Case Summary
Marissa, a 17-year-old beauty student at the placement college, arrives dressed entirely in black and wearing a long leather coat despite the summer heat. She has dark makeup, is around 5’2″, and is visibly overweight. Unprompted, she shares that she lives in a cramped caravan with her mother and her disliked boyfriend.
Marissa discloses past bullying, self-harm, and emotional distress. While retrieving her phone, a counselling student notices junk food in her bag. She shows the student a social media page filled with cruel comments from classmates, one suggesting she should become a mortuary attendant and stop speaking to anyone. Looking up, she says, “You see, it’s all starting again.”
Understanding Marissa’s Difficulties Through a Theoretical Lens
Person-centered therapy has been selected as the strategy for Marissa’s case since it is the most effective way to tackle her circumstances. Instead of analyzing clients via unconscious thoughts or ideas, this humanistic approach focuses on how they see themselves (Xie et al., 2020). This enables a person to realize his potential and transform himself.
The person-centered therapist may encourage Marissa to address her issues during a person-centered treatment session. Due to its individualized approach, it is a versatile type of therapy. Marissa struggles to eliminate her guilt, uncertainty, and sense of insecurity. She will be able to trust herself more and will be able to express herself more freely with the aid of person-centered counseling. The framework will also help her create a healthy relationship because she is experiencing issues with her present one.
A key aspect of the framework is that the therapist is more of an advisor who listens and encourages as equals. This is important for Marissa as it can help her self-assess her problem. At 17, she is prone to disobedience and, most likely, will not be able to adapt to other conditions.
Person-centered therapy may be helpful for her to assess her problems, such as relationships, being overweight, and her attitude toward life. Even if the symptoms result from previous events, Marissa will benefit more by concentrating on the present and the future than on the past. The selected framework is advantageous because it seeks to assist clients in achieving personal growth and, eventually, self-fulfillment rather than just liberating them from their past.
Applying Key Concepts in Counselling
Empathic Understanding
Empathic understanding is one of the most crucial ideas in the selected framework. This suggests that the therapist will feel the same emotions as the client while detached from them (Xie et al., 2020). Empathy may be demonstrated via actions and strategies, which help to establish and maintain a therapeutic partnership with Marissa. Tasks between sessions, for instance, assist Marissa in applying what she has learned.
The consultant will gain a more profound knowledge of what is still challenging when she reflects on her achievements and mistakes. Her increasing empathy also highlights practical drills and methods that might be applied later. Playing pretend with Marissa can also enable her to express her feelings, however subtly. This may result in greater comprehension, awareness, and empathy for what she is going through. The rotating parts convey her feelings and the significance of her emotions.
Congruence
Another crucial idea in person-centered treatment is congruence. This speaks to the therapist’s being sincere, honest, and real with their patients. The consultant’s inner experience and outside expression must coincide to build a rapport with the client.
The therapist can establish a strong therapeutic relationship with the client by being genuine and demonstrating their ability to be trusted (Xie et al., 2020). It may also act as an example for Marissa, encouraging her to express her ideas and feelings genuinely. The fundamental tenet of this strategy is that individuals are generally reliable, resourceful, capable of self-awareness and self-direction, capable of making positive changes, and capable of leading successful lives (Xie et al., 2020). It might be challenging for Marissa to express her views concerning challenging events completely during a session. The counselor may better grasp Marissa’s emotional reactions and comprehend what generates the undesirable conduct by including her in a challenging situation while exercising proper control.
Unconditional Positive Regard
Unconditional positive regard refers to the therapist’s sincere concern for their patients and their lack of moral or ethical evaluation of their thoughts, feelings, or actions. Each customer is treated with respect and acceptance for who he is, without exception. This is important since Marissa does not have to worry about the therapist’s judgment or rejection. It is crucial to establish a welcoming setting where she can feel at ease because she has a lot of issues to resolve. This will enable her to understand herself better, articulate her issues, and discover answers throughout the sessions.
Reflections on Challenges in Counselling Marissa
There are two significant challenges with this scenario at this stage. These challenges entail establishing a good relationship with Marissa and earning her confidence while attempting to assist her in thinking through her issues. Young people’s confidence must be won since it has frequently been betrayed, leaving them profoundly disillusioned. Marissa is suspicious of anyone who wants to become friends with her or who does so without having earned the right to this honor via sincere and genuine contact. As a result, it is vital to take time to create a therapeutic alliance built on a solid rapport.
Teenagers dislike wasting time on pointless talks with adults because they anticipate criticism at the end. Furthermore, Marissa detests lectures. When given unwanted advice, she would respond angrily and rebelliously. She is inclined to respond negatively to rudeness or snobbery. Therefore, speaking in a non-judgmental manner appropriate for her age and experience level is critical.
Marissa needs to think about her circumstances. Whatever the case, when teenagers are asked to describe their thoughts or reflect on a situation, they frequently feel coerced or violated. Within these considerations, avoiding asking direct inquiries about this subject is crucial.
If being patient and considerate with Marissa, she will express her feelings in future interactions. Marissa frequently puts adults to the test through her actions by making startling claims and hesitating to speak. Thus, it is essential to observe that limits and ethics are not crossed while demonstrating compassion and empathy to sustain mutual understanding. It is crucial to build the idea of a personality-centric framework in these circumstances.
These difficulties that are currently being faced can be solved if they are addressed quickly and carefully. In this situation, having a person-centered approach allows for flexibility. The meetings can be effective if both parties show empathy for one another and get along with Marissa without lecturing her.
Since it emphasizes how the patient’s experiences have affected how she thinks about herself and makes efforts toward positive transformation, the person-centered therapy approach may help to understand Marissa’s issues. Marissa is working hard to get a better sense of who she is, how she feels about herself, and how she views her idealized self and the person she is. Marissa is expected to lead herself in the following sessions as the therapist imitates her and supports her in her journey toward transformation, adhering to the framework’s fundamental principles.
Reference List
Xie, K., Vongkulluksn, V.W., Lu, L. and Cheng, S.L. (2020) ‘A person-centered approach to examining high-school students’ motivation, engagement, and academic performance’, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 62(1), p.101877. Web.