School Counseling Scenario: Using A Psychodynamic Approach

Scenario 1:

A frustrated seventh grade teacher comes to you to discuss her concerns about Eric, a male Caucasian student in her class whose behavior has been increasingly disruptive throughout the school year. Eric, age 13, talks out of turn, requires redirection from his teachers, and often engages in joking around with other students. While he attempts to behave like a “class clown,” other students do not tend to take to his antics positively, often avoiding him. Eric is an only child whose parents are divorced. He lives with his father, who recently began dating. He rarely sees his mother, who reportedly abandoned him at a very young age and who is said to have a history of substance abuse and incarceration. Eric’s hygiene is poor and he has few friends. The teacher has come to you because she has grown “tired of dealing with his misbehavior” and would like for you to “deal with him.”

Scenario 2:

Mary is a junior in high school who recently turned 17. She has inconsistent attendance, frequent tardiness, a pattern of isolating from others, and conflict with peers. She is bright and communicative and indicates having a “good home life” with loving parents. Previously, her grades were strong but have slipped over the past several months. She is the eldest child and resides with her biological parents and twin, younger brothers, age 10, who have “special needs.” Mary is ambivalent about her future and, when asked, is unsure about her post-secondary plans.

Review this week’s resources. Think about how either a psychoanalytic, Jungian, Adlerian, or play therapy approach can be applied to support the student in the scenario.

In a 2- to 3-page paper, select and critically analyze one scenario using either a psychoanalytic, Jungian, Adlerian, or play therapy approach. You may choose only one theory and you must justify your choice. Be sure to include the following:

The theory you chose and why. Be sure to discuss how you conceptualize/ explain the student’s issues using theoretical components.
The considerations that need to be taken into account from a developmental and/or cultural perspective.
The overall counseling goal with the student, from your chosen theoretical perspective.
The specific strategies and/or techniques you would use with the student based upon your chosen theoretical approach. You should note at least two interventions from the chosen theoretical perspective.
The strengths and limitations to using this approach with the student.ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)
Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation
Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality
Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes
I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy
For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy
The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication
Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.