Counseling Case Interview Paper

The interview conducted by Justin was a brief, 40-minute intake session with a client named Rick. Rick has been married for 40 years and has three grown children. His wife recommended that he seek counseling because he is presenting problems of distress after being laid off from his job. Risk is now uncertain about how he is going to support his family, which is a major concern for him. He reports being late to work on occasion, further describing his lateness as a result of drinking and sleeping through his alarm clock. Additionally, because he is approaching 60 years old, he indicates that discrimination from his new boss may be another factor contributing to the dismissal from his job that he has had for 25 years. During an intake interview

Justin effectively used open-ended questions to gather more information, but his reaction to some of the client’s responses were inappropriate. Justin asked, “How would you describe your health?” and when the client replied with “I’m pretty tough”, he suddenly laughed as the client was clearly presenting a serious demeanor. Although this was a useful question to ask, Justin should not have laughed unless the client was too. Instead, Justin could have used more appropriate mirroring techniques such as smiling and allowed the client to continue his response, without being interrupted by laughter. When the client was clearly finished answering the question it would be better to say, “It is great that you recognize being tough, your health seems to be a great strength for you”. As the interview continued, Justin went through a list of closed-ended symptomology questions, followed by asking “Are you religious at all? Do you have a spiritual background?” to gain insight about the client’s religion and how it may affect his symptoms. Accordingly, the client responded, “I go to church, my father was a pastor”; which is a noticeably vague response. Justin effectively asked more closed-ended questions to gain a more specific understanding of his religion and found that he is Mormon. Justin’s response to the client’s religion was very positive and complimentary, offering acceptance to