Therapy Plan – Case Study

Therapy Plan – Case Study

Client History

Thomas is a 64-year-old man who is going through depression and leads an unhappy life. He feels socially misunderstood and has thus disconnected himself from most social interactions. His former therapists further aggravated his frustration at being misunderstood. He described leaving the therapists’ service feeling more misunderstood, and the advice he received left him in a darker place than before. His mental state has deteriorated to a level of harboring suicidal thoughts. He frequently wonders who would understand him if the professionals can’t. The resultant anxiety leaves him unable to handle any challenges he encounters. Thomas suffers from DSM-5 category of depression as a result of experiencing profound meaninglessness in his life.

Following the opinion he has of professional therapy, Thomas finds himself unable to find the answers to his life he desperately needs. He recognizes his need for help but has so far been unable to connect with the kind of support he has experienced so far. Thomas continues to inhabit feelings of despair, lack of joy, discontent, and a general disconnection to life and people. The resultant hopelessness he feels has led him in search of alternative therapy methods to help him engage his inner compass and find direction in life. Effective therapeutic approaches should be applied to help Thomas overcome his despair and feeling of meaninglessness, and encourage him to overcome his current challenges, reconnect with himself and the society around him.

Existential Therapy

Definition and Description

Existential therapy is a form of treatment where the psychologist engages a philosophical approach to a client’s situation. The style of therapy encompasses the client’s recognition that their happiness and meaning in life are their responsibility. It also emphasizes on examining one’s life wholesomely, including relationships, obligations, and the effect that the patient’s mental condition has on them. The approach also recognizes and encourages a client’s capabilities and aspirations while also acknowledging their limitations. In this manner, a patient can analyze their current situation and ascertain which parts are within their control and which are beyond their limits. Existential therapy encourages the patient to address their condition, focusing on the present instead of focusing on the past.

Application to Thomas’ Case

Existential therapy is most suited for Thomas’s case since it will first help him acknowledge his role in the situation he is in. Helping him recognize both is competencies and limitations will bring his capabilities into view. It will also be helpful to focus on the things he can change, instead of the way he tends to dwell on the past and its failures. Existential therapy is also individual-focused, which would aid Thomas in assessing his identity struggles and his expectations on life. Focusing on the now would help Thomas develop the courage to tackle his problems one at a time while keeping his recovery goals simple. Acknowledging and celebrating every milestone in his development will aid in alleviating his sense of meaninglessness and encourage him to take more responsibility for his mental and social wellbeing.

Process of existential therapy

The main goal of existential therapy is to help the patient take responsibility for his choices, their resultant actions, and how they impact him, his circumstance, and his relationship with those around him. The process will, therefore, start with helping Thomas through self-reflection and recognition. This part will aid him in focusing on himself and acknowledging how he directly contributes to his predicament. Making the client conscious of their role helps them accept the past to be a result of their decisions, which then reflect on the present. It also leads them to acknowledge their passive surrender to their circumstances and failures. As a result, the therapist will encourage Thomas to introspect and analyze his role in the current predicament he faces.

Following introspection and self-analysis, the therapist should take Thomas through emotional and psychological healing. Helping Thomas to accept his role in creating his situation and that he cannot change the past will guide him in emotional healing. Guiding him through consciously taking control of his life and shaping it according to his desires will develop his psychological wellbeing. Ultimately, he should be able to recognize the role every decision plays in his life and the lives of those around him. Developing a habit of making conscious decisions will aid in restoring his social life and his sense of being in control of his future. The process will also assist in how he reacts to and addresses the challenges he encounters in his life.

Therapy Goals and Interventions

Help Thomas Focus on Himself

The main goal of using existential therapy on Thomas is to help him take responsibility for his current situation and apply the gains into creating a better future for himself. He should be able to analyze his past and the decisions he made that led him to this point. However, the focus should not be in his past, but in the now. Thomas should, in the end, be able to recognize the aspects of life that he is capable of influencing, and the limitations he has in controlling others. The therapist should also guide Thomas into giving value to his life and motivating himself. He should be better able to indulge in the things he enjoys and make a decision to keep away from harmful tendencies he may have. Focusing on himself should aid him in understanding his role in creating his current circumstances and help him look at his life from a place of responsibility and control.

Intervention

Helping Thomas focus on himself will have him analyze his feeling of despair and hopelessness, his suicidal thoughts, and the current meaninglessness of his life. He will look at the role he played in the past to create his current circumstances and acknowledge his responsibility. In collaboration with the therapist, Thomas will then set small, measurable, and achievable goals towards recognizing his choices in presenting situations. The goals should revolve around an analysis of what Thomas would like the outcome to be, knowing what he needs to do to make it happen, then putting his decisions into action. The therapist must remind Thomas to realize his capabilities and limitations as he sets the goals and makes his decisions.

Repair of Relationships

Thomas’ current condition invariably affects those around him, including his family, friends, and associates. The second goal should, therefore, be aimed at repairing his existing relationships and creating better ones in the future. Part of this goal would also be to develop the courage to form and maintain healthy relationships, while also focusing on personal growth. Thomas should be able to recognize his choice and exercise his free will regarding who he wants in his life and what needs to be done to keep them there. Understanding that he has a role to play in creating and maintaining healthy relationships in his life will empower him to make amends in his existing relationships, and help him work on being more involved in his social growth. He will, therefore, own his role in feeling alone and unhappy.

Intervention

The first part of the intervention would involve the therapist helping Thomas to analyze the situation of his social circle. Once he articulated how his current relationships were, and how they are, the therapist would guide him into exploring when the relationships started deteriorating, and what happened. Thomas would then be guided into inspecting the role he played in creating his current social circumstance. An important aspect would be analyzing why he feels misunderstood and what he has done so far to make himself understood. Thomas should then take responsibility for the current deterioration of relationships. The second part of the intervention involves reaching out to them the people he feels he should have in his social circle. Having a guided therapy session with a family member or friend would better paint the picture for Thomas of his role in feeling misunderstood and alone. The therapist can then help him through the goal of rebuilding his social circle.

Summary

The main aim of existential therapy is to help a client recognize the role they play in the creation of their current circumstances. While not focusing on the past, the therapist helps the client analyze their decisions and choices and apply them to the current situation. Existential therapy aids a patient in exercising free will and developing strategies at addressing presenting challenges. Helping Thomas accept responsibility for his life enables him to understand his limitations and recognize his capabilities, thus exercise control over the circumstances of his life. At the end of therapy, Thomas should have better emotional and mental health, better relationships, and an ability to focus on his role in the kind of life he desires to live.

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