Most of you will have never worked in a therapy session with a client or clients. There is no way
to prepare you for that experience unless you begin to think as if you were in that situation.
Theories are important to know, but how you will implement the constructs of the theories is so
much more crucial. Using the two scenarios below, complete a treatment plan for each one.
When you are finished, you should have two completed treatment plans. There are no
exact answers because each treatment plan could be approached from dozens of directions.
Your outline should be consistent from top to bottom as you think about each scenario. For
example, if you state in the beginning of the treatment plan that the client(s)’ presenting issue is
depression, then, at the bottom of the outline you should not state that you will be seeing that
person once a month. For 99% of the population being treated for depression, once a month
would be of very little help. Make sure that you use the template below and fill in all the required
information.
Keep in mind that, even though there might be three or four blanks for you to provide
information, you might need less or more blanks to fill in the information that you think is
necessary.
Note: If specific information is not provided in the scenarios below, you can devise the
information if it stays consistent with the other facts. For example, in Scenario #1, you can
presume that the client has a Catholic background or a Protestant background; you can
presume ethnicity if you deem it relevant.
Scenario for Treatment Plan #1
A family comes to your practice for help. Here is the following information that is collected
during their intake.
Mom and Dad have been married for twenty years. They have a middle-class income. Mom
works twenty hours per week as a para legal. Dad is a college professor at the local four-year
institution. They have three children. The oldest is a 16-year-old girl. She is a straight A
student, and she is well liked at her school and the family’s church. She does not play any
sports. Her hobbies are reading, art, and theatre club at the school. She just received her
driver’s license about three months ago. It is rare that she is ever in trouble and in need of
Page 2 of 9
discipline for breaking family or school rules.
The second child is 12-year-old male. This young man seems to find trouble anywhere he goes
during the day. He struggles in school, but the teachers state he is fully capable of completing
the work; he just refuses to do the work. He is defiant at school and at home. He spends most
of his time defying authority figures who are left in charge of him each day. He can go for days
without getting in trouble and then he could go a week getting in trouble every day. Even when
he is presented with a “video” of his infraction, he will sit and deny it. He never claims that
anything is his fault. He has been known to get into fights at school and even with his older
sister. The older sister never fights back. She tries to get away from him rather than engage.
He will intentionally break a rule at home and blame it on his older sister or younger brother.
Spanking him only makes him madder and more out of control. Time-out ruins everyone’s night
because he sits in time-out and verbally says things to bother the rest of the household. The
only person he has never shown the behavior is his grandmother on his mother’s side.
The third child is a 10- year-old boy. The boy is identical to the older sibling. He makes good
grades, and he is well liked by others. He does show some of the “baby of the family” traits.
For example, when his older brother picks on him, he immediately cries and screams for his
mother.
I. Presenting Symptoms/Issues (i.e., Anxiety, Depression, etc.) (Spaces are provided for
three symptoms or issues, but you may have less or add more, if needed.)
A.
B.
C.
II. Information that Supports Item I. (How did you arrive at the above conclusions?
Again, you may have less or more information here.)
A.
B.
C.
D.
III. Treatment Theoretical Approach(es): List and describe one or two theories that
you, as the counselor, would use to work with the individual/family and give a rationale
for choosing those approaches. Please do not describe a “integrated” approach but,
rather, describe one or two specific theories. For each theory you list here, describe it
using at least 250 words. Cite at least two scholarly sources in this description (no
websites!). Include the two sources in a reference section at the end of your document
(after case #2)
