Case Study: Obesity and Confidence

Abstract

The current paper is an analysis of the case involving Mike, a 40-year-old man suffering from obesity and other health problems associated with it. The paper aims to discuss the approach used in counseling towards building confidence in the client. First, the paper discusses the need to collect enough information about the client’s relations with family and friends. Further, the paper evaluates the most appropriate theoretical approach to counseling. In addition, the paper discusses the measurement system, which will be effective in monitoring the progress and success of every session. The end of the paper will contain a short description of the steps that a counselor should take in order to help the client and find the most appropriate solution for the issue at hand.

Personal Information

At the beginning of the work with the patient, it is necessary to collect such information as family relations and relationship background in general. These elements help to identify the surrounding world of the patient and understand his way of communicating with others. This information will help to evaluate whether the client experiences any difficulties in socializing. In addition, the problems of solitude and loneliness may stem from family relations, which can explain the current problems of the patient and help to find the most appropriate solution. The aim of the counseling process is to instill harmony and peace of mind and body in the client by understanding the patient’s needs and barriers towards a healthy life. Health problems also may stem from a variety of psychological problems associated with relationship-building difficulties. The aim of the initial stage is to outline the personal characteristics that formulate barriers towards the improvement of a personal attitude towards the surrounding world.

Personal Biases

The problem of the client is quite sensitive. Thus, there is a need to study the problem of obesity and its initial cause in order to evaluate the nature of the disease. If it has a psychological character related to overeating, it would be appropriate to select an approach based on the regulation of unhealthy eating habits. If it has a clinical character and is caused by another disease, it would be appropriate to select a set of supportive techniques that would help the client to handle the problem of obesity. Obesity can become a personal limitation due to the lack of experience of working with obese people. However, the counselor should look for the appropriate information that would be helpful in this specific case.

Goals

The main goal of counseling Mike is to help him develop such character traits as confidence, strength, and communicative skills to fight his health problems and overcome communication barriers. As long as loneliness is the primary trigger of the problems leading suicide attempts, it is essential to focus on the development of the client’s realization of personal valuation. Other goals of counseling include the formulation of healthy habits that can help reduce obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Further, counseling should focus on helping Mike to evaluate personal preferences covering the problem of heterosexuality and homosexuality. The main aim is to help Mike feel in harmony with himself by explaining that it is normal to accept any changes within the personal mind since it leads to peace and harmony. Mike needs to learn how to love himself and feel free to build relations with others.

Theoretical Approach

The discussed case study can find the most appropriate resolution by using the humanistic approach. This approach pays special attention to individualism and its role in counseling. In particular, the approach considers the idea that it is possible to change the personal attitude of the client to life and everyday difficulties. According to this concept, personal attitude and experience but not life itself create problems (Malikiosi-Loizos, 2013). It is possible to see the logic in the chain of events and the initial causes of the current state of mind and body through the lens of the individual’s life experience. It will be necessary to apply the client-centered approach in order to create a comfort zone for the client. According to the client-centered approach, a client is an expert in his/her own problems and feelings. Thus, a counselor becomes a supportive element in the evaluation of the client’s needs, problems, and solutions to those problems (Mohamad, Mokhtar, & Samah, 2011). In the case under discussion, journaling is the most effective way of applying the mentioned approach. It will become a tracking element of controlling the progress of each session. It will be important to conduct at least ten sessions, which means that Roger should come twice a week in order to control his emotions and feelings. However, the counselor may prolong the number of sessions if the client still finds it hard to handle personal problems.

Therapeutic Progress and Success

In the aspect of the humanistic approach towards counseling Roger, it is essential to use a complex and systematic approach to measure progress and success. The counselor has to record every manifestation of the client’s problems in a journal (Ryan, Lynch, Vansteenkiste, & Deci, 2010). It is mandatory to record the client’s thoughts, mood, feelings, fears, and emotions during every session. These elements can help to optimize the counseling approach and devise the steps needed to help the client to feel relief. In addition, such an approach helps to see the progress and omissions of every session by examining records and adding corrections to the counseling methods aiming to enhance the client’s confidence (Comas-Diaz, 2012). In general, sessions help to evaluate the client’s behavior and evaluate the manifestation of changes. Moreover, journaling can show that it is necessary to use another approach towards counseling in order to boost the process of recovery.

Conclusion

If to conduct the process of counseling according to the abovementioned approaches, by the end of the sessions, it will be possible to see if the client gained confidence and reviewed his lifestyle habits in order to improve health. In the current case, the overall goal is to transform the worldview of the client and his attitude towards building relations with other people. The enhancement of confidence becomes an effective background that pushes towards comfort and the feeling of personal freedom. The discussed approaches towards counseling, success measurements, and informational background of the client’s problems will be helpful in counseling the client. Otherwise, there will be a need to use an individualistic approach towards designing the most appropriate methods and techniques of counseling in this specific situation.