Case Presentation 1 Counselor: Danielle MacDonald Client: Ally Client: Ally Grade: 7th Gender: female Sexual Orientation:

on: unknown Race: White Religion: unknown Economic Class: free and reduced lunch Family Background: one younger brother parents are divorced 3. Ally is in a New to North lunch group, which has met three times. In addition, I have met with her privately three additional times. The lunch group is 40 minutes long and we met for 50 minutes in this current session.

4. Subjective: Allys parents are involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle. Ally is in the middle. Her parents use Ally as a pawn to inflict harm on each other. Her parents send messages back and forth through Ally. In addition, she is expected to report on every detail of her time at each house. Both parents speak ill of the other in front of Ally. Counselor: How do you feel about moving schools? Client: I think its okay. I can make new friends and I really like my AVID teacher. My mom wanted me to stay at my school in Mill Creek. She doesnt have a lot of money and its really hard for her to drive me here. My dad made us move schools. Counselor: Your dad made you move schools. Client: Yes. My parents always do things to hurt each other. He wants her to have to drive far and then not have any money. Counselor: Your dad moved schools to hurt your mom it also hurt you too Client: Yes, but I am not mad at him. I like this school. Counselor: It sounds like youre put in the middle of your parents divorce. Client: I have to report each persons stuff to the other person. Then they use it against each other. Even if it is positive, they find a way to make it bad and mean. And they talk real mean about each other right to my face. I just go to my room and read. My job is to be the reporter. I get asked hundreds of questions and when I answer everything gets mean and when I dont answer I feel like a liar. Counselor: That sounds really hard How does it make you feel to be the reporter? Client: I hate it! I feel nervous all the time.

Counselor: Where in your body do you feel nervous? Client: My legs. At night I lay in bed and feel like my legs (below the knees) and my feet arent on my body. They have to move all the time. Counselor: Your legs are jittery? Client: No they are still, but I just feel like they are not on my body. Silence Counselor: Sounds like one leg is with your mom and one leg is with your dad. Silence Client: The divorce makes me feel that way Objective: Ally is well-groomed. She quiet yet confident and is very polite. Ally is very motivated to excel in school; she is an AVID student and has As in every class. Ally is very well spoken and articulate. She has spent a great deal of private time reviewing and analyzing her feelings. She is able to concisely express her deepest pain. She seemed relieved to be asked about her feelings and extremely happy to express her thoughts. She was very confident and did not hesitate to offer deep and thoughtful responses. Assessment: The root of Allys presenting problem is sociological, namely the bitter divorce. From a psychological perspective, I am concerned that she may be feeling depression, as a result of the dynamics in her home. She has been slow to make friends at North, which doesnt match up with her personality or past history. Ally uses schoolwork as a way to escape her pain, so her academic and career development is extraordinary. That said, I dont think that her parents expect excellence or that Ally is doing well in school so as to get attention. She loves school! I am concerned about her personal / social development in terms of her lack of friends. Plan: Specific: I will meet with Ally on a weekly basis. She wrote a letter to her dad so I need to check-in for an update. I have a feeling that her dad will be receptive to her note and her feelings. However, I do think that Ally will need to continually speak her honest truth. The empty chair was a perfect exercise for Ally. She can practice speaking to her dad in my office first and then at home in person. Ally told me that her mom has been bullied by her dad verbally not physically. I asked what that looked like and she described her mom as very thin and crying all the time. In addition, her mom takes in roommates that I find questionable. I have many questions. I suspect that Ally takes care of her mother. Theres a lot more to this story. Ultimately, I want to give Ally an opportunity to unpack her mothers house too.

I will continue the New to North lunch group every Monday and make a special effort to help Ally make a friend connection. Measurable: Is Ally able to speak openly to her dad? Does Ally have a friend at North? Achievable & Realistic: Ally reported that it is safe to speak openly to her dad. Therefore, we can continue practicing and delivering messages. Ally does want a friend at North. Her AVID class is full of amazing young ladies and the lunch group has some great gals too. I can help facilitate both goals: talking to dad and making a friend Timely: I see Ally every Monday for lunch group and once a week for check-in. Microlevel: I will be working with Ally one-on-one over the year. Mesolevel: I might ask Ally is she would like me to facilitate a meeting between her and her dad. In addition, I will continue to run the New to North group on a weekly basis. 5. What multicultural factors are at play? Ally had spent so much time processing her feelings prior our sessions that I think she was ready to talk to anyone that asked the questions. 6. Many of the students at North Middle School have difficult lives. From a reality therapists perspective, I want to determine if the student is safe and has adequate food, shelter and clothing. For example, I asked Ally if she felt safe disclosing to her dad, and I also asked her what his mad looked like in person. In our first meeting, I talked about the services offered at North (backpacks of food, school supplies, clothing, shoes, etc). Ally said that she is fine. I used two of Gestalts techniques during our sessions. The first was asking her where in her body that she felt nervous; she talked about her legs. Secondly, I utilized the empty chair technique. Finally, I am always trying to be a Rogerian client-centered therapist. 7. Three things I did well: I built rapport with Ally. I listened to her story and gave her space to speak her truth. I offered a technique (empty chair) that allowed her to practice. I determined safety and did not assume that Allys dad would be receptive to her message. Three things that I need to improve on: I gave Ally space to tell her story but then I stumbled and was leading when I asked her to try the empty chair technique. I need to practice the transition to activities out loud before I launch them in session. I need to work on silence. I

was stacking questions. I need to slow my mind down which would help with the silence and the stacking.

Case Presentation 2 Counselor: Danielle MacDonald Client: Anne 1. Danielle MacDonald Anne Grade: 6 Age: 11 Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Unknown Race: Hispanic White Religion: Unknown SES: Free and Reduced Special Ed.: No Non ELL 2. Date of Session: 2/6/2014: 40 minutes (5th session) 3. SOAP a. Subjective: Anne has been struggling with girl drama, as well as difficulties in her home life. Anne comes to the counseling office on a regular basis to talk about her friendship troubles. In my assessment, she is desperate for her friends affections, can be suffocating, and as a result she is often rejected. The past two sessions have been very different. She seems empowered. Client: Things are very bad with my parents. My mom is getting a lawyer and she doesnt want me to see my dad very much. He has been so mean to me and my mom. Im taking a break from him right now. I love him and all, but I deserve to be treated with respect. Counselor: Oh Anne that is so hard. How does it feel to say that your parents are separating? Client: It feels really bad. My parents are trying to ask me who I want to live with: mom or dad. They are talking bad about each other especially my dad. I dont want to live with either of them. I might go live with my sister. She is in the middle of both of their homes. Counselor: Anne youre in the middle of your parents problems. Client: Yes I am and I dont want to be!

b. Objective: Anne is well groomed and able to express her feelings. Her grades are on the low side, and we have been talking about how girl drama is affecting her grades. c. Assessment: The root of the presenting problem is sociological. Annes family is in crisis. As a result of the crisis at home (hunch), Anne struggles with issues of selfesteem which translates to problems with friends at school. I have not broached this subject with Anne, but I wonder if she is using food to self-medicate. She talks a lot about being heavy. d. The Plan: I will meet with Anne bi-monthly to continue flushing out her new story: empowered and kind. Microlevel: Anne would really benefit from some role-play, so she can practice healthy boundaries with her family and friends. Mesolevel: I think Anne would be open to a meeting with her parents wherein I mediate the interactions. I have been working with her teachers to better understand the drama in class. In addition, I have delivered guidance curriculum about relational aggression. 4. What counseling theories are used: I have been trying to help Anne to re-author her story using narrative therapy. In the past, she has been a victim: being hurt by friends and crying being in the middle of her parents separation and not using her voice. Together we are working on her new story. Anne is empowered; she can speak her mind (gently and in love) to her parents. Anne does not need the approval of her friends. She is acting in a just and perfectly reasonable way and does not need to care about the groups assessment of her behavior. She can ignore the judgmental comments and avoid the drama. Anne is a strong young lady and she can speak her honest truth. She only has control of her behaviors and attitudes. 5. Three things I did well: - Keeping the client focused (not allowing her to go off on tangents) - Empathizing and attending - Giving space for processing Areas of growth: - I really need to allow more silence - I can identify with Annes issue of stuffing feelings so as to keep the peace countertransference? - I think Anne needs a combination of empathy and a tough honest stop it and I am really good at the empathy and not so good at the stop it (with reference to girl drama not family crisis)