1st Response To Discussion-Comparing Three Theories

(A Bell)1. In your opinion, which of the following counseling theories would you prefer to use to try and help her: Person-centered, Gestalt or Reality? Choose only one and explain your reasoning in detail.  For this scenario the therapy that I would choose is Reality therapy. This type of therapy focuses on the issues a person is facing rather than the experience a person has faced in the past. Reality therapy is problem solving and it focuses on certain needs that an individual wishes to meet such as power, love and belonging, freedom, fun and survival. (Goodtherapy, 2007-2017). Reality therapy is used when a person has difficulty in their relationships with others. This therapy will be used to help a person consider their behaviors and what they can do to change their behaviors.

2. Using your chosen theory from question 1, would you go about helping her sort through her confusion? Be sure to bring in concepts from your chosen counseling theory to show how you would specifically work with her. I would not use this theory based on confusion. I truly believe that Roberta is emotionally distressed due to the fact that she is receiving something from an outside source. Being sexually involved with another individual other than her husband can cause serious emotional and perhaps mental issues. I believe Roberta is looking for any kind of attention to fill voids. There does not seem to be any confusion that Roberta is dealing with. Reality therapy can be used for people who have lost their ability to think or are always forgetful

3. Roberta is looking for answers to questions she feels unable to answer herself because she is so emotionally involved. After she tells you her story she asks you to give your perspective and advice on what she should do. How would you respond to this request? What potential problems might arise if you do give her direct advice? What potential problems might arise if you don’t give your perspective? Be specific and detailed in your response.  What would your chosen counseling theory have to say about giving direct advice? The main focus of reality theory is problem solving. To be honest, I highly doubt that giving my perspective would be the best solution for the answers she seeks. I would be focusing on Roberta making attempts to have a successful relationship with her spouse and her children. If I were to apply person-centered therapy, then I would offer my perspective as the main focus would be how to assist the individual rather than the issue.

4. At the end of the session, Roberta is very distraught and asks if you would be available to meet her for coffee later that day to continue the conversation in a more casual environment. Under what circumstances might this be appropriate, if at all? What potential conflicts might this create? Be specific and draw upon information from your text and lecture materials to support your points. Under any circumstance the any conversation or meeting outside the work zone would be inappropriate. This could cause conflict of interest between myself and the client as I would try to connect on a therapeutic level and nothing further. Also, this type of meeting would feed into the attention that Roberta is seeking, thus causing her to feel that I may have some kind of personal interest in her. I also believe that meeting her for coffee would interfere with the therapy process. I would believe that Roberta would suggest the meeting to avoid therapy.

References

CRCHealth. (2015). What is reality therapy. Retrieved from http://www.crchealth.com

Goodtherapy. (2007-2017). Reality therapy. Retrieved from http://www.goodtherapy.org