IGNOU

MA (PSYCHOLOGY)

Programme Code: MAPC

MAPC Course Code: MPCE-024

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that _____________ Enrolment No.: ___________ of MA Psychology Second

Year has conducted and successfully completed Practicum in Counselling Psychology (MPCE
024).

Signature of the Learner Signature of Academic Counsellor

Name: Name:
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 TABLE OF CONTENT

S NO PRACTICAL NAME PAGE NO

1 Personality test based on Five-Factor Model 4-9

2 The key changes that have been made in DSM-5 10-14

3 Activity 3: Case History 15-18

4 Activity 4: Mobile/ Internet Connection 19-21

5 Activity 5: Hypothetical Case 22-24

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 Personality test based on Five-Factor Model

Aim: To assess the type of personality the subject has using Five-Factor Model.
Introduction: The term personality is derived from the Latin word “persona” meaning “mask”

Personality as defined by Allport is a dynamic organization within the person of

the psychophysical systems that determines the unique adjustments to one’s environment.
A number of theories and approaches have been developed to understand and explain the
concept of personality. These theories are based on different models of human behavior. Each
throw light on a significant aspect of personality but not all aspects of personality.

Theories of personality are:

1. Psychoanalytic theory
2. Humanistic theory
3. Trait theories
4. Type theories
5. Learning and Behavioral theories
6. Cognitive theories

Historically preceding The Big Five personality traits (B5) or the Five Factors Model (FFM),
was Hippocrates's four types of temperament— sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, and melancholic.
The sanguine type is most closely related to emotional stability and extraversion, the phlegmatic
type is also stable but introverted, the choleric type is unstable and extraverted, and the melancholic
type is unstable and introverted.
In 1884, Sir Francis Galton was the first person who is known to have investigated the hypothesis
that it is possible to derive a comprehensive taxonomy of human personality traits by sampling
language: the lexical hypothesis.
In 1936, Gordon Allport and S. Odbert put Sir Francis Galton's hypothesis into practice by
extracting 4,504 adjectives which they believed were descriptive of observable and relatively
permanent traits from the dictionaries at that time. In 1940, Raymond Cattell retained the
adjectives, and eliminated synonyms to reduce the total to 171. He constructed a self-report
instrument for the clusters of personality traits he found from the adjectives, which he called
the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire.

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By 1983, experiments had demonstrated that the predictions of personality models correlated better
with real-life behavior under stressful emotional conditions, as opposed to typical survey
administration under neutral emotional conditions. Peter Saville and his team included the five-
factor "Pentagon" model with the original OPQ in 1984. Pentagon was closely followed by
the NEO five-factor personality inventory, published by Costa and McCrae in 1985. However, the
methodology employed in constructing the NEO instrument has been subject to critical scrutiny
(see section below).
Colin G. DeYoung et al. (2016) tested how these 25 facets could be integrated with the 10-factor
structure of traits within the Big Five. The developers mainly researched the Big Five model and
how the five broad factors are compatible with the 25 scales of the Personality Inventory (PID-5)
for the DSM-5. DeYoung et al. considers the PID-5 to measure facet-level traits. Because the Big
Five factors are broader than the 25 scales of the PID-5, there is disagreement in personality
psychology relating to the number of factors within the Big Five. According to DeYoung et al.
(2016), "the number of valid facets might be limited only by the number of traits that can be shown
to have discriminant validity."
The FFM-associated test was used by Cambridge Analytica, and was part of the "psychographic
profiling" controversy during the 2016 US presidential election.

Raymond Cattell’s work played a great role in the discovery and clarification of the Big Five
dimensions. First, Fiske (1949) constructed a simplified description from 22 variables of Cattell.
The factor structure was obtained from self-ratings etc. They worked out a correlational matrix
from different samples and found clusters which they called the Big Five.
This five-factor structure has been replicated by many in lists derived from Cattell’s 35 variables.
These factors were initially labeled as:
I. Extraversion or Surgency
II. Agreeableness
III. Conscientiousness
IV. Emotional stability versus neuroticism
V. Culture
These five dimensions represent personality at the broadest level of abstraction. Each dimension
summaries a large number of distinct, more specific personality characteristics. The five factors
are abbreviated in the acronyms OCEAN or CANOE.
Norman (1967), Smith (1967), Goldberg (1981), and McCrae and Costa (1987) were the
researchers who attempted Fiske’s research.

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Description of test: The “big five” are broad categories of personality traits. While there is a
significant body of literature supporting this five-factor model of personality, researchers do not
always agree on the exact labels for each dimension. However, these five categories are usually
described as follows:

Extraversion: Extraversion is characterized by breadth of activities (as opposed to

depth), Surgency from external activity/situations, and energy creation from external means. The
trait is marked by pronounced engagement with the external world. Extraverts enjoy interacting
with people, and are often perceived as full of energy. They tend to be enthusiastic, action-oriented
individuals. They possess high group visibility, like to talk, and assert themselves. Extraverted
people may appear more dominant in social settings, as opposed to introverted people in this
setting.
Introverts have lower social engagement and energy levels than extraverts. They tend to seem
quiet, low-key, deliberate, and less involved in the social world. Their lack of social involvement
should not be interpreted as shyness or depression; instead, they are more independent of their
social world than extraverts. Introverts need less stimulation, and more time alone than extraverts.
This does not mean that they are unfriendly or antisocial; rather, they are reserved in social
situations.
Agreeableness: The agreeableness trait reflects individual differences in general concern for
social harmony. Agreeable individuals value getting along with others. They are generally
considerate, kind, generous, trusting and trustworthy, helpful, and willing to compromise their
interests with others. Agreeable people also have an optimistic view of human nature.
Disagreeable individuals place self-interest above getting along with others. They are generally
unconcerned with others' well-being, and are less likely to extend themselves for other people.
Sometimes their skepticism about others' motives causes them to be suspicious, unfriendly, and
uncooperative. Low agreeableness personalities are often competitive or challenging people,
which can be seen as argumentative or untrustworthy

Conscientiousness: Conscientiousness is a tendency to display self-discipline, act dutifully, and

strive for achievement against measures or outside expectations. It is related to the way in which
people control, regulate, and direct their impulses. High conscientiousness is often perceived as
being stubborn and focused. Low conscientiousness is associated with flexibility and spontaneity,
but can also appear as sloppiness and lack of reliability. High scores on conscientiousness indicate
a preference for planned rather than spontaneous behavior. The average level of conscientiousness
rises among young adults and then declines among older adults.

Neuroticism (Emotional Stability): Neuroticism is the tendency to experience negative

emotions, such as anger, anxiety, or depression. It is sometimes called emotional instability, or is
reversed and referred to as emotional stability. Those who score high in neuroticism are
emotionally reactive and vulnerable to stress. They are more likely to interpret ordinary situations
as threatening. They can perceive minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. They also tend to be

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flippant in the way they express emotions. Their negative emotional reactions tend to persist for
unusually long periods of time, which means they are often in a bad mood.
At the other end of the scale, individuals who score low in neuroticism are less easily upset and
are less emotionally reactive. They tend to be calm, emotionally stable, and free from persistent
negative feelings. Freedom from negative feelings does not mean that low-scorers experience a lot
of positive feelings.

Openness to experience: It is a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas,
imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience. People who are open to experience are
intellectually curious, open to emotion, sensitive to beauty and willing to try new things. They tend
to be, when compared to closed people, more creative and more aware of their feelings. They are
also more likely to hold unconventional beliefs.
Conversely, those with low openness seek to gain fulfillment through perseverance and are
characterized as pragmatic and data-driven—sometimes even perceived to be dogmatic and
closed-minded. Some disagreement remains about how to interpret and contextualize the openness
factor.

These dimensions represent a broad area of personality. Research has demonstrated that these
grouping of characteristics tend to occur together in many people. However, these traits do not
always occur together. Personality is complex and varied and each person may display behaviors
across several of these dimensions.
The big five structure was derived from statistical analyses of which traits tend to co-occur in
people’s descriptions of themselves or other people. The underlying correlations are probabilistic,
and exceptions are possible.

Materials required: Laptop with internet connection, proper seating arrangements

Participant’s Profile:
Name: - Pretty (Hypothetical name)
Age: - 25
Gender: - Female
Qualification: - MA
Occupation: - Teacher
Marital status: - Married

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Procedure and administration:
1. Preparation: The subject was called in home and proper covid-19 guidelines were
followed. Since the test is online, the laptop was used to administer the test.

2. Rapport: The subject was made aware of the objective and the personality test based on a
five factor model and rapport was established as the subject was known and a friend.

3. Introspective report: Instructions were given as to how to answer the question as

mentioned before the online test.

Scoring and Interpretation: In the test 10 questions are given which discover primary
personality traits. Each question has eight options:
1. Disagree strongly
2. Disagree moderately
3. Disagree a little
4. Neither agree nor disagree
5. Agree a little
6. Agree moderately
7. Agree strongly
Since the test is online all scoring and calculations are done by software itself and the result is
generated automatically.

Results: Here result is calculated by system itself, which is given below:

Personality trait Opposite Strength Similar Strength

Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability
Openness to Experiences
- 4.50
- 5.50
- 5.50
- 3.00
- 6.50

Discussion: Because this is such a brief quiz test, however, please keep in mind that the below
discussion may not be entirely accurate or completely apply to the subject. These “Big-Five”
personality traits are broad traits, and a brief personality test such as this one cannot provide a
detailed interpretation of the subject's scores.

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Extraversion: Subject appears to be not particularly extraverted, nor particularly introverted.
Subject appears to have a balance between her energy and activity levels, and in the amount of
social interaction the subject has with others.
Agreeableness: Subject has scored higher than many others in agreeableness, suggesting she is
more compassionate and cooperative toward others.
Conscientiousness: Subject scored higher than many people on conscientiousness, suggesting she
may sometimes value self-discipline (in others, if not always in herself), trying to act dutifully
when she can, and perhaps aiming for some kind of achievement in her life.
Emotional Stability: Subjects scored lower than many people in emotional stability and may
therefore sometimes experience negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, or depression more
often than others. She may be a bit more emotionally reactive and vulnerable to stress than others.
Openness to Experiences: Subject has scored quite high on her openness to experiences. This
suggests a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity,
and variety of experience.

Conclusion: From the above Discussion we can conclude that the subject is balanced between
extravert and introvert. Subject has a balance between her energy and activity levels, and in the
amount of social interaction the subject has with others.
Agreeableness score indicates that the subject has an optimistic view of human nature (they believe
people are basically honest, decent, and trustworthy).
Conscientiousness score suggests that she is probably not usually thought of being impulsive. She
likes to be self-disciplined and act dutiful when required. She tends to avoid trouble and strive to
achieve high levels of success through purposeful planning and persistence.
As the score for emotional stability is lower, we can say that her negative emotional reactions tend
to persist longer than necessary. These problems in emotion regulation may diminish her ability to
think clearly, make decisions, and cope effectively with stress.
Being open to experiences, she can be intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and sensitive to
beauty. She tends to be more creative and more aware of their feelings, and is more likely to hold
unconventional beliefs.
We can say the subject has an overall healthy personality but the subject needs to take care of her
emotional stability. She should manage her negative emotions (i.e. anger, anxiety) properly and
maturely.

References:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits
2. https://psychcentral.com/quizzes/personality-test/

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 The key changes that have been made in DSM-5

Aim: To discuss and find out the key changes that have been made in DSM-5.
Introduction:

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) was published on 18 May
2013 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The revision of the previous edition was a 14-
year process that involved amendment of diagnostic criteria, the addition of new disorders,
subtypes and specifiers and the deletion of certain previous DSM-IV disorders. The groups tasked
with revising the DSM and indeed the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) [the
operational system of the World Health Organization (WHO)] systems (for the soon to be
published ICD-11) shared an overarching goal of harmonizing the two classifications as much as
possible (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Four principles guided the draft revisions of
DSM-5 (1): (1) the DSM-5 is primarily intended to be a manual for use by clinicians and revisions
must be feasible for routine clinical practice; (2) recommendations for revisions should be guided
by research evidence; (3) where possible, continuity should be maintained with previous
editions of DSM; and (4) no prior constraints should be placed on the degree of change possible
between the previous and newest edition of DSM.

General points:

A number of key changes are now found in the DSM-5 (Roberts and Louie, 2014). In an attempt
to enhance diagnostic specificity and increase clinician utility, the DSM-5 replaces the previous
not otherwise specified (NOS) designation with two options for clinical use, ‘other specified
disorder’ and ‘unspecified disorder’. The ‘other specified disorder’ category allows the clinician
to communicate the specific reason why the presentation does not meet criteria for a diagnosis
within a diagnostic class, whereas ‘unspecified disorder’ can be used if the clinician does not wish
to specify the reason. The DSM-5 introduces the category ‘another medical condition’ that now
replaces ‘general medical condition’ where it is relevant across all disorders.
Cultural factors have now been given increased relevance and importance compared with previous
editions of DSM. Section III of DSM-5 introduces a chapter, ‘Cultural formulation’ that details a
discussion of culture as it pertains to various diagnoses. The construct of the culture-bound
syndrome has been replaced by three concepts that aim to offer greater clinical utility and suggest
cultural ways of understanding and describing illness experiences – cultural syndrome, cultural
idiom of distress and cultural explanation or perceived cause.
The DSM-5 has moved to a non-axial documentation of diagnosis (formerly Axes I, II and III)
with separate notations for important psychosocial and contextual factors (formerly Axis IV) and
disability (formerly Axis V) with the Global Assessment of Functioning scale (formerly in Axis
V) no longer present. This approach is consistent with established WHO and ICD guidelines,
where an individual’s functional status is considered separately from an associated diagnosis or

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symptom status. DSM-5’s restructuring of diagnostic categories through combination or
consolidation of disorders aims to better reflect shared features or symptoms of related disorders
and to better convey these inter-relationships within and across diagnostic chapters.
The number of mental health disorders in DSM-5 has reduced from 172 in DSM-IV to 157, but
also includes 15 new disorders. Two mental health disorders have been eliminated and 22 previous
mental health disorders have been combined or consolidated within other mental health disorders.
DSM-5 mental health disorders are now structured chronologically, from those diagnoses initially
attained in early childhood, through to adolescence and then into adulthood. In total, there are 464
differences between DSM-IV and DSM-5; however, the vast majority of these are very minor,
with the more significant of these as they pertain to general adult psychiatry (predominantly)
discussed below.

DSM-IV and DSM-5 categorize disorders into “classes” with the intent of grouping similar
disorders (particularly those that are suspected to share etiological mechanisms or have similar
symptoms) to help clinician and researchers use the manual. From DSM-IV to DSM-5, there has
been a reclassification of many disorders that reflects a better understanding of the classifications
of disorders from emerging research or clinical knowledge. Table 1 lists the disorder classes
included in DSM-IV and DSM-5. In DSM-5, six classes were added and four were removed. As a
result of these changes in the overall classification system, numerous individual disorders were
reclassified from one class to another (e.g., from “mood disorders” to “bipolar and related
disorders” or “depressive disorders”). The reclassification of disorder classes will not have a direct
effect on any SED estimation; however, it does warrant consideration when documenting disorders
that may have changed classes.

Table 1:
Disorder Classes Presented by the DSM-IV and DSM-5, as Ordered in DSM-IV.

DSM-IV DSM-5

1. Disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, Dropped

childhood, or adolescence

2. Delirium, Dementia, and Amnestic and other 1. Neurocognitive Disorders

cognitive disorders

3. Mental Disorders due to a general medical Dropped

condition

4. Substance-related disorders 2. Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders

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5. Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders 3. Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

6. Mood Disorders 4. Bipolar and Related Disorders

5. Depressive Disorders

7. Anxiety Disorders 6. Anxiety Disorders

8. Somatoform Disorders 7. Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders

9. Factitious Disorders Dropped1

10. Dissociative Disorders 8. Dissociative Disorders

11. Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders 9. Sexual Dysfunctions

10. Gender Dysphoria

11. Paraphilic Disorders

12. Eating Disorders 12. Feeding and Eating Disorders

13. Sleep Disorders 13. Sleep-Wake Disorders

14. Impulse-Control Disorders not elsewhere 14. Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders
classified

15. Adjustment Disorders Dropped

16. Personality Disorders 15. Personality Disorders

N/A 16. Neurodevelopmental Disorders

N/A 17. Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

N/A 18. Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders

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N/A 19. Elimination Disorders

N/A 20. Other Mental Disorders

N/A 21. Medication-Induced Movement Disorders and Other

Adverse Effects of Medication

Of particular note for childhood mental disorders, the DSM-5 eliminated a class of “disorders
usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence.” Those disorders are now placed
within other classes. See Table 2 for a summary the new DSM-5 disorder classes for those
disorders formally classified as “disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or
adolescence.”

Table 2:

Disorder Classification in the DSM-IV and DSM-5 for Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in
Infancy, Childhood, or Adolescence.

Disorder Types (version) DSM-IV Disorder Class DSM-5 Disorder Class

Mental Retardation (DSM-IV) Disorders usually first diagnosed in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Intellectual Disabilities (DSM-5) infancy, childhood, or adolescence

Learning Disorders Disorders usually first diagnosed in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

infancy, childhood, or adolescence

Motor Skills Disorder Disorders usually first diagnosed in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

infancy, childhood, or adolescence

Communication Disorders Disorders usually first diagnosed in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

infancy, childhood, or adolescence

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Disorders usually first diagnosed in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

(DSM-IV) infancy, childhood, or adolescence
Autism Spectrum Disorder (DSM-5)

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders usually first diagnosed in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Disorder infancy

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Conduct Disorder Disorders usually first diagnosed in Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and
infancy Conduct Disorders

Oppositional Defiant Disorder Disorders usually first diagnosed in Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and
infancy Conduct Disorders

Feeding and Eating Disorders of Disorders usually first diagnosed in Feeding and Eating Disorders
Infancy or Early Childhood infancy

Tic Disorders Disorders usually first diagnosed in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

infancy

Elimination Disorders Disorders usually first diagnosed in Elimination Disorders

infancy

Separation Anxiety Disorder Disorders usually first diagnosed in Anxiety Disorders

infancy

Selective Mutism Disorders usually first diagnosed in Anxiety Disorders

infancy

Reactive Attachment Disorder Disorders usually first diagnosed in Trauma- and Stressor-Related
infancy Disorders

References:

1. American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders (DSM-IV), 4th edn. APA.

2. American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders (DSM-5), 5th edn. APA.

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519711/

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 ACTIVITY 3: CASE HISTORY

PERSONAL DETAILS

Name of the individual: - Priyanka (Hypothetical Name)

Father Name: - Preet kumar (Hypothetical Name)
Age: - 22years
Gender: - Male
Occupation: - Student
Religion: - Hindu
Marital Status: - Unmarried
Educational Qualification: - B. A Graduate
Address: - Paschim Vihar, Delhi
Language: - Hindi and English
Living with the patient
Reliability: - Fair

Chief Complaint:

• Stress
• Embarrassment or humiliation
• Excessive sweating and eating
• Fast heartbeat
• Self-consciousness
• Excessive weight gaining

Precipitating Factor and Perpetuating Factor:

• During college years, he was teased by his classmates for being overweight.
• Physical Inactivity

Onset of Illness: - Insidious

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Course of Illness: - Episodic

Duration of Illness: - 2years

Personal History:

● Early Childhood: -

Breastfed up to 2 years of age

The client was playful and cheerful
Developmental milestones attained at appropriate age.
No h/o of temper tantrums

● Middle Childhood: -

Started schooling at 3 years

Have close friend circle
No history of bad writing, nail biting

● Late Childhood and Adolescence

Good relations with teachers

Playmates: - does not have any
Game field: - not interested
Client in studies and academic performance: - Good

● Psychosexual History

No sexual relationship.

• Religious Background: -

Believes in god.
Used to involve himself in religious activities

• Occupational and Marital History: -

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 The client is student
He is unmarried

• Socio- Economic Status: -

The client lives with a family of 4 members.

Adequate facilities at home.
Family monthly income is Rs 50,000

• Pre- Morbid Personality: -

Cheerful person
Adjustable
Good performance in studies
Friendly and extrovert in nature
Interact well with family members and friends.
High level of participation in outdoor activities.

History of the Present Illness:

The patient had been reporting being shy to meet people due to being overweight. When the client
gave the 12th exam, he was fit and doing exercise regularly, good eating habits and after passing
out from 12th exam. When he started to join the college doing graduation his parents ignored him
due to their busy schedule. He always eats junk food from outside and slowly developed bad food
habits. Due to being overweight his friends in college teased him regularly and he started feeling
shy resulting in less talkative family members, friends and relatives.

According to his mother he was very active in social activities, interacting with family members
and friends. But now he does not talk much. He does not interact with relatives and friends and he
does participate in social activities. Due to being overweight, the confidence level was very low.
The Client says that “sab mera mazak udate hai” then he does not meet friends and relatives. He
does not participate outdoor activities no exercise.

Negative History:

• There is no history of substance abuse.

• There is no history of prolonged fever or other medical illness.

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 • There is no history of loss of consciousness

Treatment History:

The patient had good food habits, and exercise. Overweight is not a problem; you can meet
people through confidence. Don’t be afraid when you meet friends.

Family History:

• Family structure: - Nuclear

• Family size: 4 members
• Birth order: - 1st
• Home atmosphere: - Good
• Relationship with patient between other family members: - cordial
• No h/o of medical or psychiatric illness in the family.

Family Tree:

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 ACTIVITY 4: MOBILE/ INTERNET CONNECTION

Mobile addiction is defined as chronic or periodic obsessions caused by repeated use of mobile
phones, which may lead to intense and sustained demand and reliance. It is a typical example of
inefficient use of mobile phones.

Signs and Symptoms of Mobile Phone Addiction

● A need to use the cell phone more and more often in order to achieve the same desired

pleasure.

● Persistent failed attempts to use cell phones less often.

● Preoccupation with smart phone use.

● Turns to cell phones when experiencing unwanted feelings such as anxiety or depression.

● Excessive use characterized by loss of sense of time.

● Has put a relationship or job at risk due to excessive cell phone use.

● Tolerance

Psychological Effects of Cell Phone Addiction

● Sleep deprivation

● Cell phone addiction has been linked to an increase in sleep disorders and fatigue in

users.

● Using your cell phone before bed increases the likelihood of insomnia.

● Bright light may decrease sleep quality.

● Smartphone use could increase the amount of time it takes to fall asleep.

● Light emitted from the cell phone may activate the brain.

● Depression.

● Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

● Relationship problems.

● Offline relationships may suffer as a result of neglect in favour of excessive cell phone

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and social media use.
● Anxiety.

Different Names Given to Internet Addiction

Professionals that do recognize internet addiction tend to classify by following names:

● Pathological Internet Use.

● Compulsive Internet Use.
● Compensatory Internet Use.
● Problematic Internet Use.
● Internet Addiction Disorder

Is Internet Disorder identified as a separate disorder?

Internet addiction disorder is not listed in DSM 5. Internet addiction has however been formally
recognized as disorder APA. Such disorders can be diagnosed when an individual engages in
online activities at the cost of fulfilling daily responsibilities or pursuing other interests, and
without regard for the negative consequences.

While the internet can foster various addictions including addiction to pornography, game-
playing, auction site, social networking sites, and surfing of the web.

The probable Causes of Mobile Addiction

The cause behind the addiction differs accordingly but sometimes it's not specifically predictable,
so there is not any stagnant cause behind the emergence of an addicted behavior as various social,
emotional, psychological and physical factors could be the reason behind the addiction apart from
that the factors that influences the person to become addict are:

● Anxiety & Stress: If an individual stay in stress most of the time than he/she is more
prone to get substance or activity addiction.

● Aloneness or loneliness: Feeling alone and staying lonely sometimes results in utilization of
substances or activities to overcome the behavior which leads to more risk of addiction.

● Peer pressure: To make themselves a part of that group by showing compatibility and for
getting approval and acceptance they copy what others do which leads to some addictive behaviors.

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● Poor mental health: Individuals suffering from any psychological or mental illness are
more prone to addictions or embibe addictive behavior.

● Poor relationships: Individuals who have bad interpersonal relationships have strong chances
to adopt addictive behavior. A mobile addict person uses the mobile phone for a longer period of
time to get pleasure and continues failed efforts to overcome the addiction often makes them feel
anxious, mood swings, restless, depressed.

Strategies to overcome mobile addiction/ plan of action

Being a school counsellor it becomes the duty of the counsellor to make students and parents aware
about the issue that is prevailing and impacting the society at large. So for awareness i will plan a
workshop for parents on students and tell them about the various signs, symptoms and causes of
mobile phone addiction and how it impacts the lifestyle and life of the children at all levels whether
it is psychological, physical, social etc. and proper guiding them about the strategies to overcome
this addiction. Guiding them about the respective measures to be taken to protect themselves from
the mobile or internet addiction.

● There is a need to keep a track on the mobile phone usage by monitoring the time spent on
exploring the various applications of mobile phones and noting it down for future reference to
analyses the time spent in doing activities on mobile phones and accordingly minimize the use to
a significant usage by planning an effective means.

● By interacting with people more face to face or in person rather than online via various mobile
applications and sites.

● By distancing oneself from mobile phone for a particular fixed time and indulging in other more
purposeful purposeful activities.

● Try to give a place of mobile phone for certain activities to more healthier activities such as
reading a book or doing exercise.

● Decrease or uninstall the number of unnecessary or least used applications from your phone
which will surely reduce the amount of time spent in exploring one's mobile phone.

● By putting the cell phone away before going to sleep, try not to take or keep your phone beside
the sleeping area.

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 ACTIVITY 5: Hypothetical Case

Aim: (a) How will you counsel and guide Tanveer from the given Hypothetical case

(b) What measures would you suggest for the family members of the given Hypothetical
case.

Given Hypostatical Case: Tanveer, is a 17-year old boy who completed his Class XII with
average marks. He is an intelligent and hard-working student, however, for the last two years he
has become disinterested in his studies. He is thoroughly dependent upon luck and fortune.
Presently, he has been following someone on social media and started to meditate for long hours
each day. The duration of meditation is somewhere between five-six hours every day. Though
completely disinterested in studies, he has applied in various colleges and University of his city
for an undergraduate programme. He wants to pursue Journalism, but his father wants him to
pursue Law (father is a lawyer).

Steps we can take to counsel Tanveer and his parents

As Tanveer is a referral case as he is referred to the counselor by his mother.

As a counselor: following sessions were taken to know about the core issue and how it can be
resolved.

(a)

Session: Started with Rapport building with Tanveer

To start up to know more about the child I started it with rapport formation by giving more
emphasis on open coded questions. So that we can know more about the subject. Started having
conversation from knowing about his daily routine to little more about the perspective he has
towards his life.

Session: counselling

In this session, converse with him in more depth to know more about the subject and he willingly
talked about the challenges and issues he is facing in life. Also MSE was conducted with the boy
as he was found to be comfortable. Where it was found that the child feels that he is lacking in
confidence level. He finds it difficult to concentrate for a particular period of time and feels
irritated. Due to lack of concentration he feels helpless and finds meditation as the only source to
feel light and easy going. As he was showing disinterest in studies by having more open ended
questions with him it was found that he gets distracted and confused because of the over

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involvement of the parents in his life decisions. Due to over indulgence of parents in decision
making he gets distracted and does not take responsibility for his career and it seems that the
subject is not controlled by self but more controlled by luck and fortune.

Session: Assessment

In this session, it was planned to apply assessment tests to create awareness and to help him get
more clarification about his Vocational interest and aptitude.
In this session Vocational Interest Record & Differential Aptitude Test was applied on it to know
the actual interest and how much aptitude he possesses. As while having a verbal session with him
it was found that a child willingly shared that he wanted to be a journalist so we needed to know
the reason behind it as he may get influenced, or having peer pressure or he genuinely wants to be
the journal.
And after conduction of assessment tests his level of aptitude found to be compatible with his area
of vocational interest. He was just found to be lacking in motivation and interest.

Session: Intervention

In this session, various courses of actions were discussed with the child and he was made feel that
he is worthy, listened and understood. But he was made aware about his all areas of life and how
he needs to take responsibility for his career, studies and life. Time table was suggested to him for
practicing meditation, studies, exploring for career options that are available with regard to his
respective area of interest. He was guided on how he can manage and balance his life by accepting
the challenges and coping with them effectively.

(b)

Session: Session with parents

As this hypothetical case was a referred case, after having a session with the boy it was found that
the counselling of parents is needed. In a session with parents it was found that they do not possess
a good parenting style which is hampering the growth as well as the mental peace of the boy.
Parents were made aware about their roles and responsibility towards nurturing the child and what
strategies can be opted to make things balance.
Whatever child told us about the problem he feels he is facing due to certain reasons were discussed
with the parents and were guided to make things better by opting for certain decisions.
They were made understood that as the boy is showing disinterest in studies and he gets distracted
he personally feels this due to his parents pressure so parents needed to be counseled that the
selection of career must be the sole responsibility of the child. As they must not feel guilt it was
made sure that their concern towards the child is natural and genuine and is acceptable but it is
impacting the mental health so they need to understand and modify the behavior towards the child.

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Career assessment scores were discussed with the parents which reveals that the boy has a genuine
area of interest and as a parent they must encourage their child by helping him explore the various
career prospects and colleges which provide courses in his area of interests. As a parent they should
motivate the child and help to feel worthy, listen and understand and how their change in attitude
towards the child can transform the child's life and how effectively he will be able to deal with his
life. Parents understand their role and agreed to understand and support their child in doing what
he wanted to become.

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