Counseling Sessions

Counseling Sessions

1. Provide a brief paraphrasing response to Emmanuel.  Make sure to use present-tense.

“Your parents are responsible for your anger and frustrations. You also stated that they moved you away from your friends, and you have a hard time making new ones.  You were part of a soccer team in your previous school that won numerous games while the new school has won only three games in two years. That is indeed frustrating for anyone. You have no new friends in the school, and you live in a place that is very far away from your home. Your parents must not understand how difficult this is for you. Your relationship with your parents was close when you lived in Costa Rica, but since you moved here, you have drawn apart, and you blame your parents for this change.”

2. Provide a brief empathy response to Emmanuel.  This must be in the form of an “I” statement.

“I hear you saying that your parents do not seem to understand how significant these changes are to your life. Losing friends and starting over again is challenging for anyone, especially minors such as you, Emanuel.  I also understand that your parents ignore your anger on the matter as they believe they have offered you much better opportunities than you had before.”

3. Provide a brief confrontational response to Emmanuel. Consult slide 8 in the PowerPoint for help.

“So you say that you were initially close with your parents, and your life seemed perfect, but now you have drawn apart, and you feel like you hate them.”

4. Briefly (1-2 paragraphs) summarize the Client Change Scale (CCS) and discuss how you could use it when working with Emmanuel.

The client change scale (CCS) is used to assess whether the sessions that a therapist has had with a client has any impact on their lives (Ivey, 2013).  The effectiveness of the confrontation can be determined by how the client feels after the session.  There are four steps involved in the CCS, these are;

1. Denial: In this stage, the patient may still be in denial. Any aspect that shows changes indicates progress from denial here; the client does not accept the inaptness or Incongruity.
2. Partial examination: Here, the client discusses only part of the Incongruity

iii. Acceptance and recognition but no change: The client fails to change despite their conformity to the Incongruity.

1. Decides to live with Incongruity: The client understands the Incongruity and the consequences of not acting but refrains from acting anyway.
2. Transcendence: The client finally comes to terms with the congruity and seeks alternatives (Ivey, 2013).

First, I will begin by initiating a pep talk with Emanuel to help me understand his life in Costa Rica and his relationship with his parents then. I will also ask him about other aspects of his life in Costa Rica to gain insight to what he left behind. Then I will use the confrontation response “So you say that you were initially close with your parents and your life seemed perfect, but now you have drawn apart, and you feel like you hate them.” This will prompt him to understand the affection his parents have and shed light on the idea that the choices made by his parents were not for them but for him.

References

Ivey, A. E., Ivey, M. B., & Zalaquett, C. P. (2013). Intentional Interviewing and Counseling.

Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.