COUNSELING, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, GOALS TREATMENT 1

COUNSELING, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, GOALS TREATMENT

PSY 6092

Counseling Skills & Procedures

James Smith is a 29 year old Caucasian male, recently released from prison after being convicted

on stalking, possession of illegal substances and fire arms. After serving 5 of an 8 year prison

sentence, and being released on good behavior, James was court mandated to attend consistent
 COUNSELING, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, GOALS TREATMENT 1

therapy sessions as a diversion technique for both drug activity and stalking. He currently lives

with his mother, who is 50 years old and his 16 year old half-brother. James is an avid marijuana

smoker which is how he began dealing the drug, when he was arrested he had 45 lbs of

marijuana in the trunk of his car. As he became known in the drug community he began to carry

a gun as many drug dealers had recently gone missing or were killed during robberies. Though

he possessed the gun he had never actually fired it, he only needed to brandish it a couple of

times. Through his dealings he met his ex-girlfriend Gina, Gina was a graduate student at the

university in his town and an avid marijuana user as well. He became her dealer and gradually

they got to know each other and began dating. Gina broke up with him after a year as she had

begun an affair with her professor and wanted to pursue a real relationship with him. James

didn’t understand why she had originally broken up with him and decided in a drug haze that he

was going to go and find out. After showing up at her door and Gina not answering James made

it a habit of showing up every night and banging on her door, this continued over a period of two

months before Gina got a restraining order. James stopped showing up at her house but he

consistently broke the restraining order and began following her boyfriend around town scaring

them both. Gina and her boyfriend reported him and a warrant was put out for his arrest, during a

routine traffic stop he was arrested for the warrant and a search of his car revealed the drugs in

the trunk and the unregistered fire arm under the front seat. James not only resents Gina but her

boyfriend as well and believes they are the reason his life was ruined when he had never been

arrested before this incident.

Transcript

Counselor: Hello, My name is Jameelia Bowie, I have been assigned to your case by the district,

it’s very nice to meet you

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Client: Nice to meet you as well

Counselor: So I have a general background on why you went to prison and why you were

mandated to see me, however I would like to get to know you and learn a little bit about you

before we get into that, ok?

Client: Ok, that’s cool

Counselor: First thing first, you can simply call me Jameelia is there another name you go by

other than James or is that ok?

Client: James is cool, I mean I have other nicknames but I haven’t been called then since before I

went to jail so James is fine

Counselor: Ok James, tell me a little bit about yourself

Client: I mean, I come from a pretty normal family and had a normal childhood. I played sports

hung out with friends. Mom and dad were together until he died of a heart attack in my junior

year of college and I still graduated which is actually a surprise because of how much weed I

smoked

Counselor: How did you get into smoking marijuana

Client: During college, it was just one of those things that everyone does, but I noticed that it

helped me focus on my homework, so I started using it more and more after my dad died, I guess

I was just so depressed that the weed numbed everything.

Counselor: Im sorry for your loss, it’s never easy losing someone especially a parent, its actually

very common for people to use drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism after a tragedy and to
 COUNSELING, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, GOALS TREATMENT 1

cope with depression. Are you still depressed either because of your dad or other situation in

your life?

Client: Honestly I’m not feeling anything right now, I mean I’m pissed off because of my

situation but I’ve been pissed off since I got arrested but I’m not sad

Counselor: Anger among many other things can be a sign of depression. You mentioned you’ve

been angry since you got arrested, are you angry at your ex or….?

Client: Yea, I’m angry at her I admit that I shouldn’t have been showing up at her house, but I

missed her. After she got the restraining order I never deliberately showed up in front of them

they were just everywhere that I was and I kept getting pissed off seeing her with him. But I

wasn’t stalking her at all its not my fault we ended up at the same places.

Counselor: Ok lets back track a little bit you stated that you never showed up in front of them

after the restraining order, can you tell me why you initially began consistently visiting your ex

Client: Gina broke up with me because she was being a whore and cheated with her professor, I

could have forgiven that, I loved her. I just don’t know why she had to break up with me

Counselor: can you tell me a little bit more

Client: Ok, so I was completely in love with her, I was there for her when her mom died and her

dad stopped speaking to her. I was there when her dog died. I helped her study for her

dissertation and then she’s just gonna break up with me for some 50 year old man whose kids are

the same age as her. It just wasn’t fair, all I wanted to do was talk and maybe get another chance

but she just up and abandoned me for some freaking old guy

Counselor: Why did you see it as abandonment rather than a simple break up
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Client: Because I loved her and she left just like my dad and mom

Counselor: I understand how death can seem like an abandonment and I am sorry about your

loss, the key is to remember that its not so much abandonment but rather an attempt to cope with

the grieving process

Client: I know I guess it jus felt like abandonment for so long because of my mom

Counselor: can you tell me a little bit about that

Client: She just emotionally checked out, I was away at college when it happened but I came

home for 2 weeks to be with her and my little brother but she just emotionally checked out, it

was only me and my little brother. I had to take care of him I didn’t even get the chance to grieve

for my dad, I planned the funeral and left right after.

Counselor: Did you go back to school to get away from it all or..?

Client: She kicked me out after the funeral, told me to leave because she didn’t want to see my

father face and I guess I look just like him though I never thought so.

Counselor: If she hadn’t told you to go back would you have stayed

Client: Of course, before my dads death were really close, I mean I was close to my dad but my

mom was my world

Counselor: Do you think she knew you would stay?

Client: Probably, I didn’t care about school at the moment I would have dropped out instantly to

be here with her and maybe none of this would have happened.
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Counselor: It doesn’t seem like she would have been happy with you dropping out to be there

with her

Client: I guess, she was always saying how important school was and how she wanted me to be

like my dad, get a good job and have a nice family.

Counselor: Sounds like she was worrying about in the midst of her grief

Client: Yea whatever she didn’t care, if she did she could have did it another way

Counselor: So it’s the way that she did it that made you think she doesn’t care about you

Client: Yea, all she wanted was to keep my father preserved through me, keep the image of a put

together family when all I wanted to do was be there for her and my brother, its not like I

wouldn’t have went back to school, I would have eventually

Counselor: Did you you know that statistically its harder to continue school after deciding to take

time off, most people either don’t go back at all or end up going back after a considerable

amount of time has passed.

Client: Whatever that don’t apply to me, I finished anyway and my life still went to hell, once I

got back nothing was the same anyway, I barely graduated and cant even get a job in the field so

what was the point anyway

Counselor: Do you think that those around you were proud of the fact that you graduated

Client: Before my dad died, my mom would have been proud, but after she wasn’t happy or

proud, just glad that I was able to pull it off without having my dad here but she didn’t care.

Counselor: Why do you think she wasn’t genuinely happy for you?
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Client: She showed up to my graduation late, didn’t even watch me walk across the stage, she

just showed up after the entire ceremony, no one except friends screamed my name as I walked

across the stage, but she loves to fake it and explain to all of her friends how she jumped up and

down and screamed at the top of her lungs while I walked across the stage. She’s a liar.

Counselor: So what im hearing is that you feel that your mother viewed as a trophy, something to

show off but forget about once people are away.

Client: Yes, that’s it exactly

Counselor: I would like to just back track again here to when you mom kicked you out and you

went back to school, was this when you began to heavily use marijuana?

Client: Yes, I mean it happened gradually but essentially yea

Counselor: Did you interact with you mom after she sent you back , like phone calls were you all

checking on each other

Client: I mean half the time I was high, but now that you mention it she texted me everyone

morning asking how I was doing, I just assumed she meant in school I never texted her back I

was just so mad at her

Counselor: Maybe she was asking in both sense, how are you after loosing you father and how

are in school. It seems like she was trying to be supportive in her own way while dealing with

her grief.

Client: I guess, I mean I never thought of it that way. I mean now that im older I do see how

much I look like my father but she still should have pushed me away like that it hurt. I know my

dad was her best friend but she was mine and for her to just turn her back on me when I needed
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her most I cant forgive her for that and I really don’t want to, atleast not right now I just want to

be mad at everyone.

Counselor: How is your current relationship with her?

Client: I mean ive been in prison for 5 years I was 24 years old when I got arrested. I refused her

visitations because I didn’t want to see her, and when shes home im at work so its basically

nonexistent.

Counselor: Would you like to develop a relationship with her?

Client: I think at this moment im more hurt about the past then angry now that im talking about ,

so I guess I would, I would like my old mom back not the fake person whose only for show.

Counselor: How are we work towards that, since it’s the most assessable issue that we can work

on, how about working on building the relationship with your mother

Client: How would we do that, shes not here

Counselor: She doesn’t have to be, first we are gonna work on how you view your mother first,

and we are going to set a few goals

Client: Goals? Like what

Counselor: well the ultimate goal would be to have a better relationship with but we are going to

start small.

Client: I don’t know, every time I think about her I get angry and workied up, whose to say she

even really wants a relationship with me, according to her I look like my dad to much and she

cant even see me

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Counselor: Didn’t you mention that she attempted to see you while you were in jail

Client: yea but that’s not the same

Counselor: How so

Client: I don’t know its just not

Counselor: I believe that may have been a way of her trying to connect with you even in the

situation that you were in

Client: I…. I mean…. She just did it for show to show her friends that we were still close

Counselor: Do you really think that’s true?

Client: I don’t know, I just… I don’t know I didn’t want her to see me like that anyway

Counselor: You didn’t want her to see you in Jail

Client: NO! Even if I was in jail I just couldn’t

Counselor: Would you be opposed to inviting your mother to come after a few more session.

Client: Why would she need to come?

Counselor: You to together can work on building your relationship, maybe setting a few goals

that you all want to accompolish together

Client: It would probably be a horrible therapy session

Counselor: It doesn’t have to be, we write up key topics to discuss so that everything stays on

track and there wont be any level of anxiety in trying to figure out what should be discussed
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Client: I don’t even know what to talk about though

Counselor: Don’t worry about that just yet, its not something you have to worry about as it wont

be happening anything soom, I would like to have a few more sessions disussing why you’re

here before we invite some one else

Client: Can we bring Gina

Counselor: why would you want to bring Gina I thought you were still angry with her

Client: I mean I am but I still really want to talk to her and ask her why

Counselor: I would like to address that before we end our session for the day, do you think that

would be beneficial to you considering what happened 5 years ago

Client: I mean, the restraining order can still be in effect, I don’t want to be with her anymore,

but I feel like there Is some unfinished business between us

Counselor: Do you think you would ever be able to let go of you unfinished business if you

never talk to her again

Client: Honestly?

Counselor: Yes

Client: Eventually I think so, I think its just that it ended so badly between us, when it was

amazing while we were together

Counselor: Well I do have to tell you that the restraining order is still in effect, so I would advise

against attempting to speak with her

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Client: Its still valid after 5 years?

Counselor: the order was extended after your release

Client: Oh, well I guess I should forget about getting closure then huh

Counselor: well there are different ways to get closure which is why you are here with me.

Client: Like what

Counselor: Well first let e ask you this, after all this time have you accepted the fact that its over

between you and Gina

Client: Yea, I mean if shes still with that dude she probably married or atleast popped out a kid,

if his old self can even still have kids

Counselor: If you’ve truly accepted it then we no longer need to discuss her, however if not you

need to get everything off your chest, everything regarding her and even what happened and after

that we stop discussing her all together

Client: But isn’t the purpose of this is to talk about the stalking

Counselor: yes and no, its to deter you from stalking Gina, however if you truly begin working o

getting over her there would be no need to stalk her, youll learn from what happened and take

steps to better your self for your next relationship

Client: But now im branded as a stalker

Counselor: Your not branded, however it is good practice to be as open as possible with your

future relationships and explain to them what happened

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Client: Why though that’s like put a sticker on my fore head that says do not date

Counselor: Its out of pure courtesy really, some people may have had a bad experience that

traumatized them and finding out you partner was labeled a stalker from someone else is a lot

worse than finding out from your partner

Client: I mean I guess that makes sense

Counselor: So weve actually managed to set two goals this session

Client: Huh?

Counselor: Build a relationship with your mother and completely get over Gina

Client: Ok I like those goals, I didn’t even realize that I still needed to get over Gina, thank you

for helping me realized that

Counselor: That was all you, without you opening up and allowing me to correspond in a way

that helped us reach the conclusion you needed the outcome would have been much different

Client: Well at first I didn’t want to but you just gave off a sense of calmness and I wanted to

open up about things I hadn’t talked about in years

Counselor: well I am happy I could create an open and safe environment for you, I look forward

to continuing sessions and reaching your goals that we set. For the next session I want to work

on way that can foster a relationship with your mother, we are only going to work on one goal at

a time ok

Client: Ok I like that idea

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Counselor: Alright well that’s the end of our session, it was very nice to meet you and I cant wait

to see you next week.

Client: You too, have a nice day, Bye

Counselor: Bye

Session Review

During this interview I used Cognitive Behavior therapy, as the patient needs help with

very specific issues this theory proved to be the best approach even though it is typically used

solely for depression, anxiety and addictions. I attempted to show James that his emotions and

thoughts were playing a bigger role in his behavioral then he originally thought, such as his

continuing issue with Gina, he still has feeling for her which is why he can’t let go of the way

that she broke up with him. In order to do this I had to work on the relationship between a

counselor and client which is typically dependent on the quality of the initial meeting. The

different characteristics of the therapeutic relationships such as professional demeanor, client

demeanor or attitude, environment etc. all make or break a successful session.

When working with a court mandated client these characteristics become even more

important and you also have to be more cautious of how you paraphrase and what your body
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language is saying during the meeting. In many instances reluctant or mandated clients tend to

become hostile when attending therapy (Tambling, 2013). Cromier states that paraphrasing is

effective as long as it is interspersed with other types of helper responses (Cromier, 2016). In a

normal therapeutic session this is something to be cautious of, when conducting court mandated

therapy the therapist has to remember to maintain an environment where the client believes he or

she is actually being listened to and that they have a voice. Many times mandated clients aren’t

there because they want to and they end up attempting to balance, judges, lawyers, and family

members all the while trying to appease the therapist (Rosenberg, 2000).

Attending skills are extremely important as when working in this particular environment

some of these clients are legally required by the courts to attend, some offenses could involve

things such as child abuse and neglect, domestic violence or substance abuse. Whereas other

clients could be referred by their employers for various things including substance abuse and

under the threat of termination from their jobs (Snyder, 2009). The key is finding the correct

therapy techniques to work when clients are in attendance under duress, voluntary therapy is one

thing however involuntary therapy has many different underlying factors that may need to be

addressed in future sessions. One thing that was demonstrated above and that needs to be

addressed in real mandated therapy session is the willingness to engage in criminal behavior

which is indicative of underlying relational deficits (Beneviste, 2012).

James himself presented with relational deficits in regards to his mother as well as his

deceased father, working through those deficits and attempting to reignite his relationship with

his mother was key. Though in real life the conversational most likely would have not gotten as

deep as it had because generally speaking the initial visit is enough to only get a feel of what the

relationship between client and counselor could be. Essentially the relationship between
 COUNSELING, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, GOALS TREATMENT 1

counselor and client is a working alliance, its based on trust, openness, genuineness and

congruence (Honea, 2001). Further down the line the client will not only be able to rust the

counselor but will also be able to have a successful outcome of therapy.

In James case one thing that will need to be addressed is his need to blame Gina for what

happened as he indicated in the earlier session, although he came to the conclusion that he still

isn’t over her the fact that placed the blame on her is not healthy. Therapy is really beneficial in

this aspect as it can help clients shift their focus from blame and focus on what role they played,

understanding the issue and accepting what happened (Overholser, 2005). That’s the benefit of

mandated therapy although its extremely frustrating to have to do something that one doesn’t

want to do its higly effective in the treatment of cognitive behavior modification, and staying

true to the main objective of decreasing or eliminating all kinds of criminal behavior (Dutton,

1986).

Eventually we will be able to address all aspects of the reason for his court mandated

therapy such as his drug use and passion with intent to sell and unregistered fire arm. Some

aspects such as the drug issue though it can be discussed may be completely addressed in a

different court mandated session. It is against the law to partake in recreational drugs while on

probation so James will be under the jurisdiction of the Drug treatment court as well. Even so,

his participation in the treatment programs will most like reduce his use of marijuana at least

while he is under the jurisdiction of this particular court ( Patra, 2010). James reciprocity

indicates that he is a great candidate for this particular session and does not harbor any anger

towards the idea of court mandated therapy

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References

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Dutton, >. G. (1986). The outcome of court-mandated treatment for wife assault: A quasi-
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Snyder, C. M. J., & Anderson, S. A. (2009). AN EXAMINATION OF MANDATED VERSUS VOLUNTARY

REFERRAL AS A DETERMINANT OF CLINICAL OUTCOME.Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 35(3),
278-92. doi:http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2009.00118.x

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