Therapeutic alliance and intervention for a teenager with social anxiety disorder

¶ … Intervention of Bonnie

The client for this proposed plan for evaluation and intervention is Bonnie who is a 15-year-old European-American girl in 9th grade. Bonnie was referred to the clinical psychologists by her parents after complaining of fear and anxiety. Based on the information provided to the clinical psychologists, Bonnie is suffering from severe social anxiety disorder, which can also be referred to as social phobia. Social anxiety disorder is usually characterized by an extreme fear of engaging in social situations largely because of the probability of embarrassing one's self in front of others. Bonnie's social anxiety disorder is evident in the fact that she fears doing anything in front of people including eating, meeting new people, using public restrooms, and being surrounded by many people. Her persistent fear of social situations is based on the fact that she fears embarrassing herself in front of others by not knowing what to say or do or saying or doing the wrong thing.

Background Information

Given the information provided in this case, I would background information regarding the client through a one-on-one session with the client and another separate session with her parents. Apart from using the client and her parents to obtain background information, I will also contact her teachers and the family's medical doctor (if any). This would help in gaining significant insights regarding the extent of her social anxiety disorder from different perspectives and sources.

When collecting background information, one of the most important considerations is to ensure a safe environment is provided given that the client fears embarrassing herself. In this case, I will build rapport with the client and encourage her to feel safety and free to share about her anxiety problems. During the interview, I will observe her behaviors and case history data to gain an understanding of the situation. The background information that is important for me to learn during this process includes case history data, behavioral patterns, and role authority figures (i.e. parents and teachers) play in the client's situation. I will also seek to obtain data regarding the clinical conditions of the client when gathering background information.

Assessments

To identify the most effective intervention for Bonnie's condition, I will conduct several assessments to obtain more information regarding the various elements of her social anxiety disorder condition. These assessments will include two tests of intellectual functioning and two tests of psychopathology or personality. The two tests of intellectual functioning that I will utilize in assessment of the client's situation are Strong Interest Inventory and Campbell Interest and Skill Survey. These tests will help in obtaining information about Bonnie's attitudes towards life by encouraging her to engage in self-exploration. The results will help determine Bonnie's psychological functioning, beliefs and confidence levels, which are crucial when examining social anxiety disorders. Additionally, I will utilize California Psychological Inventory and Profile and Personality Inventory to assess her psychopathology and/or personality. These tests will help assess her sociability, level of responsibility, and daily functioning vis-a-vis her condition.

Interventions

The most suitable intervention for Bonnie's condition is a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral therapy approach. This intervention will be based on cognitive and behavioral theories in psychology since the client's situation is related to her psychological functioning and behaviors. With regards to the cognitive element, the intervention will focus on enhancing the client's psychological functioning while the behavioral aspect will entail participation in a structured therapy group. In essence, the client will be enrolled in an active therapy group where she will be taught to engage in practical activities to lessen her anxiety while her behaviors are assessed. This process will also involve establishing a therapeutic alliance through consideration of role investment, empathic resonance, and mutual affirmation. The clinical techniques I will utilize to address the problem includes psychoeducation, homework, and group therapy. These techniques help in self-exploration, development of coping strategies in different settings, and assessment of client's behaviors respectively.

Recommendations

There are several recommendations for continuation of therapy that would help Bonnie deal with her condition effectively. First, Bonnie should continue doing more research and self-exploration to understand what causes or worsens her condition. Secondly, she should continue to identify ways of addressing these factors and even ask for help on how to do so from the therapist. Third, she should practice new behaviors and the coping strategies she has learned from the intervention in her everyday settings including at home and school.