And she had mostly forgot how she felt, as that seemed easier. Her goal she said was to explore her past as her childhood was difficult.

She seemed to be experiencing some shame around this. She looked at the floor saying “I worry a lot”. Driving her to seek reassurance from her husband on parenting matters. And suffered from anxiety and doubt regularly. We isolated that she was having difficulties if she was a “good parent”. She was happily married for twenty (20) years. She had three boys, one ages eleven (11), the other aged fourteen (14), and the oldest aged seventeen (17). Her answers were logical rather than emotionally driven. Janine had trained and worked as a lawyer, and had a factual approach to the information given to my questions. Counselling Client Case Study – Introduction to Janine This can also alert me to any possible transference that could come into our therapy session as we proceeded. As Janine had counselling before, it’s good for me to know this as she would be familial with the counselling process as well as me understanding what her experience of it was. Then I asked her about her experience, and she said it was an effective and helped her through a difficult time. I enquired if she had counselling in the past, and Janine confirmed she had. I then confirmed with Janine the amount of time for each session was 50 minutes, and the amount of session on offer was six (6) in total, with a review half way through, I asked if that was okay? and she confirmed that was acceptable. Meaning we need to consider if our level of training and our experience are adequate to manage the clients presenting issues. I told her that the BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) Ethical Framework refers to the importance of working within our competence and in the clients best interests. The next important part was to confirm with Janine I am working ethically as a counselor. I assured her this does not disclose any personal details or information that the client shares, but it is important to get confirmation from her that this is ok, and that’s why it is discussed as part of confidentiality. Secondly, I discussed my clinical supervision, I explained this is where a counselor discusses their process and the use of counselling skills with a more experienced counsellor who can help to develop my effectiveness. We began our first session covering the counselling contract, boundaries and ethical framework.įirstly, I outlined confidentiality of our sessions, stating I would only break confidentiality if I believed any serious harm may come to my client or anyone else, and asked for her thoughts, with a warm smile she said “I’m happy with that”.

Looking down to the floor she said “I’m nervous to be here, but I’m looking forward to working with you as things feel overwhelming right now”. I noticed Janine was well presented wearing a smart black tailored shirt and cream cord trousers, well dressed and all together a well kept image. Janine sat very neatly in the chair looking smaller than I expected due to her height, she had a soft tone when she spoke. Janine is a 46 years old woman, she is a tall slim lady with a warmth in her smile, however I noticed she rolled her shoulders forward, almost hunching over, appearing less confident. Counselling Client Case Study First Impressions This was written as part of my counselling studies so there is no breech of confidentiality. Names and personal information have been changed for confidentiality purposes. I have been give expressed permission to publish this material from my client. In this counselling client case study I am discussing Janine.

Example of counselling session notes