Personal biases and limitations in counseling

Case Study Instructions

Select a scenario below and discuss how you would proceed if working with this client.

Scenario #1

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. You are assigned Mario’s case.

Scenario #2

Janet just completed her fourth divorce. She is in her early 30s. Her personal life is in chaos. She has children by three of her former husbands. Janet has struggled with addiction issues over the years including alcohol and drugs. She came from a very difficult family where her parents were alcoholics and often fought with each other. Janet was sexually abused by her uncle on more than one occasion when he lived with the family during her early teen years. Janet’s problems with drugs and alcohol began as a teenager.

Scenario #3

Roger is an obese 40-year old man and suffers from other health issues like diabetes and high blood pressure. Roger reports that he lives alone and has very few friends. Roger is single and would like to be married. However, he is afraid that women will reject his advances due to his weight. To further complicate the issue, he reports struggling with homosexual thoughts and feelings. Roger sought your help because he recently contemplated suicide.

Assignment Instructions

Select a scenario and explain how you would proceed in counseling this client. The following items can serve as sections in the paper. Be sure to identify each section in the paper.

1. Personal information

Discuss the information you want to obtain from the client in the first session. Why do you want this information? Would one of the taxonomy models such as the one offered by Hays or Maslow be appropriate? Be clear in identifying this information such as Family Background or Relationship Background and explain why you would want to know this information.

2. Personal Biases and Limitations

Every counselor needs to consider personal biases and limitations carefully. If the topic is a hot-button or you lack sufficient knowledge to be effective with the client then you would need to refer. Identify possible problems in working with the client. Be clear in explaining why these issues could detract from counseling.

3. Goals

What goals would you like to achieve with the client? Why do you believe that these goals are important? What would you do if the client refused to accept a goal that you believe would be helpful? If you were allowed only one goal, what would that goal be? Why do you believe this would be the most beneficial goal?

4. Theoretical Approach

Discuss the theoretical approach or model that you believe will be most effective for the client. Why will this model be the best model to use? What counseling techniques would be appropriate (e.g., genograms, journaling)? How many sessions would you schedule? Would you encourage the client to seek other areas of psycho-educational assistance or resources?

5. Therapeutic Progress and Success

How do you plan to measure success? Why is this form of measurement the best method to use with this client?

6. Conclusion

The conclusion should provide a brief summary of your closing thoughts or concerns about the future progress of the client.

Paper Requirements

The body of the paper must be 3–5 pages in addition to the title page and the reference page.

The paper must include a minimum of 3 peer-reviewed sources. The information borrowed from the resources should offer support for your comments. Use the course materials and peer-reviewed journals easily accessed through Liberty University’s online library. If you have questions about the online library, contact the online librarian.

Information borrowed from other resources must be cited in the body of the paper in addition to listing the source citations alphabetically on the reference page.

The assignment must include a title page and an abstract page that are current APA format compliant. Follow current APA formatting throughout the paper.

If you need assistance with current APA format, contact the Online Writing Center or Tutor.com. Liberty University offers a link to Tutor.com through the Liberty University Online website. Sign in with your Liberty username and password.