This assignment is going to have you think about how the different theories and techniques might apply to a theoretical client. | Get Quick Solution

I’m working on a Psychology question and need guidance to help me study.

After reading the below background information about Jonas, please take 3 of the following concepts that were discussed in Chapter 4 and in the lectures and discuss how a therapist might use them when working specifically with Jonas providing examples of what Jonas might say or how his background might be discussed in a therapy session to highlight the concepts you chose.

The concepts to use are:

1. Blank screen approach
2. Transference
3. Countertransference
4. Defense mechanisms
5. Maintaining the framework
6. Free association
7. Identifying developmental arrest
8. Dream Analysis
9. Interpreting resistance
10. What goals were accomplished that would indicate termination was appropriate

An example of what is required for this assignment from a different case regarding the concept of identifying developmental arrest is:

When trying to identify the source of Fred’s need to control and some of his anger, during one session Fred begins to free associate about his childhood and the difficulties he had during toilet training. He described how his mother would try and force him to go to the bathroom every morning to poop even when he did not have to. He described just sitting there in the bathroom and even being late for his preschool program because he would not be allowed to leave until he had gone to the bathroom. He laughed and said it was a battle between his mom and him at times and that on some occasions even if he did have to go, he would sit there and hold it, just so he could be late for preschool to show his mother that her rule was ridiculous. From this information, a therapist could hypothesize that there was a possible arrest in the anal stage of development for Fred and it might be this arrest that underlies Fred’s issues around the need to control, the way he tried to control toilet usage when toilet training.

The Case of Jonas

Jonas is a 33-year-old Caucasian, gay male who was born in the back of a station wagon and became a ward of the state within 6 months of his birth. Jonas was in and out of foster care and group homes until he received a permanent foster placement at the age of 10. The family that took Jonas in was an affluent two-career family with one daughter, age 7. Jonas described the home as immaculate, strict, and in his opinion, “a bit neurotic.” Corporal punishment was used in the home with great frequency, and Jonas described his foster father as cold, brutal, and forbidding. Jonas described his relationship with his foster mother as less problematic, but he stated that he believed he could “never please her.” Jonas’s younger sister was described as “simply perfect.”

At age 12, Jonas was sent to a military school because of his behaviors at home and at school. He described the military school setting as one he enjoyed, overall. The structure and the clearly defined expectations brought him “a sense of comfort.” However, Jonas described an experience of sexual abuse that was perpetrated upon him by one of his military school instructors. This experience, he believed, had left an indelible mark on him.

Jonas came to counseling due to a series of unstable relationships with men, in combination with an inability to maintain employment. Jonas had been in a serious relationship with a man for 2 years that he described as incredibly passionate. In fact, Jonas described this man as the love of his life. When Jonas’s partner began to lose interest in him and subsequently show interest in other men, Jonas became more and more agitated and angry. His attempts at maintaining the relationship became more desperate and volatile. When Jonas’s partner decided to end the relationship, Jonas exploded with anger and a physical altercation ensued. After assaulting his partner, Jonas left the apartment and vandalized his partner’s sports car by scratching curse words into it with his keys. The police were called, and Jonas was arrested. As part of his sentence, Jonas was required to seek counseling.

During the counseling intake assessment, it was revealed that Jonas had a pattern of unstable relationships that carried over to the work environment. After being fired from a position, Jonas broke into his previous place of employment, erased files from computers, and vandalized property in the office. After both the relationship break-up and being fired, Jonas showed significant suicidal ideation.