De-Identified Clients: A Case Study

1. Provide a brief description of your de-identified “client” and the presenting problem/issue.

The client is nearing graduation, and will earn her second college degree. She has lived in Arizona her entire life. She has maintained a close relationship to her parents and the same network of friends. She gathers with her family multiple times a week and is close with her roommate, who is also her childhood friend. She is very active in the community and enjoys being social. She relies heavily on her existing support system for guidance. The presenting problem is that she is at a crossroads after nursing school. On one hand she wants to stay in Arizona and perhaps take a job at the hospital she is doing her clinical rotation at, but she

The common factors that were present in the session, were supportive and strengthened the helping professional relationship. The common factors brought us closer together and enabled us to work more proactively and collectively as a team. There were common factors that were natural and present throughout the entire session, such as the practitioner factors, genuineness, acceptance, and empathy. There were other factors, such as client factors of hope or expectation of change, that arose throughout the session. Keeping the common factors in mind throughout the session, I operated from a strengths perspective, wanting to consciously activate some of the common factors that hadn’t presented themselves yet. For example, on multiple occasions throughout the session I referenced the positive attributes of the client’s social support system. The client, recognizing her own strengths and the value of her support system, increased her awareness of the importance of establishing a support system in another state if she chose to

Due to the client’s close relationship with her family, I would have liked to discus this further, because this is an area that may contribute to the client feeling torn about making the decision. I also would have liked to spend more time exploring how Judaism plays a role in her family dynamics, roles, and expectations. She does not self-identify as Jewish, but her family observes some Jewish traditions. This would have been important to discuss in detail, and it is essential to consider all aspects of her culture. I need to keep in mind that I am coming from a position of not knowing, and it is important to ask. I asked her if she had discussed the presenting problem with her family and friends, which she had. This would have been a good opportunity to explore the details of the conversations she had with her family, and collectively identify any areas she would like to revisit with them in the future. Lastly, I would have also liked to spend more time discussing the pros and cons of staying in Arizona, which we only spent a modest amount of time discussing. We focused heavily on discussing the possibility of moving.

4. In your estimation, would conducting the session from one specific therapeutic lens (CBT, Solution Focused, etc.) have resulted in a different