Lee is a university student who comes to counselling because he is very unhappy and considering giving up his place at University. Lee came from China to study in Australia and is finding it difficult to make friends and meet new people, as his family and friends are all in China. He had hoped that he would make friends and perhaps get a girlfriend here, but Lee sees himself as a very shy person and is intimidated by the thought of talking to strangers, especially women. Lee has lots of friends in China despite his shyness and is disappointed in himself that he has not been able to do the same here.

Questions

1. Explain how Lee's situation would be understood from a CBT perspective.

2. Explain your goals in working with Lee from a CBT perspective.

3. Suggest one technique from CBT that you might use when working with Lee and explain why it might be helpful.

4. Identify the benefits and limitations of using a CBT approach with Lee.

5. Suggest one other approach from the therapies discussed in this unit that may be helpful for Lee and explain why.

Scenario 2: Domestic violence

Kathy is a 32-year-old woman who has recently ended a relationship with Anna, who is 46. The two women had been living together for 8 years and during that time Kathy experienced domestic violence from Anna, who was very jealous and would often fly into a rage and become violent. After a long struggle to leave the relationship, Kathy now has her own apartment and is trying to move on with her life. Kathy comes to counselling because she is finding it very difficult to cope on her own. Despite the violence and verbal abuse, she misses Anna and believes that she will never meet anyone else. She believes that she isn't strong enough to 'make it on her own.'

Questions

1. Explain how Kathy's situation would be understood in Narrative Therapy.

2. Explain your goals in working with Kathy from a Narrative perspective.

3. Suggest one technique from Narrative Therapy that you might use when working with Kathy and explain why it might be helpful.

4. Identify the benefits and limitations of using at Narrative approach with Kathy.

5. Explain how Kathy's situation would be understood in Person-centred Therapy.

Scenario 3: Relationships and loss

Peter is a 42 year old man who comes to counselling to help 'get over' the death of his mother from cancer two years ago. After a long illness, Peter's mother Amy was diagnosed with lung cancer and died within 3 months. At the time, Peter was going through a devastating divorce from his wife of 2 years and he feels guilty and sad that his mother was taken away so suddenly when he was preoccupied with his own problems. He has been drinking to excess recently and he knows that his drinking is an attempt to forget his feelings about his mother. He has recently become engaged again and his fiancé has suggested that he get some help to manage the problem before he hurts himself more.

Questions

1. Explain how Peter's situation would be understood in Gestalt Therapy.

2. Explain your goals in working with Peter from a Gestalt perspective.

3. Suggest one experiment or exercise from Gestalt Therapy that you might use when working with Peter and explain why it might be helpful.

4. Identify the benefits and limitations of using at Gestalt approach with Peter.

5. Suggest one other approach from the therapies discussed in this unit that may be helpful for Peter and explain why.

Scenario 4: Family problems

Emily is a single mother to 12 year old Aiden. Emily is experiencing difficulty disciplining Aiden because Aiden's grandmother, who lives with them, is overly protective of him and undermines Emily's decisions. Emily has avoided confronting her mother about her behaviour because she is worried that if challenged, her mother will become even less supportive and Emily will end up feeling more depressed. In this past, when Emily has said anything critical of her mother, that's just what had happened.

Questions

1. Explain how Emily's situation would be understood in Family Therapy.

2. Explain your goals in working with Emily from a Family Therapy perspective.

3. Explain how you would work with Emily from a Family Therapy perspective.

4. Identify the benefits and limitations of using at Family Therapy approach with Emily.

5. Suggest one technique from Family Therapy that you might use when working with Emily and explain why it might be helpful.