Interpersonal Therapy Paper

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The client being observed is a twenty-nine year old Korean-American man named Jim. For over ten years, Jim has displayed symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. These symptoms include feeling the need to be extremely organized and clean at all times. Though these symptoms are still apparent as an adult, Jim stated that they were worse as a teenager. As well as this, he also has a strong fear of flying on an airplane, riding elevators, and going to the dentist due to the lack of being in control. As the only adopted brother in his family and a minority within his school, Jim faced a lot of mental and physical abuse. Despite the abuse, his parents made little to no effort to stop his brothers from hurting him in such a manner. In order to protect himself from any more abuse at school, he began to get into many fights. This tendency got him expelled from school and then arrested at the age of twenty-six for assault. In order to avoid fights, Jim does not get out much and only has a couple friends he can truly trust. A psychotherapist practicing Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) would conceptualize Jim’s OCD as being a result of the type of attachment that he had with his parents. According to the Attachment Theory proposed by John Bowlby, the relationship between parents and their child determines what the child’s interpersonal relationships will be like and how the child will behave later in life. A secure attachment is formed when the parent attends to the child’s needs properly. This results in a relationship between the parent and child that is both healthy and understanding. An Insecure Dismissing attachment is formed when the parents are neglectful or abusive. As a result of this, the child will grow up to form supe... ... middle of paper ... ...ad since he young. Jim is an excellent client to focus on for interpersonal therapy. This is because of the fact that his interpersonal relationships are negatively influenced by both the upbringing of his parents and the negeative repeating patterns that he got himself into. With the help of a therapist that utilizes the techniques of IPT, Jim would be able to break free from his moving away and moving against interpersonal styles, which ultimately would allow him to form more trusting relationships with others. As well as this, once he realizes that he does not always need to be in control of his own destiny, he may begin to go to the dentist, fly in an airplane, and ride an elevator. Though Jim seems like a client who may be completely impossibly to change, it is very likely that he will learn certain skills to help him improve in as little as a few weeks.

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