Julie, a 32-year-old graphic designer, presents distressing symptoms in several aspects of her life, such as low mood and a lack of motivation, she has low energy and finds it a huge effort to do just about anything, especially things that she once loved to do. She has not been socializing with her friends, as she no longer finds enjoyment in it and also finds it to be too much of an effort – even though she used to really enjoy these times. From this, her relationships are suffering, and she is afraid that she will lose these friends if she does not do something about this. In her work life, she feels that the work she is producing is not of use, and has a very low view of herself and her abilities as a designer – she is becoming increasingly worried that because of her lack of acceptable work, she may lose her job as well. Julie has been presenting with these symptoms, which have been becoming increasingly prominent and distressing, since Christmas time, therefore she has been dealing with this for close to 12 weeks now. 3 weeks ago she was prescribed antidepressants by her general practitioner, but these have not seemed to help her with her symptoms. There are many perspectives and approaches of which would look at Julie’s case and could help her with these distresses, and we will look at three of those: Carl Rogers’ Person-Centered Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and _________.
Carl Rogers developed Person-Centered Therapy, which is based on humanism – which dictates that each of us have the natural abilities and potential to actualize, through which we can find meaning – however the theory also has ties to existentialism.
Person-Centered Therapy could be an effective approach to help Julie, because of the motivation she has to change – she expresses that she needs to make a change so that she does not lose her friends nor her job. This intrinsic motivation that she is expressing is significant to her counselling journey, in that she has accepted that there is a problem, and is motivated to change it. Julie would be a good candidate for Person-Centered Therapy because she is seeking out help herself, which speaks to her level of motivation to change and she will be able to take charge in order to direct conversation
Person-Centered Therapy could be effective for Julie, where she feels her depression is limiting her in her activities such as going out to socialize with friends, or affecting her effectiveness at her job, this approach to therapy could allow to give her the tools to help her feel empowered in different dynamics in her life. The empathy-based approach to Person-Centred Therapy.
