Cognitive Therapy Case Conceptualization
The client: Elena
Elena is an adolescent female, coming to the therapy process demonstrating through actions and words a great deal of anxiety and overall apathy for her situation. Elena is a smart, socially engaged Mexican American attending public high school. She opens the session with presenting problems regarding conflict over what she might do after high school.
Preliminary conceptualization from a cognitive perspective Overall, there is an obvious feeling of disempowered regarding her right and or ability to make life decisions. She comes from a close-knit family, though some of her siblings have moved away to seek out goals beyond those that they may feel their parents are putting upon them. She has recently begun to disengage academically and socially as she feels the urgency of choosing to adhere to family tradition or to go out on her own, like her peers. Though she says she has not yet made a decision, know that cognition mediates affect and behavior (Friedburg 101). From this perspective a therapist might conclude that her recent apathy toward academics and isolating herself from her peers show that she indeed is letting the thoughts of “I must listen to my parents” drive her life perspective.
It is promising from a cognitive standpoint, that she shows some jealousy toward her boyfriend and others: Perhaps the anger when discussing her family dynamics and recent history is most telling that Elena could benefit from Beck’s Socratic dialogue. The pluralistic views that come from her own identity within her biculturalism are strongly embedded, and the therapist demonstrated this by demonstrating lots of open questions. Letting Elena focus on herself as an individual rather than a Mexican-American could lead to meaningful exploration and collaborative cognitive change to help Elena feel more empowered. When counseling adolescents from a cognitive perspective the counselor must remember that under any circumstances this may be the first
Elena is an adolescent female, coming to the therapy process demonstrating through actions and words a great deal of anxiety and overall apathy for her situation. Elena is a smart, socially engaged Mexican American attending public high school. She opens the session with presenting problems regarding conflict over what she might do after high school.
Preliminary conceptualization from a cognitive perspective Overall, there is an obvious feeling of disempowered regarding her right and or ability to make life decisions. She comes from a close-knit family, though some of her siblings have moved away to seek out goals beyond those that they may feel their parents are putting upon them. She has recently begun to disengage academically and socially as she feels the urgency of choosing to adhere to family tradition or to go out on her own, like her peers. Though she says she has not yet made a decision, know that cognition mediates affect and behavior (Friedburg 101). From this perspective a therapist might conclude that her recent apathy toward academics and isolating herself from her peers show that she indeed is letting the thoughts of “I must listen to my parents” drive her life perspective.
It is promising from a cognitive standpoint, that she shows some jealousy toward her boyfriend and others: Perhaps the anger when discussing her family dynamics and recent history is most telling that Elena could benefit from Beck’s Socratic dialogue. The pluralistic views that come from her own identity within her biculturalism are strongly embedded, and the therapist demonstrated this by demonstrating lots of open questions. Letting Elena focus on herself as an individual rather than a Mexican-American could lead to meaningful exploration and collaborative cognitive change to help Elena feel more empowered. When counseling adolescents from a cognitive perspective the counselor must remember that under any circumstances this may be the first