Case Study: Exploring Counseling Approaches for Danni's Trauma

This case study analyzes the application of cognitive and family therapy approaches to help a 16-year-old girl named Danni cope with the loss of her mother and adjust to a new family environment following her mother's death. Danni's parents divorced when she was young, and she lived with her mother until her mother's passing after a long battle with cancer. The study examines how cognitive therapy, focusing on changing negative thought patterns and behaviors, and family therapy, aimed at improving communication and relationships within the family, can be utilized to address Danni's depression, isolation, and difficulties in integrating into her new family with her father, his partner, and her stepsister. The paper outlines the principles, goals, and specific techniques of each therapeutic approach, including trauma-focused CBT, cognitive restructuring, and strategic and structural family therapy, providing a comprehensive framework for Danni's recovery and the family's adjustment.

Running head: COUNSELING
COUNSELING
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Discussion............................................................................................................................2
Approach 1: Danni, Cognitive therapy............................................................................2
Information about Danni..................................................................................................2
Description of the approach.............................................................................................3
The key principles and goals of the chosen approach.....................................................4
The relevance of the approach for children, For Danni...................................................4
Techniques or interventions within the approach that will be used to treat Danni..........5
Approach 2: Family, family therapy................................................................................5
More information into the family....................................................................................5
Description of the approach selected for helping the family overcome the situation......6
The key principles and goals of the selected approach....................................................6
Relevance of the approach for the family, For Danni’s family.......................................7
Techniques or intervention within the approach that will be used for helping Danni’s
family in overcoming the issues..................................................................................................7
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................8
References............................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Counseling refers to giving advice professionally to people on different personal and
social problems that is being faced by them. It therefore includes the process of guiding and
assisting clients with their problems on a professional basis for resolving the social, personal or
psychological difficulties and problems faced by them (Van Deurzen & Adams, 2016). The case
study selected for the purpose of this study is that of Danni and her family. Danni is a 16yaer old
teenager who is presently going through the trauma of loss of her mother with whom she used to
live after the divorce of her parents. Therefore she is finding it difficult to cope up with her
mother’s death and fit into her new family (Smith, Moller & Vossler, 2017). The two approaches
that will be used for the purpose of overcoming this situation includes- the family therapy and
the cognitive therapy. The family therapy includes- treating the variety of specific issues that is
being faced by the family (Geldard, Geldard & Foo, 2017). On the other hand, the cognitive
behavioral therapy is used to help patients focus on their present scenario and not on their past
experiences. The main aim of the paper is to help Danni and her family overcome the issues that
are presently being faced by them. The paper will discuss about the two approaches that will be
used for treating Danni and her family. The paper will also discuss about the approaches, the key
principles and the techniques within those approaches that will be used for treating Danni.
Discussion
Approach 1: Danni, Cognitive therapy
Information about Danni
Danni was six years old when her parents divorced and after that incident she had been
staying with her mother. She was in regular contact with Jack her dad eve after the divorce.

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However three years ago, her mother was diagnosed with lungs cancer and she battled with the
disease for a long time and six months ago her mother passed away. Through her mother’s
illness, Danni stayed with her mother. And it was only when her mother became too ill stay at
home that she went to stay with her father Jack. Jack lives his current partner and his 10 years
old daughter Sophie (Skinner & McLean, 2017). However she is unable to cope up with her
mother’s death and fit into with her new family as she prefers staying alone in her room and also
refuses to take part in the family dinners. She often enters into arguments with Jack and her new
partner.
Description of the approach
The approach that will be used for treating Danni so that she can overcome the trauma
that she is going through is cognitive therapy (DeRubeis, Keefe & Beck, 2019). Cognitive
therapy includes focusing on the present thinking, communication and behavior rather than past
experiences. Moreover this therapy can help patients suffering from anxiety, depression, stress,
panic, fear, substance use and others. From the present scenario faced by Danni, it can be said
that she is facing depression as she is unable to take part in different family activities, she is
preferring isolation, she prefers staying in her room and is losing interest in most of the activities.
Therefore cognitive therapy is a type of a talk therapy that can be practised with people of any
age and it can help the patient in looking at their own thought, behaviours and feelings. The
cognitive therapy can help the children in replacing their negative thoughts with positive and
realistic ones. It can help them in changing their behaviours that is causing some sort of
challenge in their everyday life. In CBT, the child and the therapist will work together for
identification of the problem, setting some gaols and checking the progress regularly.

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The key principles and goals of the chosen approach
The major goals of the therapy is to: to help the patient look at their own thoughts,
behaviours and feelings, help them in replacing their negative thoughts with the positive ones
and helping them change their behaviours that can cause challenges in their everyday lives
(Segal & Teasdale, 2018). The aim of the CBT also includes- changing the pattern of behaviour
and thinking that are causing difficulties in patients live and therefore help them in changing the
way they feel. Some of the major principles of the cognitive therapy includes- good therapist and
client relationship, it emphasises on participative and coloration, it is problem focused and goal
oriented, its main focus in on the present, it is limited by the time, there are a number of
structured sessions, and it is educative (Thorn, 2017). Moreover CBT makes use of a number of
techniques for changing the mood, behaviour and thinking of the people.
The relevance of the approach for children, For Danni
Cognitive behavior therapy can be important for children as it can help the children
understanding their negative thought patterns and they can also learn about replacing them with
positive though patterns. A child can learn to respond differently with the help of CBT because
they get to learn about new ways of looking at life. With the help of CBT, children can learn
about new strategies for improving their lives and it can also help them in gaining skills that will
remain with them forever (Leahy, 2017). CBT can help children in controlling their self-
defeating thoughts, in controlling their impulsivity, tantrums and defiance. Moreover they will be
able to overcome negative reactions through- learning coping mechanism, practicing self-control,
improving their self-image and developing problem solving skills. Through CBT Danni will be
able to understand her negative thinking that further impacts her behavior and feelings. With the

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help of the different techniques and tools she will be able to cope up with the situation she is
presently going through.
Techniques or interventions within the approach that will be used to treat Danni
The techniques and interventions that will be used to treat Danni includes- CBT that is
trauma focused, cognitive restructuring and exposure therapy. With the help of trauma focused
therapy, the therapist will try to focus on the cognitive and behavioural issues that are directly
related with the trauma that Danni has experienced (Crane, 2017). With the help of cognitive
restructuring, the therapist will try to learn about the negative thought process of Danny and then
try to replace the same with a positive one and with the help of exposure thinking, Danni will be
able to understand all those factors that triggers anxiety in her that further affects her behaviour.
Approach 2: Family, family therapy
More information into the family
Danni’s father Jack got divorced with her mother when he was six year old. However
Danni had been visiting her father regularly since the divorce. However Danni did not stay with
her father. Jack was presently living with his present partner Alison and 10 years old daughter
Sophie. While Danni’s mother was ill Danni used to stay with her and it was only after her
mother’s condition got worse and she was unable to stay in home that Danni came to live with
her father. Jack feels that Danni has not settled in the new house and she often ends up arguing
with Alison and Jack. She prefers spending time in her bedroom and also refuses to take part in
family dinners and is continually becoming isolated. Jack is therefore worried that she is not
fitting into the family and she is unable to cope up with her mother’s death.

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Description of the approach selected for helping the family overcome the situation
The approach that will be used in order to help Danni fit into her new family includes the
family therapy. The family therapy is used for treating specific issues affecting the family’s
functioning and the main aim of the therapy is to involve the whole family for solving the family
issues. The family therapy can help the family through tough times such as a major transition,
behavioural ort mental health problems among family members (Becvar & Becvar, 2017). The
main assumption on which this therapy is based is that problems cannot be solved without
understanding the group dynamics. Family therapy makes use of a number of exercises and
techniques such as behaviour therapy, interpersonal therapy and others for facing the problems
the clients are faced with (Szapocznik & Hervis, 2020). Family therapy is done to overcome a
number of issues such as- personal conflicts, unexpected illness or death, behavioural problems
with children, mental issues such as anxiety, depression and others.
The key principles and goals of the selected approach
The main objectives or goals of the family therapy is to maintain and develop healthy
relationship within the family members, to facilitate communication and cohesion, to provide for
problem solving within the family by developing better understanding of the family dynamics,
building understanding and empathy and it also includes- reducing the conflicts within the family
(Sexton, 2017). The key principles on which the family therapy is based includes- the
problematic are usually related to their family relationships and interactions and also includes the
context in which they develop. It is also based on the assumption that a sudden change in the
relationships causes a change in patient it may even reinforce a change already taking place
(Joyce & Sills, 2018). The focus of the therapy is in the family interactions of the present and the
autonomy and resources of the families and the patients can be used as therapeutic levers.

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Relevance of the approach for the family, For Danni’s family
This approach of family therapy is the most relevant for resolving family issues because
this therapy believes that actual family issues are solved when the entire family gets involved in
the problem solving process (Jacobs, 2017). Therefore this therapy can help Jack and his family
in better understanding their family functioning, in identification of the strengths and weaknesses
of their family system, in setting goals as well as developing strategies for the purpose of
resolving the problems and improving the communication between the family members. The
family therapy can also help in making the family stronger (Hoffman, 2018). Moreover a family
therapy is used when the family is going through marital problems, conflict between the parent
and child, when there are certain problems between the siblings and the effect of any type of
illness in the family.
Techniques or intervention within the approach that will be used for helping
Danni’s family in overcoming the issues
The two techniques that will be used for solving the family issues that are presently being
faced by Jack and his family includes- the structural and the strategic therapy (Minuchin, 2018).
The structural therapy includes- strengthening and adjusting the family system for ensuring that
the parents have control over the situation and also ensuring that both the parent and the child set
their boundaries. In this kind of the therapy the family is joined by the therapist for learning,
observing and enhancing their ability in helping the family in strengthening their relationship. On
the other hand, the strategic therapy is more direct and brief than other therapies. The therapist
provides homework to families and this homework is aimed at changing the way members
interact with each other by adjusting and assessing communication within the family.

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Conclusion
Therefore from the above discussion, it has been understood that counseling plays a very
important role in guiding and assisting the clients through professional assistance to help them in
dealing with different difficult situation they are going through in their lives. From the paper, it
has been understood that Danni is going through a traumatic phase in her life after losing her
mother and she is unable to properly communicate with her father and her step mother. Further
from the paper, the two approaches that will be used for dealing with Danni and her family has
been understood. In order to help Danni overcome this situation, cognitive therapy will be used.
Cognitive therapy can be used with people of any age and it helps the patients in dealing with
their present situation and communication rather than their past scenario. It helps patients in
learning self-help skills and helps them in changing the way they think, behave and feel. On the
other hand, the family therapy will be used for helping Danni fit into with her family and also to
help Jack deal with the present situation. This therapy helps the patients in resolving issues in
their family context. This therapy believes that when the family as a whole tries to solve an issue,
family issues get solved in a better way.

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