Reflective Essay on Counselling a Psychologically Disturbed Subject

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
The interview with Joe went in a very curious way from the interviewer’s perspective
was extremely experiential, for so many covert mechanisms underlined Joe’s conversation
with me. Coming across an anxious or delusionary subject always challenges the
communicative skills of a nurse, but it also can lead to the development of a practitioner’s
personal and professional skills (Desmond & Lenz, 2010).
Counselling a psychologically disturbed subject is quite different compared to
understanding a subject’s mind who is about to undergo a conventional medical or surgical
intervention (Akol et al., 2018). I attempted to investigate Joe’s past experiences that have
led to substance abuse and its implications in his present life. In the initial stage of the
counselling session, Joe was pretty guarded and the fact that he was unable to communicate
his feelings, made him more anxious and agitated. Joe was oriented though about his present
condition, and gradually he found a way to speak out about his inner distrust and anger
towards his family members. The way he began to express himself to me, in the course of the
counselling is a good thing.
I came to know during the interview, that Joe is depressed due to his family members
and present circumstances (Stone & McMillan, 2012). I related this information to the
presenting symptoms. Gradually with the progress of the interview process, Joe started to
come out of his ‘guarding’ and started interacting with me, which is worth the counselling
session. I felt underlying feelings of insecurity, agitation and violence brewing inside Joe. I
attempted to know about the reason behind the first adherence of Joe’s substance abuse and
how cannabis became an object of likeness to him, but the fact remained unknown to me.
Being an individual suffering from anxiety and possible undiagnosed depression, Joe let out
many hints of his distorted emotions (Rudge, 2016). The information regarding his negative
feelings towards his family members under the given situational circumstances was an
important piece of information.