Running head: GEORGE COSTANZA CASE SUMMARY 1
George Costanza: Case Summary
Liberty University
GEORGE COSTANZA CASE SUMMARY 2
George Costanza: Case Summary
George Costanza is a character from the popular (now in syndication) TV show Seinfeld.
This character is interesting because although he seems to be very bright, he also seems to suffer
from many neuroses that affect his life. He also appears to have extreme anxiety issues about
many and varied topics: what he would like to do versus what society or people expect him to
do, he feels he is unable or has much difficulty doing “normal” things (hold a job, have a steady
girlfriend), he has a lack of self-confidence in many areas of his life, and a seeming
preoccupation with prioritizing short cuts to avoid work, save money, get out of obligations and
responsibilities.
George says his life is frustrating because he never gets a “break.” Sure, things may go
well for a while but something will always come up to end it or ruin it in some way. It is clearly
not his fault because he is operating from, what he believes, are reasonable, justified, and good
intentions. He wonders aloud why life is so frustrating, disappointing, and unfulfilling. There are
moments of satisfaction and happiness, but inevitably something will come along to end them.
People don’t understand everything he has to deal with. George sees his life as a series of misses
and disappointments and aggravations - his parents berate and yell at him, his lack of success at a
job, and relationship issues (girls won’t like him and then when they do there is either something
wrong with them or they will find out some aspect of his personality that will drive them away).
His parents have considerable influence in George’s life since he still lives with them,
unable to support himself because of inconsistent employment. George is open to counseling
(since it was a requirement of his company to deal with his sometimes indulgent and unusual
behavior). He does approach therapy with a pessimistic attitude in that he does not believe
anything much will come of it since he believes his maladaptive life was caused (and is
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maintained) by his parents (an attitude reflected by close friend Jerry Seinfeld, who knew him
through middle and high school). His company (New York Yankees) is paying for the therapy
and they are not asking for content information from his sessions. Their only requirement is that
the therapist report whether George is capable of professionally executing his responsibilities at
the company. His lifestyle is also compromised by his frequent adoption of unusual criteria
regarding his understanding of a satisfying life (access to better quality bathroom facilities where
he works, capricious decisions regarding who he works for) and the way to achieve it.
George is willing to come to therapy. He sees this as the opportunity to be understood and
for someone to appreciate and sympathize what he has to deal with in his life. He is not hesitant
to admit to less than acceptable behavior, but will quickly explain that it was either not that
unusual or that given the circumstances it was not possible to do differently or better. In
conversation he demonstrates good logical processes and thinking, however the priorities he
chooses to start from and values he adopts are rigid, often non-contextual and atypical (e.g. while
bringing a celebrity to a fund raising banquet he chose to ignore the appointment to chase a car
whose driver was perceived to have insulted the celebrity resulting in the celebrity never making
it to the event).
Establishing rapport with George is fairly easy since he tends to be loquacious. What is
important is to keep him on topic, get his sense of why is here and how he understands what the
counseling goals are regarding his company, himself, and me. Our rapport will develop as he
realizes I am there to listen and help him lead a fuller, more satisfying life as he understands it
and not to subscribe to another person’s (my) values. Our discussion of the process and goals
will allow us to have a better communication and appreciation of our direction and progress.
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Presenting Problems
Generalized anxiety
The client presents his problems as a combination of mishaps out of his control, societal
limitations and expectations on his behavior. While I am mostly concerned with his anxiety and
how it affects his life and performance, George does seem manic in his somewhat extreme
attitude swings. At times he expresses great enthusiasm for opportunities, possibilities, or
projects he is currently doing. Then when (he feels) the inevitable problem arises, his joy is taken
away and he must contend with a situation that provides a reduced level of engagement or
satisfaction and the persistent belief that in some way it is his fault. Much of his conversation
consists of arguing is that he is not the cause of circumstances going awry, he is merely the
victim. Much like a defense attorney in court arguing that he is a victim of situational
circumstances and there is no dispositional component.
His anxiety concerns do include things which he can do little about, such as his hair loss
and physical size (slightly below average height). There are aspects of his life that introduce
stresses such as the ongoing acrimonious relationship with his parents, further exacerbated by
still living with them. Probably in some way well-intentioned, his parents often express their
disappointment in his behavior and lack of achievement in his life (job, romance,
accomplishments). Since he lives with his parents, this adds to his anxiety in that some of their
disappointment and complaints are factually verifiable and he is dependent on them for a place to
live. Even his friends will often remind him of ways he is behind in his development for a person
of his age and abilities.
This perceived lack of control and responsibility George has in his life affects him in
many ways. When a person feels and believes there is nothing they can do about situation, that is
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what they tend to do – nothing. Aside from that often leading to depression, this creates a
cyclical pattern of self-fulfilling prophecies of fate largely determining what goes on in his life.
This will impact most of the areas of George’s life and is evident in his basically unchanged life
over the twenty years since his graduation from high school: same small circle of friends,
similar complaints about work, and still living at home with his parents.
Relationships
One anxiety generating category of concern for George is relationships. People seek to
have a one on one close relationship with another person and although George has tried many
times, he has only had short term relationships with the exception of one person. He had a longer
term relationship with a professional woman and even got engaged. He did have reservations and
what would be considered commitment issues as the wedding date came closer. Experiencing
conflicting feelings (attraction for her and yet an unwillingness to be married to her) he felt in
many ways trapped and unable to terminate the relationship or delay the wedding because or
other people’s perceptions (“it’s not right,” unacceptable reasons). In other relationships George
has experienced extreme anxiety with anticipated rejection to the point where he had to be the
one to terminate a relationship, instead of the other person. So he often acts to end a relationship
first (as opposed to seeking an understanding of why and how the relationship may be salvaged)
if he believes that his partner may be considering severing the arrangement. He has reduced
some level anxiety in the present (but ultimately creating a larger issue later on) by lying about
himself if he believes that a partner may disapprove or reject him in some way.
Once again his approach and fatalistic attitude results in what amounts to self-sabotaging
behavior. To offset the pressures he feels and perhaps forestall the inevitable, he has lied about
his occupations and experiences while knowing that he is likely to be unable to sustain the
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falsehoods indefinitely. And when he has a relationship that seems to be sustainable, he often
will find fault with the person, even to the extent that he questioned the desirability of a person
that would be happy with him.
Employment
His employment situation is another aspect of his life that is unstable and problematic.
Though currently employed by a well-known organization (New York Yankees), he has a history
of not being able to hold a job for a length of time (beyond two years). He will often interview
and present well and get a position. However, once in the job invariably there are
responsibilities or tasks that he is required to cover that he finds issues with: the task is “too
easy,” “too hard,” or “somebody else’s responsibility.” George has often unilaterally decided that
additional criteria for a task were necessary making the task much more involved and time
consuming and increasing the pressure he felt with the task. He also will share that view point
with his friends and some associates. He has also on many occasions taken short cuts that created
the illusion of work being addressed, but were actually cover ups. And all of these interpretations
he presents were inherent in the task, reasonable, and not factors introduced by him (hence
victimizing his choices, actions, and troubles).
It is clear to see how George understands the work place and what possibilities there are
for him in various social interactions affect his behaviors. The behaviors George has engaged in,
driven by what seems to be impulsive and idiosyncratic interpretations of the situation, have
created most of the problems that have interfered with his employment. He has reacted strongly
to perceived restrictions or requirements and actually created the problem. When he follows
through with his “distinctive” solution to the task he has found himself with more problems and
non-acceptance. Instead of seeking an interactive approach or requesting assistance and a better
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understanding, he has, at best, created the problem, and at worst, compounded the problem.
(“We have met the enemy and he is us.” Kelly, 1970).
Treatment Goals
Goal 1 - Employment
I would like to have George keep his job with the New York Yankees. It is important because
this is an area of his life he has struggled with and also relates to his independence from
parents (being able to support himself in his own place).This means that he will take more
care with his responsibilities and seek assistance when necessary. When situations arise that
seem to be daunting or have unreasonable criteria he will need to develop an ability to
discuss it with trusted mentoring peers at work or supervisors for assistance in understanding
exactly what is expected. We will work on choices that he has when completing his
responsibilities. He will reach the realization that an initial impression of a task is not
complete and can change as he gets more support and resources. He needs to understand how
he can be part of the “problem” and as such, he is also part of the solution.
Treatment Goals
Goal 1 – Employment
I would like to have George keep his job with the New York Yankees. It is important
because this is an area of his life he has struggled with and also relates to his independence
from parents (being able to support himself in his own place).This means that he will take
more care with his responsibilities and seek assistance when necessary. When situations arise
that seem to be daunting or have unreasonable criteria he will need to develop an ability to
discuss it with trusted mentoring peers at work or supervisors for assistance in understanding
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exactly what is expected. We will work on choices that he has when completing his
responsibilities. He will reach the realization that an initial impression of a task is not
complete and can change as he gets more support and resources. He needs to understand how
he can be part of the “problem” and as such, he is also part of the solution.
Goal 2 – Relationships
For George it is necessary to assess his relationship needs and understandings. His
understanding of what a relationship is, how it grows, and what each person expects and
would like from the other has to be explored. This is important because he has been in many
relationships that he thought were good and then something came up that made them less
than desirable. Having a better sense of what he wants and how relationships change will
help him in the next relationship. There are ways of communicating and sharing that will
enable a relationship to proceed healthily. His problematic preconceptions have to be
examined and more choices be made available to him. Getting a better sense of the type of
person he would like to spend time with will help him know what he wants. In this process,
we will reach a point where he accepts that people will accept and love him for who he is as
his longtime friends have.
Goal 3 – Generalized Anxiety
Something to strive for is for George to consider the boundaries of who he is and what he
would like to become. George seems to be very reactive to real or perceived demands and
expectations of others and social situations (work, friends, dating). This in a sense actually
relates to managing his anxiety. This is important because George has intelligence and ability,
yet the reactions he has to various situations tend to be extreme and out of the norm. His
strong feelings and reactions do not allow him to access reflective or more managed
responses. This has been cyclical in his life causing him to take short term actions to alleviate
the immediate stress and then he is left to deal with the long term consequences of those
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(often) inappropriate choices, also creating stress and anxiety.
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References
George Costanza (Wikipedia, n.d.) Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Costanza
Kelly, W. 1970. Retrieved from http://www.thisdayinquotes.com/2011/04/we-have-met-enemy-
and-he-is-us.html
