Assignment:
Please read the following client session carefully:
Jordan is a 6-year old male client who struggles with anxiety. Jordan struggles with communication due to a limited emotions vocabulary. You offer Jordan the opportunity during his counseling session to free play with the toys in the counseling office. Jordan immediately goes to the wicker basket that contains 25-30 plastic dinosaurs. As you observe Jordan playing, you notice that he is fascinated with the smallest dinosaur in the basket. He takes the small dinosaur and hides it under a wire table. He then takes the larger dinosaurs and lines them up in what he refers to as a 'dinosaur war.' The larger dinosaurs battle it out. Every so often, you notice that Jordan takes the small dinosaur out from under the wire table and prepares to battle the larger dinosaurs but as the battle begins, he removes the small dinosaur and places it back under the wire table. He does this several times during the session.
Now, based on your reading this week and the client session above, answer the following questions (IN PARAGRAPH FORM):
1. As Jordan's counselor, what non-verbal responses (both facial expressions and body language) would be appropriate when working with Jordan? Why?
2. As Jordan's counselor, observing his play is critical to understanding his word and potentially his anxiety. As you observe Jordan during free play, what components of observation (as stated in the textbook) would be important to document? Why?
3. As Jordan's counselor, timely verbal responses are important. Reread the client session again, then construct two "I" statements that you could you could use to gather insight into Jordan's play.
In order to adequately complete this discussion assignment, you must answer all three questions thoroughly.
Readings:
Intentional Interviewing and Counseling
By Allen E. Ivey and Mary Bradford Ivey