Case Study Scenario #1
Angela Townsend
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Scenario
Mario is an illegal alien from Mexico. He has lived in the U.S. for five years and worked various construction jobs in the South. Mario’s family stayed behind in Mexico so he struggles with loneliness and has a poor social network except for an outreach ministry at a local Catholic Church.
Mario was pulled over and charged with a DUI. He was sent to your agency for mandatory counseling in addition to attending a drug treatment support group like Alcoholics Anonymous.
Personal Information
In counseling, the first session is very important. As a counselor, it is important to collect as much information from the client as possible. The initial intake with Mario will take about an hour to gather as much about his background and personal information. Also, I would like to get family history, his educational background, any work skills, as well as his current living conditions in order to begin forming his taxonomy needs. The case clearly reveals that Mario now lives in United States away from family for the past five years and worked at various construction jobs. According to Mario, his family stayed in Mexico and he is struggling with loneliness not being with his family. I want to learn as much about Mario as possible to give him the best possible solution to his situation. Utilizing Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a premise for disclosure, I can construct needs evaluation that arranges needs as far as characteristic, extraneous, and significance (Maslow, 1943).
By evaluating Mario’s needs against Maslow’s hierarchy, I can start finding what is inadequate in Mario’s life which has made the issues he is encountering. Case in point, being isolated from his family is belonging need. Everyone has a need of belonging and this is a physical interconnected need. A need to get affection and recognition as well as being wanted as a person (Maslow, 1943). Based on the information, it seems that this need is not being met, it is showing in his conduct and actions.
Personal Biases and Limitations
In Mario case study, I would need to consider my own predispositions and restrictions carefully. It is very crucial for a counselor to be as honest as possible about their limitations. As a Christian, I understand the importance of taking care of our bodies according to the Word of God (I Corinthians 6:19-20, NKJV). Our bodies are the temple of God and doing harm to the body either psychically or profoundly could be harming to the soul. One of the real inclinations that I have is with the alcohol and drug addiction treatment. The major problem I have in regards to the addition treatment that people believe that the 12-Step Model does not work. It does if you work it properly. Will power alone cannot do it. This program is based on Christian concepts, even though there is a failure rate in this program, but I do believe it will work for Mario if he allows it to. One thing I do not like is that alcohol and drug addiction is called a disease in which it is not. It is a choice that people make. In this world, we are given choices to make every day. We have the choice to do right or we have the choice to do wrong but the ultimate decision is ours. This is an addiction not a disease. A disease is inward in which sometimes you did not have a choice such as breast cancer. A person did not make a choice to have breast cancer. Drinking alcohol is outward; it is a choice a person makes. It takes faith to be delivered from alcohol and drugs. I tend to believe that people with alcohol or drug problem are more responsible for their condition. No one can want recovery for them. The person must want it and be willing to do what is necessary to heal.
When counseling clients, it is important for me to inform my clients of my personal core values and beliefs about my faith in God giving the client the information to make an informed decision to continue counseling sessions
Goals
Goals should be attainable in Mario’s case. Mario reports of loneliness because not being with his family. He also has poor social skills. He is not a citizen of the United States and have worked various construction jobs. There are several goals that can be implemented for him to achieve. The first thing for him is to do is attend an AA meeting group, which is required by the court for alcohol and drug treatment. I believe signing up for the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program will not only help him develop other relationships but also help him to make better decisions in life. This program will help Mario take control back in his life. The main purpose of him attending these meetings is to see that he is not alone.
Loneliness is a human response to being alone because God created humans with a need for relationship. Feelings of loneliness can be helped. Lonely people can attend church (Hebrew 10:25), be a friend to someone else (Proverbs 18:24), listen to Christian music, and pray for God to wok in and through them to take away the lonely feelings. It is very important for Mario to learn how to deal with stressors. Everyone has a need of belonging. In Mario’s case, she will be encouraged to find an activity that will force her to associate with other people. The goal is to get into a situation where other people will get to know him. Since Mario is part of his local church outreach ministry, I will encourage him to get more involved and be committed to it for no less than three months if he is open to incorporating the Word of God in his life more deeply.
Too many people leave friends, jobs, or organization because of being offended. I am not sure if this is the case with Mario for the reason to work at various constructions jobs. The important thing is to have a goal in mind to keep him employed.
Theoretical Approach
The psychodynamic approach I believe will be the most effective in Mario’s case. Mario has a few fundamental issues that are occurring which should be analyzed. Being separated from his family and disengagement from his community is one of the biggest issues. The approach of dealing with these issues Mario is facing would be to utilize journaling as a method for convey mindfulness and control to Mario’s conduct and contemplations (Howes, 2011). At the beginning of each session with me, I will have Mario record anything of significance and importance to him, positive or negative occasions or sentiments that have happened between sessions. It is imperative that Mario and I meet weekly until he accomplished his goals. I would also urge Mario to search out other support group resources because this would give him the required support he needs.
Therapeutic Progress and Success
The objective is for Mario to achieve his goals. When Mario get involved in a support group and get into healthy activities this should satisfy his need of belonging. All people need to feel like they belong According to Ephesians 1:4-6,which states explicitly that we are chosen for belonging with God, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be hold and without blame before Him to love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” The measure of this achievement is fairly subjective on the grounds that it will be based on his journaling and the assessments of his present way of life. An example, if Mario developed healthy relationships this will reflect his conduct and possibly diminish his drinking.
Conclusion
The issues that Mario was facing was a great negative impact on his life. Advising Mario with goal oriented counseling approach will keep him on track. Mario must make a decision to stay on track to improve his life. By doing so, he will diminish the drinking problem especially when he gets involved actively in support groups as well as his church ministry. Through regular counseling sessions with Mario, I will be in a position to develop an intervention plan that will lead him to a solid and satisfying life.
References
ACA Code of Ethics (2015): American Counseling Association, Alexandria, Virginia
Corey, G. (2010). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. (8th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Howes, R. (2011, January 26). Journaling in Therapy Supersized therapy? Write on! . Retrieved from Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-therapy/201101/journaling-in-therapy
Khantzian, E. J. (1986). A contemporary psychodynamic approach to drug abuse treatment. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 12(3), 213-222.
LeBeauf, I., Smaby, M., & Maddux, C. (2009). Adapting Counseling Skills for Multicultural and Diverse Clients. Compelling Counseling Interventions: VISTAS , 33-42.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Retrieved June 17, 2015, from York University, Toronto, Ontario : http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm
Schmidt, C. D. (2014). Integrating Continuous Client Feedback into Counselor Education. The Journal for Counselor Preparation and Supervision , 6 (2), 2-12.
Wilson, W. (2001). Alcoholics anonymous. New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.
