Read the following Case Study and answer the following questions:
Eric has made an appointment to see his School Counsellor, Ashleigh. He is due to finish school this year and is undecided about what direction he should take once he leaves school. The following scenario takes place within the counselling session:
"As you know, my mother is really eager for me to go to university next year, but I really don't like the idea. I'm not looking forward to more years of study yet," Eric explained. "I'm getting to the point where I don't want to do any more study after this year; I'd rather hang out with Mica. I feel like Mica's parents don't put the same pressures on her to study and they don't mind if she travels after leaving school. Compared to them, I feel like I'm wrapped up in cotton wool and it is expected from me to go to university as I will be the first in my family."
Ashleigh paraphrased Michael's comments, focussing on his feelings, "so you feel that you haven't got as much freedom as your friends do."
"Well, yeah," replied Eric, "I've always gone along with my mother's idea of being the first in my family to go to university, and so I've never had any reason to really disagree with her, and I've always wanted to go to university anyway. But now I don't."
Ashleigh replied, "It sounds like you've got some plans of your own that are different to mothers plan, is that right?"
"Definitely," Eric eagerly agreed.
"It sounds like you have been thinking about this and that you are quite certain about the answer!" Ashleigh exclaimed
"Yeah," Eric replied, "You know, I've got some really good ideas of where I want to go and what I could do with my life."
Ashleigh encouraged Eric: "That's great; I'd really like to hear about them."
As Eric described his plans for the future, Ashleigh listened carefully and felt proud of the goals Eric was setting himself. She appreciated the strength of character that Eric demonstrated, for someone of such a young age. Ashleigh felt that Eric had both the conviction and determination to create meaningful goals and to follow through with them.
Eric felt excited and elated to talk about his plans so candidly with someone. He felt that Ashleigh had a deep appreciation of his needs, which inspired confidence in himself and the goals that he dreamed about. Eric was surprised and heartened by the depth of his convictions and the strength of his belief in his goals; having someone listen to him so intently made him feel special and worthwhile. He genuinely felt that his world was an exciting and challenging place to be.
Ashleigh expressed some of her thoughts to Eric. "You certainly seem to have some very clear goals for yourself. From what I know of you, you're a very determined young man and you've achieved very well at the subjects that you've taken on. I am sure that you can achieve all of your goals if you keep your determination. It takes a lot of maturity, and a certain type of person to be able to identify your goals so clearly.
I can imagine that it must be frustrating to experience all these obstacles to reaching your dreams."
Questions:
1. Describe the aim and/or goals of Person-Centred Therapy. Motivate your answer by providing an example from the case study.
2. Describe the attitude displayed by Ashleigh (therapist). Refer to specific characteristics presented throughout the case study.
3. Why do clients seek therapy according to the person centered approach? What are some of the reasons for Eric deciding to go for therapy?
- Explain your answers using the Person-Centred Hypothesis as well as reasons for seeking therapy.
4. List and discuss the core conditions identified in Person-Centred Therapy. Use specific examples from the case study to justify the core conditions discussed.