DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Darius Muniz

Professor Mapel

The Counseling Interview

October 25th, 2010

                                                            Client Summary

Emotional Reactions:

            The more I talked with client E, the more I would see themes and situations that reflected my own life. A lot of the issues client E described encompassing his family; it was like looking into a mirror that reflected my own past experiences. I would empathize when hearing his pain and uncertainties, and I would often times want to share my own similar experiences and how I personally dealt with these trials and tribulations, though my part for now is just to listen and guide. I also felt that the more information I hear, the more I realize that many people in the world are dealing with issues that are often buried deep and repressed so the magnitude of the negativity doesn’t destroy them psychologically.

            Much the same way I would try to forget my life altering past, Client E has been affected deeply by a lack of family unity and trust. When client E was angry, I felt anger, when Client E was sad, I felt sad. There was a communication present that was tied together by similar experiences and an understanding that only a person who has gone through that experience could emotionally understand and feel. Client E in a way was a picture to me of what could happen to me if I allowed my past to affect my future. So though Client E and I were similar in past experiences, where we seemed to be different was in the way we allowed negative feelings of ones’ self to influence our actions that consequently dictate our future.

Client Summary:

            Client E is dealing with a wide variety of social and adaptive issues stemming from past experiences and relationships. Client E seems to be suffering from abandonment issues associated with the absence of his father from an early age. Stemming from this, Client E has had trouble developing a stable personality where establishing right from wrong tends to be clouded and leaves him feeling lost. Also motivationally, Client E seems to be affected by low self esteem and feelings of worthlessness. These maladaptive emotions dictate his actions and tend to create unsatisfying outcomes that further reinforce his feelings of worthlessness.

             Client E’s past experiences with his mother has made it difficult for client E to establish meaningful and healthy relationships with his loved ones and personal romantic partners. Client E seems to be trapped in a revolving circle where his past affects his future. I would recommend Client E is a prime candidate for professional counseling and would benefit greatly by identifying problem areas of his past and talking through them to understand that he was not at fault for events that have occurred that have led to his belief system.

            I would also recommend cognitive behavioral therapy to help teach Client E more adaptive ways of thinking that can achieve behaviors that would create more satisfying outcomes in his social, familial, and romantic partnerships. Client E also seems to be suffering from chronic depression due to his maladaptive ways of associating his past experiences with current situations and is in danger of living a negative and unfulfilling life if these issues are not worked through and come to terms with in a constructive and positive manner.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.