Client-Centered Case Conceptualization Paper

Using a client-centered framework, a psychotherapist can conceptualize a client’s symptoms in a variety of different ways based on the symptoms that they present. For clients like Mary, the psychotherapist would first conceptualize her symptoms, and then treat these symptoms overtime in therapy sessions. As clients continue to attend these sessions, there is usually some type of improvement that is seen overtime. This improvement may also lead to a change in their attitude and behavior. Within these sessions as well, the therapist looks at factors outside of therapy that may indicate that the client has improved. If the client indeed shows improvement based off of these factors, there are final results that can be clearly witnessed. Mary is truly an amazing client to focus on in order to visualize how this process works from the eyes of a psychotherapist.
A psychotherapist would certainly conceptualize Mary’s symptoms of depression as being a result of greater underlying problems. She states that the reason that the cause of her depression is due to the fact that she will never have a child. Because of this, a therapist would develop the thought that Mary is depressed because there is incongruence in her life. Incongruence occurs when there is a struggle between how the client is viewed by themselves and others (perceived self), and how they truly are as a person (actual self). Mary is faced with the struggle of being perceived as coming to terms with a life with no child, and having a long desire to have a child.
A client-centered therapist would also believe that Mary is depressed because of the incongruence that she has between wanting to go to school to become a horticulturist, and having to settle as a secreta...

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... this type of therapy. This is because she possesses all of the traits of incongruence that the client-centered approach works on. This includes her want for a child, even though she cannot have one and settling as a secretary, despite wanting to become a horticulturist. With the help of a therapist, Mary would be able to come to terms with what is causing her depression, and this would eventually allow her to live her life by her own terms, rather than by those of the father that she is so dependant on. It is quite normal to have a struggle to continue talking or to be confused as to whether you are doing the therapy correct, especially when the client has not experienced a therapy session such as this. However, with time, clients such as Mary become a lot more comfortable just talking about themselves, which is actually very therapeutic within itself.