceptions and reduce unnecessary conflict.
Couple Counseling
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Step (ii) Defeating Selfishness
All the differences between this couple are magnified because they feed the selfish and sinful nature of human beings. As good Christians the couple should be taught how to put the interest of the others first. The couple must be taught how to give up their own will for the will of the other. By giving up their will to Christ and continuously seeking to please the Lord, the couple will be able to resolve their conflicts and live amicably.
Romans 12:18 states “If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” According to this scripture, in order to live peacefully, the couple must pursue peace, this means taking the initiative to resolve a difficult conflict instead of waiting for the other offending party to take the first step.
Step (iii) Loving Confrontation
The couple will be taught the art of confronting each other with grace and tactfulness a skill which requires patience, wisdom and a lot of humility. Here are some of the tips on how this confrontation can be done.
The words used during the confrontation should not hurt they should bring healing and wholeness to the relationship to avoid isolating the confronted partner.
The attitude should be right, the message conveyed should be clear, I love you and respects you and I want you to respect me too.
This confrontation should be done at the right time in the right place to avoid disrespect and misundersnidng.
When communicating its imperative to listen to each other and ask questions for any clarifications.
During confrontation just voice one issue at a time, this is not time for raising many complains its time to express an area of concern.
Focus on the problem, but not the person, avoid name calling and belittling each other.
Step (iv) Forgiving Each Other
Often, couples will fail and this will lead to conflict, when one partner wrongs the other he should be brave enough to ask for forgiveness quickly. The couple should not let their differences escalate into a misundersnding. As sooner as a couple apologizes, the strains and tensions are minimized or finished.
Couple Counseling
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Step (v) Returning a Blessing for an Insult
1Peter 3:8-9 says, “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.” Many couples have become experts in pointing out what is not right always. Some castigate their partners on their looks, their friends, their cooking style and many more. This way they don’t have a better way to relate to each other.
Returning a blessing for an insult means stepping aside and refusing to retaliate even when your partner wrongs you. This is possible through God’s help and the humility taught by the Holy Spirit. This also means doing well like speaking kind and gentle words; keep your tongue from evil and avoiding deceitful words. A pat on the shoulder and a gentle hug and all these little deeds of affection come along way to minimize tension and bring peace for the married couple. God’s purpose in all the marriage conflicts is to test the faith of His children. Once the faith is tested it produces endurance and glory to God.
References
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Backus, W. (2005). Telling the Truth to Troubled People. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House.Baker, S.(2011) School Counselor’s Handbook: a Guide for Professional Growth and Development. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Benner, D, (2007). Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy. Baker Book House.
Clinebell, H. (2008) Basic Types of Pastoral Care & Counseling: Resources for the Ministry of Healing and Growth. Nashville: Abingdon Press.
Collins, G(2007). Christian Counseling: a Comprehensive Guide. Waco, TX: Word Books.
Egan, G. (2006) The Skilled Helper: a Systematic Approach to Effective Helping. 3rd ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Ivey A.E., (2003).Intentional Interviewing and Counseling. Fifth Edition. Thompson, Brook.
Kennedy, E. (2008) On Becoming a Counselor: a Basic Guide for Non-professional Counselors. New York: Seabury Press.
Mack, W.(2010) A. A Homework Manual for Biblical Living. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing.
Milne B. (2006) Know the Truth. Second Edition. Inter-Varsity Press.
Navidian, A., & Bahari, F. (2014). The impact of mixed, hope and forgiveness-focused marital counselling on interpersonal cognitive distortions of couples filing for divorce. Journal of Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing,21(7), 658-666. doi:10.1111/jpm.12058
Ron, D. (2012). Dating and the Single Parent: are you ready to Date? Talking with your Kids, Avoiding a Big Mistake, Finding Lasting Love. Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers.
Ronald, E. (1991). Strengthening Marital Intimacy. Kearney, NE: Baker Book House Company.
Steele, G. A., & Plenty, D. (2015). Supervisor–Subordinate Communication Competence and Job and Communication Satisfaction. Journal of Business Communication, 52(3), 294
The King James Bible
Ron, Deal L. (2012). Dating and the Single Parent: are you ready to Date? Talking with your Kids, Avoiding a Big Mistake, Finding Lasting Love. Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers.
Ronald, H. E., (1991). Strengthening Marital Intimacy. Kearney, NE: Baker Book House Company.
Solomon, C. (2008) Handbook to Happiness: a Guide to Victorious Living and Effective Counseling. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
Couple Counseling
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Counseling Session Report
The employee has a habit of sleeping during work time. He is attending college at night, has three children, and a wife. He works as the production assistant, and is accountable for print copy and layout for the local newspaper.
The situation is a problem since this employee is unable to perform at work as required. The situation could have been remediated by ensuring that the employee is receiving as much assistance and support from the colleagues. Moreover, the management should have encouraged the employees to express what is going on in their lives so that they can be given the needed support, which would prevent the department from underperforming (Tran, 2015).
The employee knows that by the end of the week, he should discuss his situation with the production manager so that he can seek ways of having him supported. The employee has all the information, skills, and resources required to perform the work. The job performance expectations are also clear. If the problem proceeds, the employee will be rated as unproductive (at work) and he might not be able to have a proper life-work balance; and this would make the team, unit, supervisor, and agency to suffer low productivity if he is unable to carry out his roles are required.
Basically, all the employee needs to do is manage time well and express himself since he was being awarded poor performance for failing to express himself (Tran, 2015). No other employee exhibits this behavior and the employee has no patterns.
Counseling Session Report
Memo
To Charles,
The production assistant
Having discussed the improvement multi-part plan during the session, it is hoped that you will be keen to adhere to it so that the needed improvement can be experienced at your unit.
It is recommendable for you to discuss your situation with the production manager so that he can offer you the needed support. In addition, you should manage your time well for a proper life-work balance.
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Teenage Psychotherapy Application
Discussing about underage alcohol consumption can be tough. It is important for the healthcare provider to have a discussion plan as most of the teens are likely to dodge the discussion. To obtain a meaningful discussion, in psychotherapy the first step is to find out the teens perception about alcohol. This will help the healthcare providers debunk the myths that alcohol consumptions gives one pleasure and share the facts that alcohol is a depressant, normally associated with aggressiveness and sadness.
This will help the health care provider appeal the teenager self-respect and empower them with strategies to manage peer pressure. The CDC alcohol consumption statistics is accurate. Most of the adolescents take alcohol without their parent knowledge. Most of these incidences are attributable to peer-pressure (Tanner-Smith and Risser, 2016).
The Neuman Systems Model of psychotherapy is used to give theoretical framework for developing Anorexia. The Neuman Systems Model of psychotherapy helps establish a mutual partnership between patients and their care givers, which helps in understanding the patient environment and in designing appropriate preventive, rehabilitative and corrective measures that will ensure that the desired outcomes are met.
When managing patient diagnosed with Anorexia, the model is used to assess the patient profile, identify stressors perceived by the patients, developmental factors, psycho-social, cultural and spiritual factors, learn the patient’s lifestyle patterns and interventions needed by the client to meet the desired outcome. This is helpful as it helps one deliver care in a comprehensive manner using the primary, secondary intervention as well as the tertiary interventions to promote the client’s health (Neuman and Fawcett, 2012).
The Imogene theory of goal attainment focuses in achieving the set life goals. According to this theory, nurse and patient relationship is important as it facilitates effective communication that will enable then set goals and together design action plan that will enable them achieve the set goals. Anorexia eating disorder results due to a sequence of behaviours which revolve around mental and physical action. According to this theory, to help the patient maintain their health and functionality, the nurse is expected to interact during assessment.
This will help the nurses gather data on patient perceived stressors, cultural and social cultural goals. The theory helps during nursing diagnosis in that through the interaction with the patient, problems and disturbances are identified. This helps in designing an effective care plan that will be used to solve the challenge identified is made. This phase involves making of decision and setting of goals. The continuation of transaction is reflected by implementation phase. This theory guides during the evaluation phase to determine if the goals have been achieved (Alligood, 2010).
Nurses play an integral role in facilitating recovery in patient diagnosed with eating disorders. For this reason, it is important for a healthcare provider understand the helpful strategies that will help the patient restore their health. A comprehensive assessment should be done using the following questions (CDC, 2013);
a) Are you happy with eating pattern?
b) Do you eat in secret?
c) How do you feel about your weight?
During this treatment, the patient should be advised on the effective dietary which will help them achieve the desired weight range. This exercise should be complemented using psychotherapy. The counselling section should involve education on body weight, impacts of starvation and clarification of myths on dietary misconceptions. This will help the patient regain self-esteem and self-control (Moy et al., 2013).
References
Alligood, M. (2010). Family Healthcare with King’s Theory of Goal Attainment. Nursing Science Quarterly.
Moy, J., Petrie, T., Dockendorff, S., Greenleaf, C. and Martin, S. (2013). Dieting, exercise, and intuitive eating among early adolescents. Eating Behaviors, 14(4), pp.529-532.
Neuman, B. and Fawcett, J. (2012). Thoughts about the Neuman Systems Model: A Dialogue. Nursing Science Quarterly, 25(4), pp.374-376.
Tanner-Smith, E. and Risser, M. (2016). A meta-analysis of brief alcohol interventions for adolescents and young adults: variability in effects across alcohol measures. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 42(2), pp.140-151.
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Does the number of emotionally hurting persons in the world keep on increasing daily? Different people including churches are having difficulty adapting to the fact that people need counseling to the point that some churches are not seeing the need to conduct counseling within the church. Christian counseling is different from secular counseling, in the sense that most Christian counselors use the biblical perspective to guide people since the Bible is viewed as the basis of truth[1]. Christian or biblical counselors usually seek to know the areas that an individual has been disobedient to Christian principles and scripture to try to assist the person to get back to submit to God. The counselors can direct back the people by using their standards to measure their goals and the lifestyles of those being advised. Research shows that Christian counselors understand the Bible concepts especially practical wisdom on marriage, human suffering and marriage hence use them to guide people on what they should do and to make the accountable[2].
2.0 Origins of Christian Counseling
Christian Counseling began slightly in 1968 although the counseling had not been officially documented since it existed from the 1st century and in the New Testament. In the early years of 1900’s Christians believed and agreed that the Bible was the cornerstone to restore human lives. Jay E. Adams is believed to be the founder of biblical counseling movement. Psychologist O. Hobart Mowrer (1907-1982) is however considered as the founding father of counseling movement. This is however confusing since most of Mowrer contributions was towards the field of modern psychology[3]. Mowrer had expertise in learning theory and became the first discoverer of anxiety and fear. Mowrer believed that illness related to the mind was based on genetic or biological aspects of individuals. He further believed that mental illness was a result of confessed sins that haunted an own guilt.
According to him, there was no satisfaction in the manner in which Christians or churches addressed sins in practice and theology especially through the justification of doctrine[4]. He founded therapy groups that he structured around concepts of confession, integrity, and confrontation and started teaching theories of mental health and sin to other people including seminary students. Jay E. Adams is one of the students agreed with the modern psychiatry in the sense that churches were overlooking the fact that sin could be a possible aspect in causing emotional distress. Mowrer psychiatry gave the church the authority and right to counsel those hurting, however, it was viewed by Adam as a fight against the church since it was replacing Christian faith with humanistic views and self-centered thinking[5].
David Powlison, who was Adams student, further pursued the previous ideas in his dissertation book. According to him, Adams dispute with the understanding of individual problems was outlined around knowledge system framed in explicitly theological terms. His view is that medical model defined women and men as not being responsible to God and themselves contrary to earlier set views. David also argues that Adam did not see the cure of souls being possible by using peace of mind or behaviors that are socially accepted that was stated as being enough[6].
3.0 Christian Counseling
The Christian counseling community has been engaging in discussions on what Christian counseling should be and the extent to which the Bible should be based on. Christian counseling has few basic approaches that are limited hence making it ineffective when applied to some situations. Christian counseling has brought some confusions if indeed it’s true to its objective keeping in mind that Christians may call themselves counselors or some counselors may just call themselves Christians for the sake of attracting clients. Few concepts have been used to shade some light to customers who are seeking the services of Christian counselors. This is because some individuals may require spiritual knowledge to handle their dilemmas rather than using secular perspective to advise them. Different Christians especially those who hold strong denominational, evangelical or fundamentalist beliefs would prefer counseling services from a Christian counselor[7].
This, therefore, has become a challenge because some become frustrated due to the disparity that exists today in Christian counseling. The disparities have resulted due to the existence of different types of Christian counselors including. Examples include but are not limited to: Pastors that give their advice due to their seminary education or experience; Christians with deliverance ministries; Christians therapists with family and marriage experience; Christians applying scripture concepts but do not have counseling training or skills; Christian professional counselors, social workers; Clinical Psychologists who combine secular counseling knowledge with Christian principles and secular counselors posing as Christians[8]. The different types of counselors end up frustrating those seeking to be advised by right or believing counselors. It is also difficult to monitor if those claiming to be Christian counselors are using Bible concepts when advising their clients.
Individuals seeking professional services of a counselor are usually referred by their pastors to individuals known to the pastor or have a counseling center that has the same doctrine with the pastor. Despite the try to only refer church members to Christian counselor’s challenges do occur since some counselors are already introduced to secular training or education world especially those working outside the church stings. Churches also recruit counselors due to their secular association making them continue using secular techniques instead of shifting to Christian techniques while advising their Christian clients. The approach is therefore deemed to backfire in the end because failure to use biblical perspectives will make some clients to be frustrated especially when they realize that their Christian counselors do not seem to bother holding them responsible for going against their Christian values. Most Christians seeking professional counseling would love to be corrected by being given practical examples from the Bible, failure to which they will start doubting the whole process.
4.0 The Need to Rely Solely On Scripture for Answers
Despite the discussions, if there is need to combine research and practical experience, Spiritual Revelation and Biblical knowledge when counseling questions still arise as to what extent or portion should Christian counseling depend on the different kind of knowledge. As much as Christian counseling should solely rely on Biblical perspectives, it also becomes necessary to incorporate other types of counseling to get the desired results. The counseling process should rely first on the Bible followed by spiritual revelation, secular research, and theories since each perspective are important in bringing psychological healing to the customer[9].
Counseling based on the biblical process of Salvation by Faith is the most complete and reliable and should be used fundamentally in everything done in the church. It is prudent to argue that if the process of salvation by faith is Gods way of making people whole again, then it should be used primarily in the counseling process. This, therefore, means that if biblical perspective can be used to solve psychological problems in the church, it needs to be strengthening to make it effective when used. It is also worth noting that if the Christian counseling process were based solely on biblical answers it would be readily accepted in churches and many who are not subscribed to the counseling process will be willing to incorporate the Christian counseling in most programs in the church.
5.0 Principles of Effective Biblical Counseling
The active principle of biblical counseling is developed to guide counselors on how to conduct themselves during counseling process and to handle their clients well. Different principles have been outlined:
5.1 People Need Help
The first principle is to understand that people need help. Various reasons have been described as the causes making people seek help including anxiety, stress, bitterness, and resentments, especially in marriage, churches, and families. Lack of people being taught character values and how to manage life challenges to be able to conveniently confront them also contribute the number of those seeking help. The difficulties of people’s lives have made the number of those seeking Christian counseling to increase. Understanding that people need help will help the counselor focus on the problem rather than judging the individual for seeking help[10].
5.2 Counselors Should Be Competent
The next effective principle is that counselors should be competent since the process of helping people is urgent but not a natural process. This, therefore, calls for competency on the counselor side for them to be careful so as to identify the best counseling approach to apply to their different clients. It is also important to understand that Christian counseling is not for every person especially to those who are resisting change or growth in their lives. It also certainly not applies to counselors whose motive of helping others are not genuine and are not concerned with the welfare of those being counseled. Christian counseling, therefore, is for those who have the potential of becoming skillful sensitive and knowledgeable and motivated to handle clients[11].
5.3 Counselors Need To Have a Strong Value System
The next principle is that counselors need to have a strong value system since the process of helping people can be a damaging process at times if the counselor has flaws. If the client comes to realize that the counselor is not perfect or doesn’t have a moral value it makes them frustrated and to begin doubting the process. This, therefore, calls for identification of values that are used to measure parameters of being right or wrong or to measure mediocrity and excellence. Therefore the counselor’s values can be used to measure the number of individuals who are likely to cope in future based on the help received. Having a counselor with high values plays a role in determining if the clients will be able to handle difficulties in future or will still be broken by them[12].
5.4 Counselors Not To Be Too Attached To the Clients
Christian counseling principle also calls for counselors not to be too attached to the clients or to make them dependent on the counseling process. Counselors should, therefore, maximize on making the individual use their human potential to effectively provide a lasting change to the individual. The clients should also be willing to receive help since it’s the fundamental aspect required to make the counseling process a success. Those who are defensive or resistant and not willing to receive help will make less commitment to change their ways to improve the way they live. An individual who has been manipulated, or threatened may view the counselor as being part of the plan hence may fail to open up. The counselor can only patiently wait for the person to realize despite being adamant seeking and wanting help will do a greater good in their lives[13].
5.5 Counseling Process Should Be Handled By Professionals
The counseling process should be handled by professionals who trained on how to handle their clients. This because those seeking help would love to be talking to experts who can easily identify their problems and advise them accordingly. Both the counselor and the client should trust in God keeping in minds that despite the counseling God should be left in control to guide the client further. Trusting in God form the basis of Christian counseling since clients would love to be advised based on Bible or Scripture perspective. It is also important that offering help without trusting in God equalize to secular counseling, which the client may be avoided since they directly sought Christian counseling[14].
5.6 Counselors Should Be Effective Communicators
Effective counselors should be good communicators since most counseling sessions require the counselor to carefully choose their words to avoid communicating in a manner that further hurts the client. The chosen words should inspire the client and not condemn them. The counseling duration should be limited since the counselor should watch the calendar to make the client grow and become self- reliant. The counseling process should be limited to only responding to the need of the client to prevent developing the unhealthy relationship where the client becomes dependent on the counselor regarding advice[15].
5.7 Christian Counselors Should Maintain Confidentiality
Christian counselors should maintain confidentiality by not sharing with a third party problem faced by their clients. This helps in maintaining the trust since the person shared in confidence and to avoid making them vulnerable. The counselor should also be able to exhibit the character that is being sold to the client. That is the counselor should be convincing and inspiring to the client to make them want to adopt the changes being said to them since it works to bring positive change.
5.8 Counselors Should Also Remember To Take Care of Themselves
Despite helping other people counselors should also remember to take care of themselves. This because one can be overwhelmed with their jobs to the extent that they forget their needs and start looking that they need help themselves. The counselor also need be a good listener since helping people requires one to a good listener to be in a position to evaluate and digest what is being communicated to give adequate counsel. This is because the person receiving help find it comforting when they are understood correctly and given important advice to help them confront their situation[16].
6.0 Conclusion
The number of people who are hurting emotionally keeps on increasing by the day. What is considered to be Christian counseling? Christian counseling uses biblical perspective when counseling believers. Christian counseling, therefore, is becoming necessary in churches to help Christians having difficulties in their lives. According to research Christian counseling is the best since most advice being given to clients has biblical perspectives that clients are seeking to get given the fact that they help comfort disturbed souls. Christian counselors should follow guiding principles to offer the best services to their clients. Being good communicators and listeners are paramount to make the counseling process a success.
7.1 Bibliography
David, G. Benner. Strategic pastoral counseling. A short-term structured model. Second edition. 2012. pg. 1-41.
Everett, L. Worthington Jr., Eric, L. Johnson, Joshua, N. Hook and Jamie, D. Aten. Evidence-based practices for Christian counseling and psychotherapy.2017. 1-141.
Randolph K. Sanders (ed). Christian Counseling Ethics A Handbook for PsychologistsTherapists and Pastors. Second Edition. 2017. 7-120.
Richard E. Butman. Qualifications of the Christian Mental Health Professional. 2012. Pg. 1-28.
Sanders, Randolph K., ed. Embracing our Ethical Mandate. Christian Counseling Ethics.Westmont: InterVarsity Press. Accessed June 11, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central 2012. pg. 8-26.
Siang-Yang Tan. Counseling and Psychotherapy. A Christian perspective. 2017. pg. 1-178.
Tim, Clinton and Gary, Sibcy. Christian Counseling, Interpersonal Neurobiology, and the Future. Journal of Psychology & Theology. 2012. Vol.40. No. 2, 141-145.
[1] Tim, Clinton, and Gary, Sibcy, Christian Counseling, Interpersonal Neurobiology, and the Future, Journal ofPsychology &Theology. 2012, Vol.40, No. 2, 141-143.
[9] Sanders, Randolph K., ed, Embracing our Ethical Mandate. Christian Counseling Ethics. Westmont, InterVarsity Press. Accessed June 11, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central. 2012, Pg, 20-26.
[10] Siang-Yang Tan, Counseling and Psychotherapy. A Christian perspective. 2017, pg, 158-178.
[11] Richard E, Butman, Qualifications of the Christian Mental Health Professional. 2012, Pg. 1-28.
[12] Randolph K. Sanders (ed), Christian Counseling Ethics A Handbook for Psychologists, Therapists, and Pastors. Second Edition. 2017, 7-120.
[13] Everett, L, Worthington Jr, Eric, L. Johnson, Joshua, N. Hook and Jamie, D. Aten, Evidence-based practices forchristian counseling and psychotherapy, 2017, 21-41.
