Reference no: EM133384936

Joanna is a 47-year-old school district administrator who was ordered by a court to treatment after she forged a prescription for Klonopin®, an anti-anxiety medication, and was arrested. Because she had no prior history with the criminal justice system and wanted the drugs for her own use, Joanna was referred to a drug court, which mandated treatment.

Joanna recently separated from her husband, who, according to Joanna, left the family because he was tired of being a grown-up and having grown-up responsibilities. While he does occasionally see their two adolescent children, he does not contribute financially to their welfare, and Joanna is reluctant, given her current circumstances, to take him to family court to get a legal separation agreement and child support order. Joanna was struggling to pay the family's expenses and keep up with her responsibilities at home and work, so her family physician prescribed Klonopin® to help with her anxiety and Ambien® to help her sleep. In a matter of weeks, Joanna increased her dose of Klonopin® and ran out before she could legally get a refill. She was able to convince her physician to increase her prescribed dose up to a point, but soon began doctor shopping to get more and more anti-anxiety meds. Finally, she forged a prescription, which led to her arrest.

When she comes to you for her court-ordered treatment, she tells you that she believes she is not at fault for her current struggle, because "I got through 47 years without any of these problems and that tells me I'm not the problem." She asks how she can just complete the required treatment so that she can move on.

1. How do you reconcile the client-centered therapy belief in the sovereignty of the person with the idea of court-ordered treatment?

2. Client-centered therapy asserts that the individual is the architect of her therapy. Using the propositions of client-centered therapy, how might you help Joanna become the architect of her therapy?

3. Using the idea of principled nondirectiveness, how would you respond to Joanna's questions?