Analyzing Two Theoretical Approaches To Counseling Marie - Essay Example

? Analyzing two theoretical approaches to Counseling Marie This paper seeks to analyze two theoretical approaches that can be applied to counseling Marie. The first part of the paper will comprise of a description and comparison of the two most appropriate theoretical approaches. In addition, the paper will focus on how two counselors having different theoretical approaches might help Marie deal with the problems she has. In regard to this, this paper will focus on how each of the theoretical approaches can explain her behavior. Moreover, the paper explores the issues that the theoretical approaches will focus on and part of the problem that they might deal with first. The paper will also place emphasis on whether the two therapies are equal ways of understanding her problem, or whether one of them provides a better understanding of Marie’s problems. Lastly, the paper will explain how each of the counseling approaches may be applied over the lifespan. Analyzing two theoretical approaches to counseling Marie Introduction Counseling aims at helping clients gain a supportive relationship that will help them experience understanding, empathy, and warmth. The counselor supports the clients in whatever they go through by helping them understand their present, as well as past situations. At the end of the counseling endeavor, the client should be able to find answers to the problems facing them. The counselor facilitates the therapeutic process by helping clients recognize that they have choices to make (Westbrook Kennerly & Kirk, 2007). In the case of Marie, she faces difficulties in completing her teaching placement due to the problems she has gone through in the past. The feelings of anxiety and self-doubt that Marie has should be overcome to enable her live a fulfilling life. Marie has hatred towards herself as she feels worthless to the point that she decides to find solace in substance abuse. The two theoretical approaches that can be used to offer therapy to Marie include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Psychoanalytic therapy. Describing and Comparing two theoretical approaches to counseling Marie CBT entails a short-term psychotherapy treatment that applies practical approaches to problem solving. The main goal of the approach is to change behavior and thinking patterns, which cause difficulties on people’s lives. The wide range of problems treated using this approach include relationship problems, depression, alcohol, and drug abuse. This approach works through the model of changing the behavior and attitudes of people through a focus on beliefs, thoughts, and attitudes that have an impact on behavior. While counseling using this approach, the therapist and the client work together to understand the client’s problems and devise possible mechanisms that can address the problems. The client in question, Marie, faces feelings of anxiety and self-doubt. These feelings affect Marie's functioning to the extent that she had to withdraw from her placement (Westbrook Kennerly & Kirk, 2007). According to Wills (2008), in cognitive behavior therapy, the underlying belief is that the thoughts and feelings that people play an essential role in determining a person’s behavior. This therapy emphasizes that, while clients cannot exercise control every aspect if the world they live in, they can have control on how they deal with the events happening in their environment. In the recent past, mental health professionals and counselors have relied heavily on cognitive behavior therapy in dealing with emotional problems. The advantages of this therapy emanate from the fact that it helps clients to overcome a variety of behaviors that tend to be maladaptive. The therapy is favored as it can lead to long term changes in the client despite the fact that it is a short-term form of treatment. The other approach that can be appropriate in dealing with Marie’s problems is psychoanalytic approach. In this form of psychotherapy, the therapist focuses on the unconscious of the client in order to discover an internal source that may be the cause of the problems. This approach was put forth by Sigmund Freud, who believed that the therapist would rely on the unconscious and determine the inner conflict causing the psychological problems faced by the client by talking through the memories and dreams of a person. Exposing the source of the problems would help the client to release the negative emotions that contribute to the problems. In the case of Marie, the realization of the causes and source of her problems would go a long way in helping her deal with her emotions (Jacobs, 2001). While using this form of therapy, Marie would meet with her therapist for several times and talk about emotions and feelings that always come to their mind. The therapist would allow Marie to talk freely about her problems and emotions while the therapist records everything that she says. The therapist then makes connections between what the client says and search for the source of the problems within the unconscious; this is known as free association. Based on the source of the problems, the therapist will then work towards developing appropriate strategies that can help in solving the client’s problems (Jacobs, 2001). These two therapeutic approaches can be compared in a number of ways. Both approaches focus on realizing the negative thoughts, emotions and feelings contributing to the problems faced by clients. The aim of the two theoretical approaches is to reduce symptoms that may be causing distress in the life of a client. Both approaches also emphasize that the source of a client’s problems originate from within the client. Therefore, the client has the potential to denounce the negative thoughts and feelings that make them behave the way they do. In addition, both approaches aim at helping clients live positively while avoiding circumstances that may cause negative feelings and experiences in the lives of the clients (Jacobs, 2001). The use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Counseling Marie While using CBT, the therapist can facilitate Marie to overcome what she goes through so that she can start living a fulfilling life. As a therapeutic approach, cognitive therapy combines behavioral therapy and psychotherapy. In this case, psychotherapy would emphasize the importance of personal meaning that Marie places on her experiences in life, as well as how his childhood has had an impact on his behavior. Behavioral therapy would emphasize on the relationship between the problems of Marie, her behavior, and the thought patterns that she exhibits. To a large extent, Marie’s behavior of feeling shy while on placement and the intoxication emanate from how she thinks about herself as worthless and the feelings of self-doubt (Wills, 2008). While using behavioral therapy in counseling Marie, focus would also be on the origin of the negative thoughts she portrays and how they can be overcome. The thinking patterns displayed by Marie may have emanated from her childhood experiences. Over time, the thoughts became fixed in Marie’s mind as well as automatic. In counseling Marie, CBT would play an essential role in helping her understand what is going on in her life (Simos, 2009). This form of therapy will be helpful as it will assist Marie step out of her automatic thoughts and test them out; the aim of doing this is to help her overcome the challenges in her life. With the use of this therapy, the first issue to address would be the stress she underwent upon feeling shy and unable to practice her placement. When Marie felt shy during her placement, she experienced stress out of the situation to the extent that she intoxicated herself. The act of intoxicating oneself results from the desire to forget the experiences that one has underwent. The therapist should address this issue first as it is a hindrance to solving the problems that Marie faces. Marie thinks that the only way to get rid of her negative thoughts and emotions is to indulge in substance abuse. However, rather than helping her deal with her problems properly, intoxication only escalates the problem. The use of drugs contributes to depression as the drug abusers develop impaired judgment upon intoxication (Lowinson, 2007). Cognitive behavioral therapy places a lot of emphasis on the interaction between feelings, thoughts, and a person’s behavior. The quality of a person’s life is influenced by the combination of thoughts, behavior, and feelings (Simos, 2009). Marie’s shyness may emanate from the feelings that other people think of her and find her as a boring and stupid person. This may be the primary cause of the anxiety she faces while teaching. A therapist should assist Marie recognize that she is loved by other people and that she should not feel shy or anxious while teaching. The therapist should help Marie identify the maladaptive factors that contribute to her behavior. Based on this, the therapist should then assist the client move from introspection to self discovery, which will be extremely essential in overcoming her problems. After identifying the problematic beliefs that cause her problems, the therapist should then assist Marie deal with the actual behaviors that cause her problems. The therapist facilitates the client to learn as well as practice new skills that can be practiced in situations, which the client experiences in the real world. For instance, in the case of Marie, the therapist should help her practice new coping mechanisms and skills. These new mechanisms and skills will go a long way in helping the client counter situations that may trigger indulgence in intoxication. In helping Marie, the therapist should facilitate her through CBT to undertake some steps that will lead to change in behavior. Marie should be assisted to work towards the larger goal of dealing with anxiety; this would play an essential role in helping the client get rid of her negative feelings (Sheldon, 2011). While using CBT to deal with Marie’s problems, the therapist should aim at helping her gain insights and awareness on the thoughts causing psychological distress. The therapist should also help Marie gain an understanding of the behavioral patterns reinforcing her behavior and how these patterns can be corrected. The therapist working with Marie should strive to understand the experiences of the client from the client’s own point of view. Based on an understanding from the point of view of the client, both the client and the therapist should then explore the client’s assumptions, thoughts, and inferences. The therapist should then help Marie test the assumptions, inferences, and thoughts by comparing them to other assumptions (Sheldon, 2011). The symptoms of depression that Marie portrays such as feeling worthless, incompetent, stupid, and hated by people can be solved through cognitive behavior therapy. The therapist should help the client such symptoms as causes of her problems and that they can be solved. The best treatment strategies include helping the client to be more aware of her mood and challenge the negative thoughts she faces. Marie should be assisted to denounce the negative attitudes that the client holds about herself, her world, and how people think about her as these contribute to feelings of hopelessness in life. The therapist should facilitate the client to denounce the belief that undesirable things will always occur in her life. The occurrence during her teaching placement should not affect her life negatively, and she should learn to face the situation courageously (Fisher & William, 2012). Amassing courage to forget such a situation could be the only way she can avoid feeling tormented by the situation. In drug and substance abuse, strategies of CBT are based on the belief that addictive behaviors result from conditioning and reinforcement. Marie should learn to change behavior by applying a variety of skills that can help in the reduction of drug use. The therapist should let the client know that the negative and far reaching consequences that may emanate from the continued substance abuse. For instance, continued intoxication on a regular basis may have an effect on her studies. The therapist should urge Marie to identify situations that cause high risk for substance use and how they can be avoided. Together with the client, the therapist should develop appropriate strategies that can help in coping with and avoidance of substance use (Lowinson, 2007). Another strategy that the counselor can use in CBT, to assist Marie, includes emphasizing on the need for her to have friends. Hanging out with friends who do not engage in substance abuse can go a long way in helping her avoid that behavior. Engaging in social activities can also help the client deal with the feelings of worthlessness as she would feel being accepted in a social group. The therapist should also help the client to learn how she can effectively manage stress using such techniques as engaging in sporting activities. Taking part in social events such as hobbies will significantly reduce the problems that the client has (Fisher & William, 2012). While using cognitive behavior therapy, the therapist should help the client to identify and challenge negative thoughts and emotions. Negative thoughts, behaviors, and emotions can be avoided when the client has full knowledge of them and can identify their signs. In the course of the therapeutic process, cognitive behavior therapy helps the client to evaluate themselves and get the full realization that negative thoughts are of no benefit to their lives. Evaluation of progress in the therapeutic process also enables the client to function on their own in the absence of the therapist. Development of coping strategies and improved skills of self awareness will enable the client avoid events that may tend to trigger problems in the future. Clients own the outcome of the therapy when they reduce their dependence on the therapist (Fisher & William, 2012). The use of Psychoanalysis in Counseling Marie As a therapeutic approach, psychoanalysis hinges on the belief that human beings do not have awareness of the mental processes determining their thoughts, behavior, and feelings. Psychoanalysis argues that making these processes known to the individual plays an essential role in alleviating suffering that one undergoes. The primary goals of psychoanalysis in the case of Marie could include increased self-awareness, relief of symptoms, and creating an objective capacity that would enhance self observation of the client. Employing psychoanalysis in the case of Marie would also play an essential role in enhancing and improving the relationship she has with her friends; this will help her live a satisfying life (Nelson-Jones, 2006). A therapist may choose psychoanalytic therapy as an ideal way of dealing with mood disturbances, low self esteem, unhappiness, and the difficulties in personality traits that Marie faces. Psychoanalysis hinges on the belief that a client’s symptoms emanate from unconscious mental processes, which are beyond the individual’s awareness. With the use of a slow process that focuses on unfolding, psychoanalysis will demonstrate to Marie how unconscious mental processes affect her feelings, thoughts, and interactions with other members of the society. The emphasis of psychoanalytic therapy is that mental processes taking place in the client’s mind can be associated to early experiences with family members and caregivers. Thus, the fact that Marie faced constant physical and mental abuse from her mother, while a child, explains her problems (Sanville, 2000). While using psychoanalysis in counseling Marie, the source her troubling thoughts, behavior, and feelings explains why she has the current problems in her life. To a large extent, the childhood experiences that Marie had have contributed significantly to shaping and transformation of her character over the years. It seems that the experiences that her mother subjected her to while she was young have affected her view of other people and the world at large. As a result, Marie feels that other people hate her and that she is worthless and an incompetent person. The constant physical and verbal abuse that Marie underwent under her mother has triggered feelings in her that people hate her, she is stupid, an idiot, and ugly (Nelson-Jones, 2006). While counseling clients using psychoanalysis, the therapist applies the process of free association, which enables clients to say whatever comes to their mind. This process may be challenging since, from childhood, people are taught to keep feelings and ideas to themselves rather than revealing them to others. However, avoidance of eye contact between the therapist and the client serves to facilitate this process since clients can speak spontaneously. The analyst/therapist should also employ non-judgmental attitude while counseling Marie; this will enhance the success of the process since the counselor will be attentive to details that seem unimportant. This approach will be appropriate in dealing with Marie’s problems since she needs the therapist to understand with an objective and caring attitude (Sanville, 2000). As the therapist allows Marie to speak, the unconscious sources of her current problems and difficulties will eventually appear. Slowly, the repetitive aspects of behavior will be noticed by the counselor as the conversation with Marie progresses. During the therapeutic process, the therapist should gradually start revealing to Marie the probable sources of her problems. The therapist should encourage her to accept and embrace the sources of her difficulties so that she can be able to deal with them in the appropriate way. The aim is to facilitate the client overcome the unfavorable experiences that can be said to be the causes of her problems (Williams, 2010). A crucial aspect of counseling using psychoanalysis encompasses the process of transference. During this process, the client unconsciously transfers the desires, thoughts, and emotions she used to associate with another person onto the counselor. In the case of Marie, the therapist will take those emotions and associate them with circumstances in her life. The feelings of stupidity, shyness, being worthless and engaging in intoxication emanate from the client’s childhood experiences. Transference digs deep into situations that affect the present life of the client. The experiences that Marie had earlier in her life affect her current relationship with her peers and other people in her life. The therapist can help her overcome such feelings by keeping them in the unconscious mind and striving to forget about them (Howard, 2009). This psychotherapy is ideal in dealing with the problems faced by Marie since it tends to last for a long time. In the course of the counseling process, the approach will strive to understand the sources of the thoughts and feelings of the client. Significant rewards will result from this form of therapy as the client will learn to associate with other people and love her work. Marie will be freed to live her life to the fullest, relate to her peers, and like her career as a teacher. Consequently, the negative feelings she holds about herself will be overcome, and she will continue partaking her career (Howard, 2009). The two therapies cannot be regarded as equal ways of understanding the problems and issues encountered by Marie. However, it can be said that each of approaches provide a clear understanding of the problems faced by the client. Evidently, one of the approaches provides a better approach that can explain Marie’s behavior. The approach that provides a deeper understanding of the client’s behavior is cognitive behavior therapy. Cognitive behavior therapy provides that understanding because the therapeutic approach is based on the impact that the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the client have on her behavior. Experiences such as self doubt, shyness, anxiety, and feelings of hatred can be seen to emanate from the negative feelings that the client has about herself. Cognitive behavior therapy can be credited for its role in helping clients facing issues such as intoxication and drug use. Furthermore, the approaches dwell on the childhood experiences that may be the cause of a client’s problems. Thus, this approach is all inclusive in explaining Marie’s behavior. Most of the aspects of the client’s behavior and problems can be effectively explained using cognitive behavior therapy. Negative emotions have played a central role in contributing to the Marie’s feelings that people hate her and that the only way she can get out of such a situation is by involving herself in substance abuse (Corey, 2012). Both psychoanalytic approach and cognitive behavior therapy can be ideal for use over the lifespan. This stems from how each of the approaches deals with developmental challenges that the client faces during each stage of her lifespan. CBT explains the challenges she faced during childhood as a product of her mother’s bitterness. The mother always transferred her anger to Marie, making the client a victim of her mother’s rage. Psychoanalysis explains the mother’s attitude towards Marie during childhood as a defense mechanism that the mother used. The mother tried to use projection by transferring her thoughts and anger to a harmless person (Corey, 2012). In her age of late adolescent and early adulthood, Marie’s behavior can be dealt with using psychoanalysis by relying on the defense mechanism of regression. She is trying to go to an earlier stage in her life where should be given a lot of attention by people. Cognitive behavior therapy can explain her behavior as resulting from adolescent thoughts and teen influence. She feels hated by other people and is not comfortable with herself as it is common for adolescents to seek attention from the society. She intoxicates herself because of the mixed thoughts that this will help her overcome her problems. The stress she goes through results from the belief that people resent her (Lowinson, 2007). References Corey, G. (2012). Case Approach to Counseling and Psychotherapy. London: Cengage Learning. Fisher, E. J. & William, T. O. (2012). Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Core Principles for Practice. London: John Wiley & Sons. Howard, S. (2009). 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