Case Presentation

Background Information
• 33 year old: African American Male
• Has a history of adverse childhood experiences such as
molestation from a family member, loss of children, and
divorce
• First of generation to go to college and is currently pursuing
PHD in Ministry
Problem Statement
• Client currently has difficulty finding a new positive
coping strategy to replace his current marijuana
usage and developing a future career path for himself.
The client is also unaware of the stressors that are
causing his marijuana usage.
Services
The client currently does not need any services for himself other than stating that
he “feels that he needs therapy to vent and find his path
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths Limitations
• Insightful • Resilient
• Wants help • Blocks out areas of his past
• Accepted who he is • Marijuana use
• Has a strong support system
Assessment Goals and Specific Interventions
• Reduce or eliminate use of marijuana and assist in
finding a new coping strategy, Being able to discuss
past events and recognize emotions involved, locate
a path for his degree
• Use CBT to help identify current triggers and
symptoms to anxiety, the current unhealthy coping
strategies and teaching modeling and assisting client
in implementing new coping strategies to deal with
anxiety. 6-12 months
Biases
• With the client being an adult male I expected him to
not speak as freely in session
• Found that I did not agree with or like his ideals of
forgiving his uncle for molesting him as a child and
having constant contact with him
Differences
Client Myself
• Methodist • Baptist-Nonconformist
• Gay • Straight
• 33 • 21
Life experiences that have shaped them
• Grew up in a low middle class household made up
of himself, mother and 2 siblings
• Never experienced much loss in family until the loss
of his two children with his ex-wife
• Missionary trips
• Molestation as a child by uncle
• Becoming part of the LGBTQ+ community
• Becoming a youth pastor
Staff Recommendations
• Unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder
• Using others a sexual object due to past experience
as being used as a sexual object, unresolved grief,
inappropriate coping strategies
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Research
• Unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder is relatively new and was added to the dsm-5.
• If an adult has experienced a childhood trauma it can arise later in life for the adult to start showing signs
of the inability to cope with stressors
• Those that fall under unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder show signs of fear, depression,
anger, dissociation, guilt, shame, and risk taking behaviors
• 50% of people experience a trauma in their life and only a few ever develop a clinical disorder
• If clinicians follow a combination treatment for CBT for trauma related disorders the research has shown
significant improvement in clients conditions.
• In this case if the clinicians were to follow cognitive therapy it has also been proven to show a reduction in
trauma symptoms
Changes for Agency
• My personal recommendation is to do research on
the separate types of CBT treatments and ensure all
clients who present a trauma related disorder are
given the appropriate treatment.
Competencies/Practice Behaviors Used
• 1,2,4,6,7,8
• 1.1,1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,2.1,2.2,2.3,4.1,4.2,4.3,6.1,6.2,7.1,
7.2,7.3,7.4,8.1,8.2,8.4,8.5
References
• https://www.lacounseling.org/images/lca/Trauma-%20and%20Stressor-
Related%20Disorders%20-%20Narrated.pdf
• https://www.istss.org/ISTSS_Main/media/Documents/ISTSS_g41.pdf