Session Transcripts/ Session Transcripts and Analysis

Counseling Transcription: Interpretations of a Counselor in Training

Counseling Session Transcription

Suzie: So, yesterday I get home after a long day at work and I check my email….. and there is an email from this guy I hooked up with like….17 years ago….something like that.

  • Counselor: Wow.

Suzie: That’s kinda like….. what I was like, I was like Wow! I was like really excited!

  • Counselor: Wow. Okay… so you felt excited?

Suzie: I did. I felt really exited and I was like…. I felt sort of guilty about feeling excited because I’m like….. hello I’m married almost 10 Years. But, somebody was obviously paying some kind of attention to me. I have not talked to this guy. I haven’t seen this guy…. this guy is really like Joe random out of the blue…. like nothing from him for 17 Years ago.

  • Counselor: Okay.

Suzie: And I’m so flattered. I mean it wasn’t that big of a deal ….the email… whatever but, I’m so flattered that I almost wish that… that random email….. that act would have been from my husband but it wasn’t. And I got off on the fact that it was from this guy.

  • Counselor: Okay.

Suzie: It could have been any guy. It could have been any guy.

  • Counselor: So it sounds like your feeling overwhelmed with all the different roles you are playing.

Suzie: Definitely. Uh huh….. More

Session Transcripts and Analysis

An Analysis of an Interview: Breaking Down Your First Counseling Session

The following is a practice 20-minute counseling session with a client. The session was audio taped and a portion of the interview is transcribed. This post includes background information on the client as well as a critique of the techniques the counselor used. The actual session is described and a thorough analysis and evaluation of the session is provided.

Section I: Description of Client

Suzie is a married, White, 34 year-old female who is working full-time and going to graduate school part-time. She currently has no biological children or stepchildren. She is Jewish although she considers herself not really religious. Suzie’s biological parents are still living and are both Jewish as well. She was raised in an upper middle class family and her current socioeconomic status is middle class. Her parents divorced when she was four years old. At 17 years her mother remarried and Suzie lived with her mother and stepfather until she was 24 years old when she got married. Suzie has a younger half sister who is now 16 years old. Suzie was born and raised in Clifton, New Jersey and currently owns a condominium with her husband in Clifton. She has no apparent or acquired developmental disabilities although she reports she was morbidly obese two years ago before she underwent gastric bypass surgery. She now weighs half of what she used to and is able to ambulate freely. Before she lost weight she was almost wheelchair bound More

journals/ Self Awareness

Finding Your Place In A Group: Counseling Basics

It was apparent to me today that we seem to be becoming a lot more comfortable with each other. One of the ladies in our group actually presented and we all gave our undivided attention to her presentation on “listening skills.” She started off by saying that she is a task-oriented person, which she had already mentioned.

It almost sounded as if she were apologizing beforehand to perhaps avoid criticism. I was surprised when she made reference to her liking the icebreaker I initiated last week. She actually started off with an icebreaker herself, which was a lot of fun I might add. I did not get the sense that everybody jumped on the whole icebreaker thing last week. In fact, I even remember her making a comment about maybe using an icebreaker or maybe not and toiled about if for a few seconds. I did not get much feedback from the group about it. I assumed people just went along with the flow.

During group, everyone seemed to take on the activity idea. I believe people noticed how much more relaxing it is to make a presentation that is fun as well as engaging and informative. It really beats having More

Uncategorized

Exploring Dysfunctional Parenting In Counseling

I cannot understand my behavior and always held my genetic makeup liable. I even went as far as thinking that perhaps I had inherited some type of mental problem. Why am I having these outbursts? Why am I always so angry? I cannot really explain except that I knew “he” had become my enemy in my head for so many years. Nobody knew it. But I did. I can hear the thumps as he walked up the stairs. It is a different type of way he walks when he is mad. I knew I had to hide in my closet. I would lock my door and put as many things as I could find in front of it. He was coming after me once again. As he is walking up, I can hear him calling me names. Where are you? You are nothing but a big fat zero to the left. How many times do I have to tell you not to eat in the living room you idiot. You cannot possibly be my child you retarded low life. I can hear that he had already removed his belt as the buckle chimes like bells. The problem is, I am 35 years old now.

These are the words of an adult who has experienced abuse as a child. It never goes away. What exactly is child abuse? Some may argue about its definition of and may think an old fashion whooping is what is needed to keep children tamed. They figure, “dam those laws that make those children the bosses now.” However, one may never know the effect of such actions on a child. The outcome may have been preventable but instead we are left with more child abusers, abuse victims, aggressive personalities, or More

Self Awareness

Personal Counseling Orientation: Do I Have to Declare?

Eclectic counseling employs ideas from all different theories in treating clients rather than restricting oneself to one approach. Although it may sound unsystematic and criticized by many, especially for a starting counselor, this is the methodology that speaks to me the most. The goal is to utilize related clinical concepts and methods and combine them into a congruent whole. Although I believe it is important to be able to determine how to combine theories because syncretism is not effective, the reality is that just as we know that we all learn differently, we all cannot possibly benefit from one approach.

It is almost like trying to force feed someone if one attempted a singular use of a theory on all clients. In addition, managed care wants to see one thing and that is measurable behavioral outcomes. I do not believe it is enough to just feel better or experience a point where you have reached self-actualization. However, I do believe these are components necessary to be able to follow a behavioral plan. So in essence, you cannot have one without the other.

I suppose one of the reasons I feel drawn to eclecticism is my desire to be creative. I am not a person that sees things in “black and white.” Nor am I a person who “goes by the book.” I love freedom and with More

journals/ Self Awareness

FINAL GROUP ANALYSIS: My Interpretation of Group Dynamics

We were a whole bunch of strangers sitting in a room trying to settle into our brains the reality that we were going to have to meet in this very room for the next nine weeks. This was whether we liked it or not. The task was our main focus for this first meeting. We had to devise a set of group goals as we were all trying to come to grips with our anxiety, I believe. Therefore, we each stated a few. I initiated this first group with an activity to try to get to know one another. It felt funny to just jump right in and start working without even knowing the people’s names in my group. I heard Ted mentioning something about not liking the idea about meeting in groups. I felt the same and assumed everyone else did. For this reason I stated the first rule to increase the comfort level. At this point, everyone else began to express their individual goals yet group goals. At this point I was trying to analyze everyone’s behaviors just try to figure out what the next nine weeks would be like. I came pretty close to my conclusions.

I believe during our group time we related well to one another. We were all so different, however. It was a very mixed group culturally and from all different cohorts. What was interesting was to see was how all the different ages and personalities acted toward one another. It almost felt like a reality TV show. For example, Ted was the only male in our group and he was the first one to make a comment about that. In the beginning he appeared to be annoying everyone because he just couldn’t stop talking.

I sensed he wanted to be in some type of control and I attributed that to him being conscious of being a male and taking on that role. Joan was also very vocal for our first five sessions, and interestingly it was More

Topics In Research

Effective Problem Solving and Communication: A Preventive and Rehabilitative Family Training Program

**This is a sample program proposal** 

The Effective Problem Solving and Communication Program is a program for at risk children ages 11-14 and their parents residing in Paterson. The program consists of 18 group sessions for children, including three sessions with their parents or guardians and six sessions for parents, including three sessions with their children. All groups will be run in groups of a maximum of seven participants in each of the children’s groups and parent groups and 5 families during the family training sessions. These sessions will teach families how to communicate effectively, problem solve, resolve conflicts and make healthy decisions.

I plan, through the Girls and Boys Club of Paterson, to bring the program on site to two elementary schools and one other community agency, including the Girls and Boys Club. The children ages 11-14 that teachers and staff in their schools and/or community agency will identify exhibit dysfunctional behaviors. Fifteen families will be given the program from January 2005 to June 2005 and 15 new families will be given the program from July 2005 to December 2005.

Incentives and childcare will be offered. Our staff will reach out to all schools in Paterson to make them More

Self Awareness

Population Focus Brief : The MICA Client

Being born into a family with severe mental illness, I always had a burning desire to learn more about mental health, why people become mentally ill, and all the different behaviors associated with it. For a long time, I couldn’t understand my behaviors and always held my genetic make-up liable. I even went as far as thinking that perhaps I had inherited some type of mental problem. Why am I a perfectionist? Why am I explosive when I get angry? Why can I not deal with confrontation? Why can’t I be a little friendlier? Why am I so domineering? Why can’t I develop bonds easily with other people?

The list is never ending. In due course, the answer became apparent to me as I started learning more about behaviors, particularly through self-help books, jobs, and college courses. It is all my father’s fault. That was my conclusion for a long time. In fact, I was so adamant about this that he had even become my enemy, in my head, for many years. All I was able to think about when I thought of “him” was hearing the thumps and loud noises in the middle of the night and waking up in the morning to have to see my dad leaning over the toilet seat asleep, and a trail of vomit behind him.

These experiences, along with others, are what lead me into learning more about the world of substance More

journals/ Self Awareness

Experiencing The Group Process (in class) For the First Time

Initially, I was not really looking forward to these group meetings. However, my experience was better than I thought. I guess it was just the idea of meeting with people and having them critique your involvement in the group. It all goes back to the anxiety, I guess – the fear of the unknown.

Our first assignment was to locate a room we will be meeting in Tuesday evenings for the last half of the class time. This was easy. One person located it and everyone agreed to it. At this time, I was trying to make a mini assessment about the people in my group. Because it all happened so quickly, I really could not get a sense of personalities. I suppose I will have plenty of time to figure that out.

Once we identified this meeting place and agreed equally, we had to actually have our very first meeting. The first thing I noticed was that everyone in my group headed out the door separately. I believe for starters this is not that big of a deal. Perhaps it will never be that big of a deal. However, I tend to take things very literally and did not notice the “group” acting in cohesion at this point. I thought perhaps I was just reading into things too thoroughly.

Once we settled in, I heard all the comments from different people about this activity. I even made a More

Topics In Research

Mental Development of Children: The Use of Toys

Mental Development of ChildrenChildren experience biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial developmental changes on a daily basis as they are introduced into the next stage of life. They have unique needs that should be met in order for appropriate developmental milestones to occur. Each province is intertwined with the other and therefore, holistic in terms of human development. For example, when looking at the biosocial aspect, one is initially interested in the prenatal and neonatal periods in terms of nutrition and how these may affect the child’s learning and social experiences; therefore, affecting the cognitive and psychosocial domains.

Additionally, genetics and health factors also affect these developments. Included in these are gross and fine motor skills, especially within the first two years of life; these set the tone for exploration and discovery of the environment. Cognitive skills such as thought processes, perception, and language development are not independent of these. For instance, a child who is playing with blocks will need the motor skills to physically pile them but also the cognitive skills in order to coordinate the blocks. So is the psychosocial aspect in which children energetically initiate play and then develop social skills which in turn helps them develop a sense of self. As children’s social and cognitive skills develop, they engage in increasingly complex and imaginative types of play, sometimes by themselves and, increasingly with More

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