Ryan Hunt
4-2 Journal: The Best Methods So Far
Katie has experienced a lifetime of trauma that I don’t think she realizes. With the death
of her sister, her mother’s alcoholism and neglect, her sisters eating disorder and her own history
of alcoholism Katie has not had a chance to realize she needs support, and she has been severely
lacking that in her life. With that recap of Katies past I do still believe Person-Centered Therapy
and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy are the best options for Katie.
Person-Centered Therapy gives the client a chance to explore their situation with the
support and respect of their counselor. Person-Centered Therapy was first introduced by Carl
Rodgers. The theory he had behind the person-centered approach was that as a united team the
counselor and client could promote growth and positive change in the life of the client. A large
part of the person-centered approach that Rodgers wanted to focus on was “the counselor knows
best (Corey, 2020)”. He believed that an approach as though the counselor and client are both
equal would produce longer lasting and more positive results.
Katie has no idea that she has her own needs and has been struggling since the day her
sister died. Giving Katie a safe space to explore her past and the feelings associated with it will
allow her to understand that not all her struggles are her fault. It is important for me as Katies
counselor to approach her situation with a nonjudgmental attitude. I may believe that Katie
should have sought help much sooner but that is not something I can convey to her while
allowing her space to explore. While Katie is finding her own understanding of her past, I will
also need to begin to express empathy for what Katie has been through and the battles it has
caused her in her personal life.
Katies mother struggled with alcoholism, so it is no wonder that she uses alcohol to cope
with the big feelings she experiences. She has never had a healthy coping method displayed for
her, so she lacks the understanding of what it is. She watched her father enable her mother to
continue a life of alcoholism and is now repeating that in her own life as her husband sits back
and does nothing to help her. Exploring her mother’s reasoning for alcoholism and allowing her
to compare that to her own life would give her a better understanding of her addiction. It will
also give her a chance to experience the realization and awareness that she does have a problem
and she does need help.
Katie has expressed that she did not feel the need to get help and is only here because she
has been court ordered. As part of a person-centered approach, I will need to demonstrate
reflective listening as well as an openness in my mind and body language. Showing Katie that I
truly care about what she has to say and the events that ultimately led her to get help will make
Katie feel comfortable. The more comfort she feels with me as her counselor the more likely she
will be to be open with me. Displaying an openness in posture will invite Katie to do the same
and make herself comfortable in my company. Having an open mind will give Katie a chance to
see her life from another person’s perspective giving her a chance to further explore herself and
consider the approaches that will help her.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is defined as a collaborative approach between the client
and counselor focusing on thinking rather than expressing the clients’ feelings. In the 1950’s
Albert Ellis developed the cognitive-behavioral theory. Ellis developed this method after he had
been using the typical psychotherapy and realized his clients improved more once they focused
more on improving their way of thinking about themselves and their problems.
As Katie is indifferent to treatment and on her own would not have sought help it is
important that we develop a collaborative relationship. Collaborating with Katie as a united front
will show her that she is no less human than I am and that we are both there to find the best
solution for her. For Katie changing her thinking process would give her the opportunity to begin
taking responsibility for her actions. If we could improve Katies way of thinking to understand
the guilt she has about her sister’s death and why she thinks it is her fault she would have an
entirely new perspective on her past and present.
References
Corey, G. (2020).<Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy<(10th ed., pp. 163-195).
Boston, MA: Cengage.
