Research Methods and Professional and Ethical Issues

The criteria are based on the research methodology: critical reflexive case study analysis.You will explore and examine critically in depth your work with one of your clients. The focus of this case study should be about conveying the essence of the way in which you work with a client and demonstrate your ability to examine critically your engagement with him/her and your ability to link theory to practice. Choose client work that reveals the way in which you work as fully as possible. Your placement setting will influence the duration of your work. Note the key significance of criterion 4.

Focus your exploration and analysis of your engagement with your client on what you regard as a key theme in his/her material, i.e. following a thematic rather than a chronological approach.

You will substantiate your points with explicit evidence from your work with one client (this must include specific interventions), supervision both in the placement and on the programme, the PD group other areas of the training programme, personal therapy and other relevant sources, as appropriate. You will demonstrate your ability to utilise and incorporate into your analysis of your work peer feedback from the self and peer feedback process (see: Self and Peer Feedback Forms, below). Criterion 1 must include a demonstration of your understanding of those principles and concepts that you use in your case study.

In your analysis of the limitations of your theoretical approach to counselling, as demonstrated in this case study, you may draw on ideas from phenomenology, discourse analysis/social constructionism, narrative analysis as well as other relevant sources. This will enable you to think critically about the language and assumptions that underpin your approach to counselling.

Assessment criteria

Length: 5,000 words

1. Describe your psychodynamic and integrative theoretical and practical approach as demonstrated in this case study. Include what you consider to be the aims of your approach

2. Describe briefly the framework for counselling. This may include organisational setting, referral conditions, assessment procedure and contract. What bearing might these factors have on your work with the client in this study? This should be picked up in criterion 4, where appropriate
3. Give a brief account of the client’s issues and concerns, highlighting what you regard as the key theme in his/her material around which you will focus the exploration and critical examination of your work with him/her

4. Examine critically how you worked with your client in relation to the theme. This will include:

€¢ An examination of what might have been useful in your interactions with the client and how you might have responded differently. You will identify alternative responses and your rationale for doing so
€¢ An evaluation of your interactions will include both verbal and non-verbal responses and your ability to work with unconscious communication (including transference, counter transference and defences). This will include an evaluation of how far your interventions were consistent with your theoretical approach
€¢ Brief acknowledgement of how your own assumptions, values and agenda might have influenced specific interactions with your client
€¢ Explicit illustrative examples from your interactions with your client
€¢ Reflections on changes in your relationship and the client’s experience in relation to the theme over time and the therapeutic significance of these
€¢ Identification of areas to work on further with your client in relation to the theme in the future

5. Consider critically the impact of feedback in supervision both in your placement and on the programme on your engagement with your client in relation to the theme. State explicitly the impact that this had or might have on your interactions with your client (links to criterion 4)

6. Consider critically the limitations of your theoretical approach to counselling as demonstrated in this case study in relation to working with the client theme. Describe and use principles from phenomenology, narrative analysis or discourse analysis to reflect critically on your approach i.e. identify what you might assume, miss, marginalise or privilege in relation to the client’s experience of the theme if you follow your theoretical and approach to counselling. Evidence will be given of alternative possibilities of meanings with particular reference to social and cultural perspectives

7. Reflect critically about what you have learnt about yourself from your evaluation of your work with this client in relation to the theme. This will include a critical consideration of:

€¢ Your motivation for choosing this client for your case study
€¢ The influence of your own agenda, assumptions, cultural and social values, issues of similarity and difference, identifications, personal limitations and challenges on your engagement with this client, as appropriate.

8. Identify areas within yourself both personally and professionally as counsellor for further development in relation to working with this theme. Give explicit steps you might take/might have taken to achieve this further development

9. Substantiate your points, above, with specific illustrative evidence from your interventions/engagement with your client, from supervision, both in your placement and on the programme, PD group, other areas on the training programme, the self and peer assessment process, personal therapy and other relevant sources.

10. Provide a clear, coherently structured assignment. Make appropriate use of Harvard referencing and bibliography

(Client is a female, 40 years old, divorced, abused family, with 1 kid, Drinking aIDiction. Professional senior executive in the bank)- entering a new relationship with an Australia man about 55 years old.) Confused now, she wish to quit drinking aIDiction.