Application And Critique of Theory Based Approach/ Intervention with Client
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, 2
I. Client information
The client in this case study is named Ellie which is not her real name. Ellie is an
individual who believes in helping other people and working towards achieving a greater
good in the society. Ellie is an African American woman who was raised by a white
family that adopted her when she was a little girl. Currently, Ellie is a 29yearold lady who
has a career in nursing. She works as Emergency Response Nurse (ER Nurse).
Additionally, Ellie is a heterosexual woman who is also married and lives with her
husband and two daughters. According to what she said, she never met her biological
parents who are now deceased. The fact that she was raised in a white family makes her
feel like she never truly fit in their cultural system while at the same time, she never
associated with the African American culture. In other words, she feels culturally lost.
There are several problems associated with Ellie such as the struggle with her
identity. As an African American woman, she experiences unresolved identity issues as
she was raised by a White family. In this case, there are unresolved feelings she
experiences due to the fact that she was adopted. She feels she never had closure
regarding her adoption and the fact that she never met her biological parents. In addition,
Ellie struggles with perfectionism and she uses her work as some sort of coping
mechanism in compensation for her identity crisis and also as a way of giving herself
some validation. These factors contribute to emotional exhaustion and distress which
comes in the form of anxiety and panic attacks while striving to balance her personal life
and career. Recently, the panic attacks became more frequent and she realized that
overachievement at work was contributing to emotional exhaustion contributing that is