Professions Often Encounter Significant Challenges

¶ … professions often encounter significant challenges in their professional life, which can, in turn impact their personal lives. There is no research scenario described in the chapter, which focuses, instead on the needs of the helpers. The chapter addresses the following issues: how helpers can deal with "difficult" clients; how to deal with potentially angry clients in confrontational scenarios; how to avoid bringing clients home with them; learning appropriate therapeutic distance; dealing with personal reactions to clients' revelations and life circumstances; identifying the client behaviors that are most problematic for the individual helper; how to respond to difficult clients; dealing with unresolved emotional problems before embarking on a helping profession; client referrals to other professionals; and the defensive behaviors employed by the individual helper.

This chapter is all about self-reflection and really examining how the individual helping professional will respond to the demands of working with troubled clients. It asks the helper to do the work to determine potential triggers in difficult client situations, which the helper can then use as a stepping stone to establishing ways to deal with these triggers. Obviously, this behavior has an impact on client interviews. A helper who is uncomfortable with discussing certain problems and behaviors will be unable to help with those problems. Moreover, sometimes helpers become focused on getting seemingly resistant clients to change, without focusing on whether they need to adjust their behaviors to fit the needs of those particular clients. Keeping this perspective in mind will be invaluable in the interviewing context, where unexpected information or resistant clients could push a helper to engaging in familiar, but not necessarily productive, behavior patterns.

Article Summary: Chapter Eight: Final Stage of a Group

In this chapter, the author addresses the end of the group therapeutic process as it relates to closed groups. This chapter does not focus on a research questions, so there is no procedure, research question, or other research issue to summarize. Instead, it gives detailed instructions and tips for the practitioner who works in a group therapeutic setting and helps him or her determine how to bring a group to its conclusion. The issues discussed in the chapter include; how to deal with a member who wants to leave a closed group prior to termination; the activities that are the most important during the closing stage of a group; obstacles to effective termination; asking members to talk about the impact of the group on them as individuals; how to deal with requests to continue time-limited groups that are approaching termination; whether or not follow-up sessions are necessary and/or helpful; members leaving open groups; open groups getting new members while in progress; personal characteristics of the group facilitator that could hamper or help the group process; helping members review group experiences; translating experiences from the group to real-life; assessment and evaluation of the group process; and following up on the group process with coleaders after group termination.

The issue that is the most relevant to the idea of a client interview is when a group facilitator asks group members to reflect on how the group process has impacted them as individuals. Because of the group environment, and because the answer to that question might reveal feelings about other group members, these questions can be difficult for group members. Furthermore, they can be potentially inflammatory for the group. The practitioner has to be careful to approach this type of interview differently than he would in an one-on-one interview; instead, at all times the practitioner must be aware of how group dynamics will impact the interview.

MMPI-2 Interpretation of the Profile for Validity and Clinical Scales and the Harris-Lingoes and Si Subscales Score Record

For this administration of the MMPI-2, the protocol appears to be valid. Her VRIN scale core of 66 and TRIN scale score of 58 suggest that she was consistent in her responses. Consistency in responses offers several indications about the test. First, it shows that she could read and comprehend the test items. It demonstrates that she was attentive and non-random in her answering. Therefore, it shows that the test was valid.

It is important to keep in mind that valid does not necessarily mean honest. For example, her K-scale score of 17 resulted in some adjustments to her answers on the clinical scale. Her L score of 47 and S. scale score of 31 suggest that she was being honest in her answers, but her F. scale score, which is suggestive of faking good or bad was a somewhat-elevated of 79. This is particularly informative when one considers her scores on the clinical side of the scale. She is not considered within the ranges for normal on all the scales, which are only considered elevated above 65.

On scale 1, T=72, she is showing that she is feel bodily concerns. On scale 2, T=66 she is showing signs of depression. On scale 3, T=61, she is not showing some medical problems. On scale 4, T=98, which measures antisocial behavior and attitudes she has a very high score. On scale 5, T=75, she has a very high score, which is unexpected because very high scores are indicative of masculine attitudes and behavior. On scale 6, T=67, she is showing evidence of paranoia. On scale 7, T=69, she is showing symptoms of anxiety. On scale 8, T=81, she is showing signs of anxiety. On scale 9, T=53, she is showing some signs of mania. On scale 0, T=58, she is slightly extroverted. . Going with her two highest scores, her code would be 4/8 which is associated with antisocial personality disorder, though not necessarily at the low-scores she reports.