PSY 612 Theoretical Orientation Paper

Assignment

You are going on your first job interview as a newly licensed therapist. During the interview you are asked to describe and explain your theoretical orientation. You are then asked to illustrate your application of theory to a clinical case. In this paper, please integrate and discuss two theoretical orientations as they apply to the case conceptualization and treatment of Gwen or Stan. This is your personal opportunity to demonstrate your theoretical acuity and orientation, demonstrate the appropriateness of fit of the given theories to the case you’ve selected, and support your positions with both biographical vignette data and scholarly, peer-reviewed research.

Requirements

1.You will be expected to provide at least five scholarly articles (outside of the textbook) to support your discussion. You should have at least one outside source for each of the therapy approaches that you are using. The source does not have to be written by the original theorist (e.g., Carl Rogers); it can be written about the therapy (e.g., Person-Centered Therapy). The source may also provide information about the specific problem or issue described in the case study. You should rely primarily on journal articles and professional books for your resources.

2.The paper should be approximately 10 pages in length and submitted in a Word document. More specific guidelines and a grading rubric for the assignment will be provided in Week 6.

3.You cannot use two theories from the same general perspective (e.g., two cognitive theorists or two existential theorists). Consider discussing each theoretical position’s views of personality development, views of psychopathology, defense mechanisms, and communication style.

4.Include ethical or multicultural counseling issues, and how you would respond to this type of client (e.g. transference). Be sure to include your cultural conceptualization of the person across the many aspects of identity (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, age, generation, SES, etc.)

5.A formal diagnosis is not necessary for this discussion, just use the information you know about Gwen/Stan. I encourage you to be creative, which may include a short script to illustrate any of your points.

6.Papers should include an APA-style (pay attention to APA style in-text citations and reference page), including title page, and be double-spaced and 12-point Times New Roman. Please use spell and grammar check as points may be deducted for errors of this nature. DO NOT overly rely on large block quotes; paraphrase and cite your source instead.

7.Specific instructions about the assignment will be provided during Week 6 and the exam will be due by 24 hours prior to the Week 11 live session.