Assignment:

VIGNETTE: CASE OF KIAN

Kian is a single, 26-year-old cisgender and Middle Eastern male who comes from a middle- class family. Kian was referred to counseling by his mother, who expressed concern about his depressive symptoms and immobilization around his career development, which she believes is
due to his ADHD.

Kian is currently living at home and is financially dependent on his parents. He graduated from college with a Liberal Arts degree, and his first job after graduating was as a personal assistant within a law firm. He received this job through a family connection. He recently quit his job after two years, due to a string of poor performance reviews that highlighted his lack of initiative and missing several time-sensitive deadlines. When asked about this job, Kian indicates that he felt "misunderstood and unappreciated" and found himself "bored with the monotony." Furthermore, the only aspect of the job that he found interesting was writing communication pieces for one of his supervisors, which was infrequent.

Outside of work, Kian spends his time reading graphic novels and drawing. He loves watching films, particularly science fiction and/or fantasy genres, which often inspire his artwork. Ideally, he would like to create the illustrations for graphic novels, but feels like he doesn`t have the necessary qualifications or networks to land a job, "even though I`m actually a pretty creative person." When discussing his aspirations with his parents or older brother, who is an accountant at a prestigious firm, he is told to "grow up" or that his drawings "won`t pay the bills." These family interactions leave him feeling like an outsider and that he is consistently not meeting his parents` expectations. Although Kian`s mother has a lucrative real estate business and hisfather is an accomplished architect, as a child, he recalls them complaining about finances andworking long hours. Kian described himself as "non-confrontational," so to protect himself fromthe household tension, he often isolates and absorbs himself in his interests as an escape.

When asked what he hopes to gain from counseling, Kian indicated he wants to "feel excited about getting up in the morning and going to work," to feel "more focused, not so distracted all the time," and to do something that "makes my parents proud, so they`ll get off my back." Kian also stated, "I just feel behind in life."

Intake Reflection Questions:

In addition to highlighting the relevant facts presented, also consider what additional information would be helpful to know.

1) What is the presenting concern of the client?

a) Expressed hopes/expectations/goals?

b) Additional underlying concerns?

2) What are key contextual factors related to the client`s demographic background (e.g., age, gender identity, cultural background, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual/affection orientation, dis/ability status, religion, marital/family status)?

3) What is the client`s occupational history (e.g., job title, length of time at job, industry, etc.)?

a) Noted accomplishments/strengths?

b) Expressed concerns?

Case Conceptualization Questions:

You only need to discuss the questions assigned to your respective group.

1). a. Considering Kian`s identities, what steps would you take to become a culturally- responsive counselor? In what ways might Kian`s identities influence his career development process?

2) a. Drawing upon Super`s Life Span developmental perspective, how would you assess Kian`s self-concept?

b. How would you assess Kian`s career maturity, or readiness, to make a career decision?

c. In what life stage is Kian? What life roles are particularly salient for Kian at this stage? What internal and external tension might he be experiencing in regards to his life stage and life roles?

d. What other human development theories might you integrate in conceptualizing this case?

Treatment Planning Questions:

3) Based on your group`s analysis, what are short-term and long-term treatment goals for the client?

4) What are 2-3 initial action steps?