MSW 517 (Module 5) NTU Psychotherapy Script

Module 5 1

Student A

Master of Social Work, Chamberlain University

MSW 517: Advanced Social Work Practice

NTU Psychotherapy Script

Dr. Shelly McDowell-Porter

Date

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Culturally Responsive Interventions: Innovative Approaches to Working with Diverse

Populations (Ancis, 2003) describes the focus of the African philosophy of NTU psychotherapy as a

spiritual practice that contains five phases of self-awareness and the process of becoming aware of

oneself. The practice is a method of understanding life situations, experiences, and solutions to improve

one's life. The steps are important in developing a healthy relationship within the individual and others in

their lives. The overall goal of NTU psychotherapy is to create awareness of emotions and feelings while

restoring harmony, genuineness, and interconnectedness. The chosen client is dealing with a phobic

disorder, trauma, and self-esteem issues. The process of NTU will be utilized to recognize components in

each of these factors and a plan to structure an effective program.

Conceptualization of Presenting Problems

Lesly Bridgewater (name has been changed for privacy) is a 65-year-old African American and

Japanese female. She currently lives alone in a senior mobile home park in central California and has one

cat as her pet. She has not worked in over 14 years; her last job was working in the photo department at

Walmart. The main source of her income is based on her first husband's social security and was unable to

qualify for retirement benefits. Although her children have tried to motivate their mother to find a job, she

refuses and believes she is too old to work or learn new skills. She is also dealing with social anxiety and

lacks confidence as she always seems to find fault within herself. Lesly owns a reliable vehicle, but

anxiety has impacted her ability to drive and orders all her groceries and medications to be delivered.

Lesly has been divorced twice and recently separated from a seven-year relationship due to constant

verbal abuse from her former partner who also had an alcohol consumption problem. She has mentioned

several times that she is lonely and does not want to live by herself but does not reach out to anyone or

tries to contact family. Lesly mentioned several times that no one comes to visit but contradicted herself

by saying that several family members have recently come to her home. When asked about friends, she

said that she does not have any except talking with her neighbors occasionally. She has four adult

children, the two oldest are married and live in the same state while the two youngest have moved away

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for college. Lesly also has three siblings, but one of her brothers passed away the previous year in

October. Her first husband, the father of the two oldest children, also passed away unexpectedly in the

beginning of last year as well. She has found it difficult in coming to terms with both of their deaths.

Lesly grew up with a Protestant upbringing but attends a non-denominational church via the internet and

has stated that it has helped her cope with the losses. Her faith in the Christian religion is of most

importance to her and rewatches the sermons daily. However, she still finds herself entering episodes of

depression where she will remain closed off to everyone. Family is also important to Lesly, but she feels

that they do not understand what she is experiencing. She has attended counseling sessions before, but it

was not consistent to be effective in improving her situation.

Upon being prompted about goals that Lesly wants to achieve, she is unsure of the direction she

wants to take the counseling and begins to talk negatively about herself and her situation. It is noticeable

that she wants others to approach her first and settle her issues without having to take responsibility for

herself, as she needs to become more aware of her strengths and purpose (The Nguzo Saba & Maat, a

path for self-reconstruction and recoveredness: exploring a Kawaida Paradigm for healing

addiction in the Black community. - Free Online Library, 2014). Since she is not fully cooperating,

the ideal method is to ask additional open-ended questions that will prompt further and in-depth

discussion to reveal exactly what she is looking to gain from the sessions. Lesly is adamant about

connecting with family, so the first question asked was what have you tried so far to contact your family?

Her reaction was glum as she slumped over and tucked her head down. Lesly did not respond for several

minutes but provided this moment of silence to allow her to compose a response. She answered by saying

that they do not have time for her, and she has not tried to make an effort. The first goal is reestablishing

personal connections, which was identified in having her reconnect with the family without her feeling

like she is a burden. She also has contact with the pastor of her church and other members, they can be a

source of securing her with prayer as needed and other services such as transportation to attend church

sermons. The next goal is to develop coping mechanisms to help her with social anxiety and understand

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what triggers her into this state. Asking what methods have worked and what has not worked will narrow

down the options that will be applicable. One of the main concerns that Lesly is facing is dealing with the

unexpected passing of both her brother and ex-husband, plus the trauma she endured from her prior

relationship. These are Lesly’s main concerns that need to be addressed to find ways to empower her in

building self confidence and healthy relationships.

Use of NTU Stages of Psychotherapy

The first part of the NTU stage in Lesly’s plan is to establish harmony in her life and in

relationships. In the first session, it was recognized that Lesly believes that she cannot be happy without a

healthy relationship with others if she is not content with herself. In the conversation, she does not display

assertiveness or an attempt to be direct with her family. She showed some hesitation at the first meeting,

but was able to become more mindful and responsive. This comes from the stage of awareness, as she

initially did not truly understand the reasons behind her behavior and was unsure of communicating with

a social worker. Upon further discussion, with the utilization of open-ended questions, she was able to

contemplate the questions and reflect on her situation. Therefore, it was becoming clear on what basic

needs and boundaries she would need to move forward. Lesly was able to give initial details about her

anxiety and the concerns she had that are causing her distress within the alignment phase. The

actualization phase was the area that will require improvement that includes motivation and

accountability to proceed with the efforts that will help her reach her goals. As for the synthesis phase,

religion is important for Lesly and is a factor that can be included in the development of her sense of self-

worth through her faith.

Use of NTU principles of psychotherapy

SW: Lesly, would you like to discuss how things have been going since I last saw you? (balance)

LB: Not too much has changed. I thought about what we talked about and the goals. I was texting with my sister and she was able to visit on Saturday. We had a nice long visit, we made dinner, and talked about old times.

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SW: That’s making changes! What did you do differently to initiate the conversation of her coming over?

LB: When we were texting, I asked what her schedule was like for the week. She told me she didn’t have anything planned for Saturday and she would be able to come over.

SW: How did you feel when you asked her directly?

LB: I was worried about her response and hesitated, but pushed myself to ask. I am glad that I did, otherwise I wouldn’t have known she was available.

SW: That’s great, you are making progress in being more direct. Were you able to discuss your feelings with her during the visit?

LB: Eventually, yes. Once she got around to asking how I was doing, everything started to spill out. I told her that everyone has their own lives, including my children, but I feel like a burden. I am by myself and it gets lonely, I would like to see and talk to my family. (harmony)

SW: Everyone does get busy, that is true, and sometimes we get caught up in the things we have to take care of. How did your sister react after you were open with your feelings?

LB: She was crying with me and said she didn’t know that I was feeling this way. My sister realized that she did not know we had become distant and to call or text her anytime. She reassured me that I am not bothering her and will always make time to talk. (interconnectedness)

SW: That’s a great start! Does this make you want to reach out to your other family members, your children, and tell them as well?

LB: Yes, but not right away. I think I am still processing the emotions from telling my sister.

SW: If taking your time is needed, that will be respected and we can work on approaching the challenge. Are you still watching your church sermons from home? (cultural awareness)

LB: Yes, I watch almost every day. I do fall asleep sometimes and that is why I rewatch them over again.

SW: How do the sermons impact your everyday living and how do you apply their words? (authenticity)

LB: They always have encouraging messages that resonate with what is going on in my life. I have been writing those down and will read them throughout the day and use the messages when I am praying.

SW: How does that make you feel afterwards when connecting the messages to pray?

LB: It does make me feel more at ease and have some confidence. I am going to call my pastor about finding a ride to attend next Sunday’s service.

SW: Terrific! I think going in person will have a greater impact too.

LB: Yes, I am looking forward to going and having prayer in person.

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SW: Our next meeting will go over the next steps we can take and talk about your goals.

Summary of progress and next steps

Lesly is slowly making progress, she has shown that in being more direct with asking her sister

and being open about her feelings. Lesly found out that her sister was not aware of how lonely she was

without family nor the struggles she is dealing with everyday. Although she is not ready to discuss this

with her other family members, she seems to be growing confidence in herself after the visit with her

sister went well. Lesly does want to take things slow, which is her choice and feels that this is the steps

she needs to take in order to succeed. The next progress made was her efforts to finally get out of the

house and attend church in person. In the first meeting, she was hesitant to ask anyone for help or bring

up her feelings. Her religious beliefs also seem to be moving her into the right direction and providing the

comfort that she requires to make changes. Attending her church and networking with the members can

increase her chances of finding other services that will help her cope with social anxiety. The support of

the church community will be beneficial in offering her guidance and support (Hatcher et al., 2016). In

making further progress, the trauma she has faced in dealing with death and an abusive relationship are

issues that still need to be discussed in the upcoming sessions. Reconnecting with her family was a

priority for Lesly and her willingness to become more open will help her in addressing the trauma.

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References

Ancis, J. R. (2003). Culturally Responsive Interventions: Innovative Approaches to

Working with Diverse Populations (1st ed.). Routledge.

Hatcher, S. S., King, D. M., Barnett, T. M., & Burley, J. T. (2016). Mental health for

youth: Applying an African-centered approach. Journal of Human Behavior in the

Social Environment, 27(1–2), 61–72.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2016.1259930

The Nguzo Saba & Maat, a path for self-reconstruction and recoveredness: exploring a

Kawaida Paradigm for healing addiction in the Black community. - Free Online

Library. (2014, October 1). The Free Library.

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Nguzo+Saba+%26+Maat%2c+a+path+for+s

elf-reconstruction+and. . .-a0391720904