Mark's Female Adult Case Study
SITUATION
Tina came in for counseling because her husband told her that counseling might be beneficial for her and that she should give it a try. She agreed that it would be, but she wasn’t sure what exactly she wanted to work through although she reported being really anxious and depressed at times. After meeting a few times it became apparent that Tina felt like she had little control over her life. That was evident by the fact that her boss asked her to come in multiple times on her days off and she never said no. Anytime a friend asked her for help or to hang out, she said yes, even though she felt exhausted and drained. Her husband was responsible for everything around the house and she had a go with the flow mentality when it came to their finances and any important decision. After going through each of these things Tina realized that she was not happy with the way her life had ended up. She realized that people constantly ignored how she felt, when she occasionally voiced her concerns, and it began to frustrate her.
COUNSELING INTERVENTIONS
- One thing that Mark and Tina worked on was thoughts that Tina had about herself that allowed people to run over her. After talking through some of those situations where Tina felt ran over, it was apparent that she thought she was incompetent and feared that she was a failure. Tina had grown up in a house where her parents were very controlling and strict. Anytime Tina made a bad grade or a bad decision her parents made fun of her or talked down to her about how incompetent she was. So from an early age Tina developed thoughts about herself as being incompetent and feelings of being doomed to failure. As Mark and Tina began to discover those thoughts and feelings they examined the truth of them. Tina began to realize that she had failed at times, but that didn’t make her a failure doomed to fail. Mark and Tina continued to work through similar false beliefs and help Tina gain confidence and find a voice. At the end of therapy Tina grew to value herself as a person, beyond just wife and employee, and was able to set clear boundaries that allowed her to say no when she needed to and respect her time enough to recharge when necessary.
- Another thing that Mark and Tina worked on was interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics. While Tina was growing in confidence she still needed to learn how to set proper boundaries with people. So they worked on helping Tina make time for her, get involved in activities that expressed her interests, and develop healthy relationships. At the end of counseling Tina had developed close relationships and support with a group of people and picked up an art class to express herself through painting and writing.