Client Assessment Report in Counseling - Essay Example

 Client Assessment Report in Counseling Part 1: Background Research Dickson is a 26 year old man who lives alone. He is a reserved, humble and quiet person. According to Goldberg’s five factor theory of personality traits which is a generalization of most of the theories of trait psychologists; Dickson can be said to be low on extraversion. Whereby, extraversion in this case assesses his quantity of interpersonal interaction, activity level, his need for stimulation and capacity for joy. Dickson grew up with the approval of his father and this strengthened the bond of their relationship. From Freud’s view of the phallic stage of psychosexual development; Dickson can be seen to have successfully overcome his castration anxiety found in what Freud termed as the Oedipus complex. He was able to overcome his castration anxiety and identify with his father. However as he grew up, his father expected him to take over the family business. This did not feature in his ambitions since he had a strong desire to start his own IT firm which he went on to do. Conscientiousness as one of the five factors found in Goldberg’s trait theory of personality deals with the assessment of an individual’s degree of organization, persistence and motivation in goal directed behavior. Dickson being high in conscientiousness seemed to be what created the wedge in the relationship with his father and therefore it crumbled. It was because of this that Dickson found himself sinking into a depressed state. Dickson is the only son in a family of three of which he is the middle born child. According to Alfred Adler; birth order was seen to influence the formation of the personality of an individual. Being a middle born the universal traits expected to feature in Dickson included independence on behavior. Alfred advanced that middle borns less closely identify with the family because they receive less attention compared to the first or last born children. They therefore learn to look out for themselves and they tend to report having being less loved as a child. His older sister who is eight years his senior is a successful figure in her father’s family business. This heightened the pressure to join the family business even more and his refusal to do so was just seen to be much worse because as a boy, he is expected to have been socialized by his father to take up the role of the head of the family business. The age difference also put a strain on the sibling relationship between him and both his sister. This is because even his younger sister was ten years younger than he was. Age difference affect sibling relationships whereby, the contextual influences e.g. the environmental influences vary with different generations. Growing up, Dickson enjoyed spending most of his time reading and studying in order to excel in his studies with the sole purpose of making his father proud. His introverted lifestyle allowed him to get very good grades all through his school life but this came at a high price. It denied him the chance of socially interacting with his peers who at the adolescent stage are key agents of socialization or the way in which orientation to the society normally occurs. Studies by Dunn and Plomin et al (1990) have shown that peer groups influence an individual into acceptance of new rules of behavior and provide lasting experiences for personality. Dickson therefore missed out on the opportunity to learn various ways of how interaction with others besides his father occurs. Dickson grew up looking up to his father who he saw as his role model. In Albert Bandura’s social learning theory; it was advanced that children learn through observational learning or what is alternatively referred to as modeling. In this case Dickson’s father acted as a live model which refers to an actual individual demonstrating or acting out behavior. Therefore the main source of influence on Dickson’s behavior was therefore his father since he emulated his every action because he held him with such high regard. This however changed as Dickson grew up and went on to attend high school and finally university. The gaining of a formal education broadened his thinking and opened up his mind to new possibilities and ideas. This formed a point of contention between his father and him. They disagreed on a variety of matters since his father was more traditionalistic in his thinking compared to Dickson’s liberal and free spirited thinking. Dickson has also never been in any serious relationship due to the fact that he spends most of his time at work or at home. By the age of 26 years, pressure from his parents to find a mate to settled own with and think about starting a family of his own became full blown. This further strained the relationship with his parents especially the father because as an only son, the family name’s continuation fully depended on his starting a family of his own. Dickson felt that he did not have what it takes to approach people of the opposite sex because during his school days he spent most of the time buried in books. his current depressed state also put a dent on his self esteem whereby he felt unworthy of any female affection thrown in his direction. He therefore adopted the use of compensation of which this is a form of a defense mechanism where one masks his weakness by by developing positive traits to make up for limitations. In Dickson’s case his IT business seemed to be prospering at the expense of his personal life. Dickson also suffered from attachment issues. Being the only boy, his father bathed him with too much attention. Whenever he cried, his father would run to his aid where he would pick him up and cuddle him to comfort him. Mary Ainsworth developed the strange situation procedure which involved the systematic observation of how infants respond to the departure and return of their primary caregiver. In the case of Dickson, he can be classified with the anxious ambivalent type of children who form 10% of the total number of infants. Anxious ambivalent types are seen to have difficulty separating with their parents and also difficulty in the re-uniting with them on their return. Dickson was pampered by his father and this made him acquire an abnormal attachment to him. Growing up this has influenced how he forms relationships with people especially romantic ones. He seems to be unable to form any lasting relationship with his current depression state that arose due to the strained relationship between him and his father. Dickson seems to compare any relationship with that of his father of which he sees himself being attached to the partner just like he was overly attached to his father of which resulted in a strained relationship. He therefore dooms or sees the end of a relationship before it even begins. His work provides the only form of constant and reliable dimension to him that will not risk disappointing him therefore his focus and attention lie fully in it. Dickson attributes his failed relationship which lasted for seven months to situational factors and not to any of his dispositional factors. He claims that it was Caroline who was to blame for the sudden halt of their relationship. He cited Carol’s lack of understanding his long working hours and her obstinate state of refusing to stay at ho,e and let him provide for the family as the reasons as to why the relationship had to end. According to Dickson, it was the innate role of a man to be able to fend for the family as the woman stayed at home to rear the children and look after the house. he did not see this as a chauvinistic character trait because it was what he saw his father do from when he was a young child who mimicked his every action. Of all the traditionalistic ways he saw in his father, this is the only one he retained in adulthood. He also did not see the negative effects of his depression and the strain it put on his relationship with Carol. He always blamed Carol for being insensitive to his problems. When Carol suggested that he ought to seek counseling to help him deal with his severe depression that seemed to consume his very being he blatantly refused and went to the extent of physically abusing her. Dickson blamed the fighting on Carol’s insistent nature of retaliating with a raised voice at every opportunity they got into a disagreement. He denied ever raising a hand to her and when he finally admitted to doing so, he would justify his actions by saying that she was to blame and that he needed to teach her a lesson. Carol finally left him when he refused to seek counseling at all costs and when she realized the next time he hit her she would probably end up dying. Dickson had a lot of ailments that were stress related. He suffered from insomnia whereby he stayed up late into the night unable to sleep because of the thoughts that plagued him after his failed relationship with his father and Carol. He overworked himself and rarely rested and this began to have negative effects on his physiological and psychological well being. He started putting on weight at a very alarming rate because of overindulgence in eating because it was the only way to take his mind off things. He became clinically obese. It was at this point that his family saw it best to advice him to seek help because they saw the dangers awaiting him yet he was still very young. Part 2: Assessment Report Biographical Information The data gathered from the client was as follows. Dickson is 26 years old and lives alone. He can remember the particular interest he had in reading and his studies in the attempt of gaining his father’s approval as a young child. He knows what the extra studying cost him in relation to the formation of relationships with his peers. He believes this is where he became anti-social and reserved most of the time keeping to himself. Dickson also mentions the enstranged relationship with his other siblings due to the age difference between them. He is an IT consultant with his own consultancy firm which is relatively small but steadily growing. He hates the rift that starting his own IT firm has brought between him and his father because it led to him being disowned by his father for failing to take over the family business. Dickson also mentions the way he was close to his father while growing up and how he idolized him by making him his role model. Dickson believes that he differs in his father in opinion about many aspects of life but the one thing he picked up from him was the ideology that it was the innate nature of a man to provide for his family as the woman stayed at home. This borders on chauvinism and very traditionalistic thinking but he seems to be unaware of that. He talks about how futile his relationships have been but he mentions the one that lasted the longest and seemed to have promise. Dickson however, seems to think that he had nothing to do with the problems that ensued from the relationship which finally ended the relationship. He also views the physical abuse he inflicted on Carol was for a good purpose. To Dickson his relationship ended because of situational factors but not dispositional factors that are predisposed to him. He does not see the need to seek counseling but from his family’s intervention he saw it fit to comply because he also sees to notice that there have been some physiological and psychological adverse conditions resulting from his lifestyle. He deduces the reason for his state of depression to be linked to the failed relationships between him and his father and also his relationship with Carol. . Dickson is a very hard worker and therefore spends most of his hours at his business premises. This is the reason why he is not currently in any relationship as he sees it as a distraction from his work or a time waster, although he is also aware that his attachment issues to his father as he was growing up is what is influencing the formation of his relationship with other people especially those of the opposite sex. In Dickson’s family, there are three children whereby he has an elder sister who is 35 years old and a younger sister who is 16 years old. Dickson is therefore the only son in his family. This is the reason why his father became very disappointed on Dickson’s decision of taking up a new ambition away from what he had planned for him since he had no other son to follow in his footsteps. Referral Source and Referral Negotiated Additional information that I needed to gather was the following. I needed to get a better feel of Dickson’s relationship with his father before his father publically disowned him. How did his father treat him when he was a child? I also needed to find out the father’s relationship with Dickson’s sister. Does he also have the same ambitions for his daughters as he has for his son? I also needed to find out what was Dickson’s mother take on this incidence. Does she think her husband had the right to lash out at his son like that or is she of a different opinion? The way Dickson views the relationship between his father and his mother would also be a very important aspect to this assessment due to the fact that Dickson’s behavior is influenced by the way he saw his father treat the mother him throughout his life. His personality is shaped by the discipline instilled in him by his father through observational learning or modeling. It is also important I understand the relationship between Dickson and his sisters. Does the age difference between the siblings affect the bond of their relationship? I believe Dickson’s father has some serious issues he needs to address which made him do something that he might regret for the rest of his life. His actions are what have led to Dickson’s current state of depression and his reason for seeking counseling. It would perhaps be helpful if Dickson’s father would agree to join in the counseling session in order to reach a middle ground or find the root of the disagreement. On the other hand the main aim of directive counseling could be for Dickson to go back and work for his father maybe on a part time basis since both organizations are privately owned the schedules are not fixed and some sought of arrangement can be created that way both parties stay happy and fulfilled. One of Dickson’s major problems is the fact that he does not believe in doing it on his own. He thinks that he cannot make it without his dad. Dickson is of the opinion that without his dad’s guidance and teachings he will not succeed in his business. Dickson is the only son in his family. This means that his father was very fond of him and therefore they spent a great deal of time together. This also meant that his father is the only male role model he knows. Dickson has therefore always depended on his dad for advise and guidance all through his life. When Dickson is faced with a dilemma or when he is at cross-roads, Dickson turns to his father for a solution or remedy. Therefore, this sudden abandonment by his father has left him lost and confused on the way forward. He has also been left in a state of despair whereby he believes that he cannot tackle the problems that he might face without his father beside him. Another problem that Dickson faces is the fact that he is not in a relationship or does not have any close companion to turn to. His father was probably one of the most closest person or companion he had and by the fact that he has lost the affections of his father means that he has lost one of the only few close relationships he had in his life. Due to this disagreement that he had with his father, the relationship he had with the other members of his family that is his mother and sisters would also be affected negatively even in the situation that they are on his side. Dickson being a workaholic has not had time to make close friends or even enter into any intimate relationship. He spends most of his day in the office doing work. When he is on the phone, he is speaking to clients and making business deals and connections. By the end of the day he is tired and therefore he ends up sleeping and starts the next day following the same routine. He barely gets time to go out and socialize. Based on the counseling sessions, it is clear that Dickson has been like this all his life whereby even in his childhood life he mostly focused on his books and had no time to socialize. Therefore only relationships he had were those with his family members especially his father. Therefore this disagreement created a huge void in his personal life. The disagreement also influenced the course of his relationship with Carol. It has led him to result to uncouth barbaric methods of dealing with problems and this has greatly affected Carol’s dignity as a human being. I might recommend that she seeks counseling too to reassure her of her worth because any form of abuse degrades an individual. Anger management is also very important for Dickson because he needs to learn how to control his temper and to realize that resorting in violence is never the answer. Background Information It is clear that Dickson’s childhood life has a lot to do with his current state of depression. Anybody in Dickson’s shoes would have been emotionally disturbed but they would not been have been as depressed as Dickson is to warrant them to seek counseling. Therefore Dickson’s depression has its roots in his childhood life. Dickson grew up in a family whereby his big sister was much older than him and his younger sibling was much younger than him therefore he never had any close relationships with his siblings all through his childhood. By the fact that he was a middle child he did not receive all that attention as his other siblings whereby his parents had a lot of expectations for his elder sister and therefore she was always at the spotlight. For his younger sister, being the last born she received a lot of attention in terms of affection as she is the newest member of the family. Therefore Dickson did not receive that much attention Based on the counseling session with the client it was also vivid that Dickson spend most of the time studying and doing research as he has a very good middle school, high school and even university academic record whereby he was an exceptional student. He is also seen to have been highly disciplined and stayed away from trouble all through his school life,. This means that he did not have a lot of friends and therefore spend most of his time at home. This meant that Dickson was very fond of his father as he was the only other male member of his family and since he did not have that much friends he did boy activities with his father. His father always took him to hiss work place which was their family business anytime Dickson was not in school and therefore he soon learned all that is to be known about his father’s business. Therefore over time he became very fond of his father and to him he was his best friend. However as he grew up and begun interacting with people especially in his college life whereby he met different people and was exposed to different ideas he was able to begin to think for himself and also begun to trust his judgment more. In doing so he becomes more independent and also less dependent on his father’s intellect for guidance. Despite this he still had a very close relationship with his father. Assessment Instruments/Procedures The methodology that was used in the assessment was interviewing the client. Interviewing the participant about his relationship with his friends, allies and family; looking into Background information of the participant and observing the participants records in terms of school performance and medical. I began by interviewing the participant. Interviewing the client involved a face to face interview with the participant. In this case, he was asked about his background information and other personal questions in order to get the profile of the participant. The second part was interviewing him about his relationships with friends and family. In quizzing the client about his close allies, friends, classmates and relatives it involved the inquisition of his friends routine practices, his bad and good qualities, his behavior around them, his social life with them and his regular activities. This was to determine the view of the society of Dickson. (Wechsler, 2006) The other part involved researching on the background information of the client. Looking into the background information of the participant- after his consent- was for the me to be able to get a clear more detailed, comprehensive and precise information on the background of the participant this is to look at his criminal record, his spending habits through his credit information, his living habits, spending habits, places he usually goes to and generally his behavior. Observing the participants records in terms of school performance and medical records was the final part of the assessment procedures. Looking into the medical and performance records of the participant is another method of collection of information whereby the medical records show whether the participant has any terminal illnesses or injuries that caused a certain defect in his mental stability and also tells on his general health. His performance records show his school performance in terms of his level of intellectual ability and his interest in school work r his seriousness in studying. (Wechsler, 2006) Assessment Outcomes: The assessment enabled me to gather very vital information about the client that would enable me to get a better understanding of the issues surrounding my client’s depression and emotional state. Based on this information we discovered that throughout his childhood life Dickson has been much of loner whereby he spent most of the time reading and studying in order to excel in his studies and also to make his father proud. Dickson had very good grades all through his school life due to this fact. Dickson grew up looking up to his father who he saw as his role model. From this he picked up both some positive and negative attributes. Joining the university allowed him to meet with a variety of people and therefore he was exposed to new ideas and concepts. Due to this he begun to think for himself, make decisions on his own and formulate solutions rather than depend on his father for guidance. But this ended up destroying their relationship. Despite his growth and development as a man, he still highly respected his father and what he stood for. Case Conceptualization/formulation The method that therapists and guidance counselors apply in determining solutions to the emotional state of a client for example Dickson who has come seeking professional help is usually not an easy task. Despite this, applying the right tools and following the correct procedure one can gather the fruitful evidence to outline the underlying issues. This should be followed by an extra conceptualization of the information into a convincing picture in the client’s head. By doing so, one is able to assess and find out which counseling technique or practice is most appropriate or best suites the situation of the client. In helping the client, the therapy chosen should just not be one chosen at random but a keen analysis should be done on what method best suits the client. It is always important to remember though that all therapy involves the application of learning principles e.g. in the event of neurotic behaviors the therapy used involves the unlearning or extinction of learned responses. This was a view proposed by Eysenck in his trait theory of personality. References Gray, P.O. (2010). Foundations for the study of psychology. Psychology (6th ed.). New York, New York: Worth Publishers. Psychology. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary. Retrieved from merriam-webster.com Fernald LD (2008). Psychology: Six perspectives (pp. 12–15). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.  Hockenbury & Hockenbury. Psychology. Worth Publishers, 2010. O'Neil, H.F.; cited in Coon, D.; Mitterer, J.O. (2008). Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior (12th ed., pp. 15–16). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Brain, Christine. 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