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Counseling Approach to Lisa

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Counseling Approach To Lisa
Janelle Wheatley
CNED 401
The Pennsylvania State University

Abstract
This paper will be focusing on Lisa, a Mexican American woman who suffers from a drug and alcohol addiction. I will be talking about Lisa’s family background and her current situation as well. I will pick a counseling theory and briefly describe this theory in detail. I will then apply this theory to Lisa and her situation. The last thing that this paper will focus on will be why I choose this particular theory for Lisa.

Case Conceptualization Lisa is a 32-year-old mother of two twin boys age eight. Lisa suffers from a long history of substance and alcohol abuse. Lisa has been using since the age of 12 and her addiction has only progressed worse over the years. Lisa has experimented with a variety of drugs from marijuana, cocaine and eventually to heroin. Lisa is prone to outbursts of violent behavior and being in life threatening situations. As a counselor it is very important for me to consider all aspects of Lisa’s life, so that I can apply the right theory and provide the best treatment for her.

Family and Social Dynamics
Lisa comes from a very dysfunctional family. Most of Lisa’s childhood was spent in poverty and despair. She saw her mother getting abused at an early age and usually tried to stop the abuse. Lisa’s father used heroin and eventually died of an overdose. Lisa was taught to survive early on by having to fight her brothers and male cousins. When applying a theory of counseling for Lisa one of the things that have to be considered is Lisa’s family origin and background. According to Johnson and Leff (1999)“COAs and children of other drug-abusing parents are especially vulnerable to the risk for maladaptive behavior because they have combinations of many risk factors present in their lives. The single most potent risk factor is their parent's substance-abusing behavior. This single risk factor can place children of substance abusers at biologic, psychological, and environmental risk.” This would explain Lisa’s involvement in gangs and her criminal behavior.

Theory Choice
Theory is the foundation of counseling. It also challenges counselors to be caring and creative with the counselor/client relationship. Theory has an impact on how the client will communicate with the counselor, and also how the counselor views themselves. It also provides the framework within which the counselor does their job. Counselors have a variety of theories to choose from. Theory also allows you to make hypotheses and formulate rationale for treatments. Though there are many forms of theory, I can only pick one to work with when it comes to Lisa. I choose to go with a Humanistic theory because it focuses on the potential of individuals to actively choose and purposefully decide about matters related to themselves and their environments. (Gladding,2009, pg207). I feel as if Lisa would benefit from this type of theory because she would be able to make decisions on her own, which from her background tells me she was never given that choice. Person- Centered counseling is a talking therapy which place the client at the heart of their own therapy. As the founder, Carl Rogers, says” it is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been deeply buried,”(Rogers, 2004,pg11). Based on upon what has happened to Lisa in her childhood there could be a number of things that she has buried. Another thing that person centered therapy covers is the development of trust between the client and counselor. When the counselor uses this approach it helps the client feel comfortable about sharing personal information about themselves. I need for Lisa to be as comfortable as possible with me so that we can find solutions to her problems.

Application and Techniques
As a counselor my role is a holistic one. It is my job to set up a climate in which Lisa feels free and encouraged to explore all aspects of self (Rogers, 1951,1980). This atmosphere focuses on the counselor-client relationship. Which is a special “I-thou” personal quality (Gladding, 2009,pg208). I have to be aware of Lisa’s non-verbal and verbal language as well as reflect back what I am hearing or seeing. In order for this theory to be effective I will need to focus on Lisa and not her problems and be able to realize that Lisa is the most important thing to deal with. Some of the techniques that I will have to use in order for this to work are empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence. Empathy is probably the most potent factors for bringing about change and learning. Which Lisa needs to do? Unconditional positive regard also known as acceptance is a deep and genuine caring for the person, another thing that Lisa has not had in previous relationships. The most important technique is congruence, it is most important to be real and not pretend. According to Roger’s all of these techniques must be applied for a change to take place. Based on what I know about Lisa and person-centered theory I believe that this would be the best approach for Lisa.

References | Johnson, J. L., & Leff, M. (1999). Children of substance abusers: Overview of research findings. Pediatrics, 103(Supplement 2), 1085-1099. |
Gladding, Samuel. (2009). Counseling: A Comprehensive Profession. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Rogers, C (2004), ‘On Becoming a Person’, London: Constable.
Rogers, C (1951), ‘Client-centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications and Theory’, London: Constable.

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