Psychology case study

Carlos’s Situation and Background

Carlos was recommended to you by his boss. He is a forklift operator who recently had an on-the-job injury and tested positive for drugs and alcohol. Carlos denies having an alcohol issue despite having three DUIs on his record. He claims that he only drinks “socially” and that he only drinks till he pukes, at which point he stops. Carlos also says that he becomes very angry when he drinks. He has also been arrested for assault and domestic battery while intoxicated.

Humanist Theories of Personality

The study will look at the situation of Carlos, who has a drug issue after consuming alcohol and cocaine. The humanist theories of personality will go a long way in trying to explain why Carlos is suffering from a drinking problem. According to the humanist theory of personality, people do what they do or behave as they behave based on their own free will. In this case, we can view Carlos’ drinking habits and cocaine abuse from this perspective in the sense that Carlos is the one who chooses to abuse the drugs and if he wanted to, he had the ability to control his drinking habits as well as abusing cocaine. It is obvious that Carlos has a drug problem, individuals suffering from a drug and substance abuse usually get mixed up in the drugs as a way of dealing with anxiety and other painful feelings. These painful feelings include shame, guilt, depression, and loneliness.

Humanist Psychology and Subjective Experience

The humanist theory is based on humanist psychology which emphasizes subjective experiences as opposed to any forced experiences that also influence behavior (Schneider, Kirk, Pierson, and Bugental, 43). Drug use by Carlos can be viewed as a subjective experience since he chooses to abuse the drugs. According to human psychologists, individuals always seek self-actualization in every pursuit they undertake. However, when their pursuit for self-actualization fails some people may choose to pursue activities that will drown their sorrows in other activities. The activities that most of these people choose to undertake are usually those that alter their moods. Alcohol and cocaine use is known to alter the mood of an individual making them the drugs of choice for an individual such as Carlos who is having troubles at home and work.

Approach to Helping Carlos

As mentioned earlier, individuals who end up abusing drugs are those who have failed to realize self-actualization. It is for this reason that my approach towards helping Carlos quit his drinking problem and cocaine abuse problem would be centered towards ensuring that he reaches self-actualization. In psychology, a self-actualizing person is an individual who focuses on achieving the best that they can achieve. It is quite obvious that Carlos is the exact opposite of a self-actualizing person since he is not focused on achieving the best that he possibly can instead he is self-destructing as evidenced by the problems he has at home and also those he is also facing at work. The first thing I would do as I seek to rehabilitate Carlos is to help him realize by himself that he is not heading in the right direction. Because the individual must first realize that they have a problem if they fail to come to this realization no intervention taken will change the behavior the individual (Schneider, Kirk, Pierson, and Bugental, 83).

Steps Towards Positive Change

Once I have helped Carlos, realize that he has a problem, I can then proceed to the next step of ensuring that he begins taking positive steps to quit his negative habits. It is clear that he lacks a sense of awareness in the sense that he claims that he only drinks when he is in social situations implying that he is not a heavy drinker. However, he has been arrested several times for driving while under the influence of alcohol thus he is living in denial. It is for this reason that the first thing I would focus on is ensuring that he maintains a constant state of self-awareness. It is important in the sense that maintaining a constant sense of self-awareness ensures that a person who is leaving in denial begins to appreciate the awe and enjoyment of life (Carlson, Jon, and Slavik, 34). The second approach I would use is having him adopt a reality and problem-centered approach as opposed to always turning to be an aggressive individual. It is important to note that this will go a long way in ensuring that he can have a peaceful family life as well a successful work life. By getting his social life back in order, he is less likely to suffer from psychological illnesses such as depression, which reduce the enjoyment and awe of life.

Seeking Acceptance and Spontaneity

I would also help him seek acceptance and spontaneity. It is because most drug abusers are entangled in drugs because they have not accepted a past or a traumatic experience in their lives. Many people abuse drugs as a means of escaping from their reality. It is referred to as escapism by accepting that there are things that he cannot just change Carlos is bound to recover from the traumatic experience and lead a comfortable life. The main advantage associated with making use of this approach is that its aim is not trying to dictate to Carlos the way he is going to live his life (Carlson, Jon, and Slavik, 50). It is due to the fact since I am not dictating to him a set way of living the healing process is natural and he will continue to lead a normal life even after the therapy has stopped. Another advantage associated with making use of this approach is that it is easy to use and the patients tend to appreciate this form of treatment.

Challenges and Conclusion

In conclusion, the disadvantage associated with using this approach is that at times the patient may choose to be uncooperative. When the patient chooses to be uncooperative, they are likely to continue with their self-destructing habits as opposed to correcting the habit. Moreover, at times the patient may just choose to act that they are cooperating with the treatment. It is usually difficult to discover that the patient is just acting since you will observe progress and changes in their behavior. However, after the therapy is over the patient may just flip and go back to his negative habits. Other than treatment, the main challenge that a therapist would face is getting the patient to accept that they need the therapy in the first place. It is the most difficult challenge that they have to overcome (Carlson, Jon, and Slavik, 64).

Works Cited

Schneider, Kirk J., J. Fraser Pierson, and James FT Bugental, eds. The handbook of humanistic psychology: Theory, research, and practice. Sage Publications, 2014.

Carlson, Jon, and Steven Slavik. Techniques in Adlerian psychology. Taylor & Francis, 2013.