Sarah is a 13-year-old female junior high school student. Sarah's mother has visited your counseling office at Sarah's school and shared her concern for her daughter with you.
Sarah's grades at school are falling rapidly, she avoids social interaction with her peers, and even her closest friends have begun to avoid her due to her lack of interest and negative responses. Her mother reports reoccurring fits of anger and acting out at home. Positive communication between mother and daughter is nonexistent.
Sarah is overweight and has a poor complexion. Her mother reports poor hygiene habits and shares with you that 6 months ago Sarah's father disappeared and within a week was found dead under mysterious circumstances.
Although Sarah may benefit from many different types of interventions, this project should focus on using group therapy to help Sarah. In your paper, you should address the following:
1. Why might you consider Sarah a good candidate for group counseling? What do you see as the potential advantages and disadvantages of such interaction for Sarah?
2. Describe the type of group that would potentially serve Sarah best. What are your ethical concerns for placing Sarah in a group counseling environment?
3. Oftentimes, group members discover an even greater disruption in their lives as they progress through the group experience. What types of challenges might Sarah encounter? How can you, as her counselor, hope to mitigate the impact of such outcomes? What are some of the legal and ethical concerns related to working with a client like Sarah?
4. Why do you feel that Sarah is ready for the honest open communication that is expected in group counseling environments? How might you assist her in becoming more communicative?