Running head: PRACTICUM REPORT

Practicum Part 1: Report Keri Sammons COUN603-D01 Liberty University April 14, 2013

PRACTICUM REPORT Practicum Part 1 Report Summary of Session I Clients Names: George and Wanda Baker Date: April 9, 2013 Time: 6:00 p.m. Location: Session held in office of Emmanuel Baptist Church

I met with George and Wanda on April 2, 2013, for an initial meeting. I explained to George and Wanda that I am currently a graduate student at Liberty University and am not a licensed counselor. I also explained to them that our counseling sessions are practice sessions only and for the purpose of practice for my Pre-Marital/Marital Counseling class. I went over the informed consent information with them and made them aware of the counseling services that they will receive. I informed them that I would need to record a portion of a session for my class at Liberty University. I explained the limits of confidentiality and the final report that report that I am to write for my class. George and Wanda agreed to proceed and signed the informed consent. Background George and Wanda have been married 6 years. Wanda has 2 children ages 18 and 16 and George has 2 children ages 12 and 8. George was married twice before and has 1 child with each previous wife. Georges previous marriages were ended due to infidelity by his wives. Wanda married her high school sweetheart, but divorced after 12 years of marriage. Wandas children live with them full-time, with occasional visits to their father who lives in Wisconsin. Georges children visit on weekends, during holidays and summer. George is a doctor and works in the

PRACTICUM REPORT Emergency Room Trauma Center of a hospital. Wanda is a stay-at-home mom right now. She

has a degree in Education, but quit teaching when she and George got married. Wanda has since then certified as a massage therapist and had her own business for 2 years. She is a substitute teacher now with hopes of full-time teaching someday. Narrative Summary: George and Wanda appeared very tense at our first meeting. I began the session by asking George and Wanda to tell me their stories and why they felt counseling was a good option for them. George and Wanda each have trust issues. George feels that his communication with his ex-wives is a problem for Wanda that causes arguments. I asked George why he felt it was a problem. George was very apprehensive to answer this question. He feels that Wanda does not trust him. Wanda feels the appearance of the relationship is questionable. The ex-wives are flirtatious, using inappropriate language, and dress in a provocative way when George has to interact with them. Wandas comfort level decreases tremendously when there is an interaction with the ex-wives. I asked Wanda how she felt when Georges children come to visit. Wanda feels comfortable around Georges daughter and enjoys when she visits, but is very uncomfortable with Georges son. I asked Wanda what made her uncomfortable. George just found out 6 months ago that he has a son. When George and his second wife divorced, she found out she was pregnant and told George that the child was not his. A year ago she filed a suit against George for child support. Paternity was determined and George is the father. The boy is 8 years old. Wanda is not sure how to deal with bringing the boy into their family. She is angry that she has to deal with it. She does not want to hurt her own children. George is very apprehensive about his relationship with his son. I asked him what he was apprehensive about. He is unsure of how to develop the relationship. He is also very upset at the effect this situation

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is having on his marriage. He does not want any more issues to argue about. I asked what things triggered arguments for them. Wanda feels that she cannot be free to say what she feels to George. She said she doesnt trust him with her words. I asked her if she could explain why she doesnt trust George with her words. Wanda feels that George turns her words around to make her feel stupid. She also is afraid that he will share the things she says without her permission. In the past they have had arguments and George has called her family and shared some of the things she says. Wanda feels like George is trying to turn her family against her. I asked George if he thought Wandas feelings were accurate. George does not want to make Wanda feel like hes turning her family against her. He also stated that he doesnt share things with her family all of the time. This was an isolated time. George feels as though Wanda doesnt handle discussing things with him very well. He feels like Wanda gets carried away with her feelings. Wanda shared that she feels like George treats her like a child sometimes. I asked her why she felt this way. Wanda feels that George doesnt trust her with money. They do not have a joint bank account. She has one and he has one. Wanda feels like George is hiding their finances from her. I asked George if Wanda had reason to feel the way she does. George feels that Wanda is careless with money. George feels that taking care of the bills and finances is his responsibility. At this point I went back and restated the issues that we had talked about so far. Wanda feels insecure about Georges ex-wives intentions. Wanda is apprehensive and not sure how to deal with Georges son and this new situation. George is also apprehensive about his relationship with his son because he does not want to hurt his marital relationship with Wanda. Wanda feels that she cannot talk to George, she feels that she cannot trust him. She also feels betrayed by him t They are both insecure about their relationships.

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The assignments you gave the couple (including the PAIR2 test). Avoid giving the couple too much additional homework and emphasize the important and beneficial nature of the PAIR2 test (discuss how you presented it here). Note: The PAIR2 test should be the primary homework assignment. Your thoughts and reactions, as a counselor, following the session Assignment When assigning the PAIR assessment, the couple will be asked to discuss a good time for both parties to sit down and complete the entire assessment together. They will be told that this is a paper/pencil assessment and at the beginning of the assessment manual there are instructions for completing the test. Further instructions will include that this is a 200 statement, online true or false assessment and they simply fill in the T for true or the F for false for each statement. This assessment identifies personality traits, behaviors, preferences and interests of each of you and helps identify traits, similarities and differences in your relationship. The information from this assessment can help identify areas in your relationship that need strengthening and allow us to set goals to increase the satisfaction of your marriage.

The assignments you gave the couple (including the PAIR2 test). Avoid giving the couple too much additional homework and emphasize the important and beneficial nature of the PAIR2 test (discuss how you presented it here). Note: The PAIR2 test should be the primary homework assignment. Your thoughts and reactions, as a counselor, following the session