The Case of Alaina—A Woman at a Crossroads

The Case of Alaina—A Woman at a Crossroads
Alaina is a 40-year-old, white, Greek (mother), Irish-American (father), who is a former schoolteacher and left teaching high school English two years ago after being burned out by teaching "high schoolers with raging hormones." For the past two years, she has been working as a consultant for a company that writes program and curriculum for training managers and salespersons for utility companies. She works in a small cubicle and hates the deadlines and pressures to get out the product. She holds a B.A. in English (summa cum laude) with a minor in Journalism, and an M.S. (with distinction) in Education. She has been a member of several honor societies as an undergraduate and graduate student. She is married and is a mother of a son, Michael, age 11, and a daughter, Libby, age 7. The daughter has a mild mathematics learning disorder. Alaina’s husband, Bill, a white German-American, age 42, works as a physical therapist in a local hospital, affiliated with the University of Rochester. Bill has worked at the university for 10 years and is entitled to free part-time tuition benefits for himself and his wife. Alaina is the middle child of David, 69, and Melina, 67, with a brother Ray, age 43, and a sister, Donna, age 36. His father, David was an insurance representative for Liberty Mutual, and his mother, an elementary school teacher for two years, a homemaker, then a substitute teacher for several years and in her final year of full-time employment, an administrative assistant to the vice principal of an elementary school. Alaina’s brother Ray is an electrical engineer for Xerox Corporation and Donna is a school counselor for a suburban middle school. Ray is married with three children and Donna is divorced with no children.
Alaina indicated she had been thinking about getting professional help from a vocational counselor for over a year but felt the time was now right to make a change. When asked what options she considered, she said working as an editorial assistant for a publisher, technical writing, or a recreation planner for adults. Alaina is athletic and works out regularly. She played two varsity-level sports in high school, basketball, and tennis. She also coached the high school tennis team for several years while teaching to earn extra money. One of her fantasies was to be a sports writer covering professional tennis events, like the U.S. Open or the Women’s National Basketball Association. Alaina is also involved in her local Catholic church (she was raised as a Roman Catholic and her father converted from the Greek Orthodox faith when he married her mother.) Alaina describes herself as a dedicated, compassionate, and ambitious professional women, but she is also concerned about raising her children and not "shipping them out to day care providers all the time."

Alaina’s situation is complicated by the fact that she suffers from a form of mild, low-grade depression, described by the DSM-IV as dysthymia. She has been in counseling twice over the past eight years, once six years ago to help cope with the suicide of a cousin with whom she was very close. She and her husband were also in couples counseling three years ago for 15 sessions, with his alcoholism and her anger management problems being the primary issues. She indicated this was helpful to her marriage, and that her husband supports her efforts to find a new career. She is currently taking 20 mg of fluoxetine (generic Prozac) and this generally keeps her moods stable, although she complains that she doesn’t get too excited or as "jazzed" when good things happen to her. In the past two weeks, she indicated she has been more anxious of late, waking up early and feeling a mild dread upon waking. She will be seeing her family doctor, Betty, (internist) in two weeks for help for her poor sleeping behavior.
Alaina has considered going back to school, and one of her friends, Judi, suggested she consider a career as a school psychologist. Alaina thinks going back to a school setting would be tough and he would not look forward to the bureaucracy inherent to education. Besides, she said, "I believe that what school psychologists mostly do is test kids and put them into special education classes." Alaina’s hobbies include cooking, gardening, playing poker, and working out. She has also considered work as a dietician because she pays very close attention to her diet and that of her husband and children.

What prompted the client to seek career counseling now? What are the presenting circumstances and problems? Are these problems new or do they represent a pattern of some kind?

What are the key problems and needs which the client should address? If more than one exists, rank them from the most serious to the least serious and explain the rankings.

What mental health issues exist and may impact the client’s vocational situation?

what job search resources will you use with the client?

What follow up activity will you do to monitor the client’s progress and achievement of stated goals? Be specific.

 
ORDER THIS ESSAY HERE NOW AND GET A DISCOUNT !!!

You can place an order similar to this with us. You are assured of an authentic custom paper delivered within the given deadline besides our 24/7 customer support all through.