Using the Case Study

The information that is provided about Mr. X is somewhat limited. There is however, some extremely valuable information that tells us a lot about the character of Mr. X which requires consideration and investigation in order to attempt to identify and explain his issues in great depths and devise a course of treatment for recovery.

Firstly, as with any client, an initial consultation is a key event in the role of therapy. This would give me the chance to get to know him and therefore determine what is the best and most suitable path for therapy, and also reliably inform him of the intentions.

During the course of the initial consultation, I would take a notation which would include the basic information about Mr. X (full name, date of birth, address, contact phone numbers etc) and some more complex information such as his relationship status and what he hopes to achieve from therapy. If at the end of the initial consultation I felt I was not the best therapist for either medical or ethical reasons, I would of course transfer him to a practitioner that would better suit his needs. It would also be the time I would begin to build a successful client-therapist relationship which could naturally lead to transference, once he felt safe and secure knowing everything would be completely confidential. Pacing at his level is necessary too, as I do not want to rush him, nor hold him back. His rate of recovery must be at a comfortable pace for him. Once he has learned that his pace is the correct pace, I can then, as his therapist begin to lead him onto a path which leads to constructive change in his life. Whilst doing this I need to show him that I am willing to enter his world and that I am a similar to person to him, even if the only similarities are subtle such as body language or speech patterns, to make him feel completely happy and comfortable.

After this was done, I would look at the reasons why Mr. X is in therapy. It is clear he has some deep underlying issues that require understanding and resolving. He feels unable to apply for a promotion but cannot understand why. He doesn't feel good enough or worthy enough to propose to his girlfriend, and he has a difficult relationship with a criticizing Mother from whom he craves respect. He has a struggling social life and lacks the confidence to suggest social events with his colleagues for the fear of being rejected. His self perception and self esteem are bad; he sees himself as a dull, boring and useless man with nothing to offer. He fears rejection from everybody in his life and is desperate to be liked and respected. He seems to have the inability to act upon any positive thoughts, ideas or feelings he may have and instead focuses on the negatives.

However, it is also important to remember that his conscious mind knows that deep down he can do the job he wants to apply for ('he knows deep down he can do the job') he would love the job, and he actually wants positive changes and progression in

his life. It shows conflict between his conscious and subconscious mind. On one hand, he wants these things, but on the other, he is scared of rejection and failure and therefore doesn't apply himself. This is a positive start - the mental framework can be built upon and introduced into his subconscious mind.

To look at the issues in greater depth, it is clear from what we know about his Mother that is it normal for her to pick on him. She gives him no respect which he wants desperately and he does not know how to be assertive with her. He wants to impress her and for her to be proud of him. Due to his complete underlying lack of self esteem, it is obvious that she has been the 'global labeller' in his life, criticizing everything he has done and permanently verbally attacking him; and her one dimensional generalizations have been passed on to Mr. X. Her critical voice has now become his inner critical voice, which has produced an internal fear to try anything new. Any positive things that happen to him he is likely to have passed off as "anyone could have done it" or "it was just very lucky" because positives are ignored by his CCF. His feelings, self-depreciation and fear of failure are a product of her negative programming.

Deep down Mr. X is probably also afraid of success. Each step he climbs up the ladder, will only make falling back down to the bottom a longer and harder fall, which he assumes he is bound to do. He probably feels like it is easier to do nothing.

This lack of underlying self esteem has a fundamental influence on every aspect of his life; socially, romantically, and in the workplace. Because he has no self confidence and no self esteem, he also has no motivation. It is a vicious circle that leaves Mr. X feeling unenthusiastic and self-defeating.

Once Mr. X feels completely understood and comfortable with the intended path of progress, first and foremost the goal is to improve his self esteem permanently. In order to do this successfully, we need to re-programme his subconscious mind. Part of doing so will be to include Hypnosis; although other therapy such as counselling or psychotherapy will probably be necessary in order to completely heal Mr. X. (If it became clear there was an underlying issue that needed remembering and addressing in detail and I was unable to competently do so, or if he needed to look a some of the deeper routed problems and I was unable to do so, the only ethical thing to do would be to refer him on to somebody more able and qualified to do this) and lead his mind into a more constructive train of thought. The first step in doing this is to rid him of past negative programming. He needs to see himself in a more positive light and banish the critical voice in his subconscious. A good way of helping him to achieve this is by his hypnotherapy induction, which suggests an image to him whereby the negative labels he has previously been given by his mother, or other people in his life, are erased.

We then need to work on improving his self-projection and self-perception. Again, suggestions of the positive nature are included in his screed. It is also a good time to get Mr. X to begin to use positive affirmations, which are effectively positive mantras. Instead of thinking to himself "I'm a failure, I can't apply for the job. My colleagues don't like me and I have nothing to offer" he needs to be saying to himself "I am a

good person