Case study Vara

1. Two signs I would look for to know when Vara is ready to end counselling are noticing that Vara looks a lot happier and sounds a lot more confident. As well as Vara demonstrating that she has accomplished the experiments we had discussed in previous sessions, resulting positively and is appreciative of my help.

2. How I would support Vara’s sense of autonomy is by being fair minded and begin to prepare Vara by empowering her to be able to continue life without counselling, giving Vara the opportunity to work through situations in her own time, and being able to cope if mistakes or challenges arise and to confidently work through them herself. I would also discuss with Vara her accomplishments she has made through counselling, her goals she has achieved and the positive changes she has made to better her life. As well as empower Vara by signifying the changes she has made were accomplished by her not myself.

3. How I would inform Vara about opportunities and further support is by letting her know that I understand how difficult and a little distressing it is to end the counselling process, and while it initially may be a little scary and overwhelming, it does mark another stage or step in her life that she can embrace. I would then discuss with Vara about having a follow-up session with her in three months’ time. With having a break between sessions will help her adjust to the thought of being independent and learning how to deal with any struggles or issues that may arise without relying on counselling. I would then allow Vara to discuss how she feels about the termination and assist her to deal with the loss of this relationship in a kind and gentle way.

4. Three key steps to assist the ending of the counselling process with Vara are planning, structuring and contracting endings. Firstly I would have taken the opportunity earlier in our previous sessions to discuss the planning and preparing of when our final session will be and encourage her to talk about her feelings and concerns in relation to the closing stages of the counselling process and give her a chance to describe to me how she feels she will cope after our final meeting. This will allow Vara time to reflect and explore her feelings she has regarding the ending process, help encourage Vara to prepare and move towards more independence, gain a new motivation to solve and manage her own issues and not be so reliant on counselling. I would also review with Vara what she has learnt about herself through counselling and help her identify the successes she has accomplished through counselling. As well as give Vara a chance to talk about goals she wasn’t able to achieve in counselling and look at ways or other options to resolve those issues.

5. An example of what I could say to Vara when ending counselling and to ensure any underlying issues are managed is I would suggest to Vara that we try to come up with some coping strategies and ways to manage the core issues. To help Vara have a better understanding of the underlying issues and be confident to be able to manage after counselling, I would ask Vara to look at the ways she has previously achieved goals and the strategies she has used to get through difficult situations in the past and allow her to think about what has worked in the past and what hasn’t worked. By doing this should allow Vara to see that she does have the coping skills to be able to manage well after counselling and have the ability to handle any difficulties that may arise.

6. An example of one of the session notes with Vara :

Assessment Progress: Vara has gained more confidence, has become more aware of her options and has increased her possibilities to achieve a positive result. Client description: Vara seems to have a lot more energy and drive in her now and appears to have more motivation. Subjective compliant: Vara has marriage problems, is unhappy with in the marriage, she feels trapped and I think there are a few communication barriers between Vara and her husband. Objective finding: Vara seems a lot more certain of her situation and has gained more insight into her situation. She also is showing a bit of relief now that she has communicated with Alec about how she feels with in the marriage. Plans for next session: I would like to focus on Vara feelings and her attitude she has now regarding her future plans and how is coping with the change in routine.