What obligations do you have to Sarah?
Termination Considerations Sarah lost her home and two family members in a series of tornadoes that recently swept across her state. She began to experience symptoms of acute trauma and approached you for care as a disaster relief counselor. You began seeing Sarah regularly since arriving at the disaster site. Sarah has engaged well therapeutically, […]
What would you have been thinking to yourself during the periods of silence?
Using Silence in Counseling The following exchange between Carol and her counselor illustrates how important silence can be in a crisis. Carol is an adult female who presented to counseling with severe symptoms of depression, suicidal ideation, and an attempt to kill herself yesterday with an overdose of sleeping pills. Carol: I just want to […]
How effective was the counselor’s use of open and closed questions?
Effective Use of Open and Closed Questions during an Interview The following dialogue provides a brief example of how the crisis counselor uses a blend of open and closed questions to obtain important information about Susan, who just discovered her husband is having an affair and is planning on leaving her. Susan presented with substantial […]
What are some losses experienced by the couple and by the individuals in the couple?
Miscarriage and Infertility: Ambiguous Losses What followed for Aisha was a self-described “week of hell”—the emergency room trip, a stomach pump, the nurse who rebuked her, saying, “You tried to kill yourself. You don’t deserve sympathy.” This humiliation preceded commitment in a private mental hospital, a court hearing to determine her sanity, and the requirement […]
What facts surrounding the death of her fiancé made recovery more difficult?
A Case of Bereavement-Related Withdrawal Shayna, a woman in her mid-20s, presented for counseling several months after the death of her fiancé, Jerod, from a rare viral infection. While hospitalized for the virus, Jerod had a heart attack, lapsed into a coma, and died several days later. He was 25 years old. Shayna was distraught, […]