Question

Case 1. A first-year college student is talking to a counselor in the Center for Student Services. She has been talking about some of the difficulties of adjusting to college life. She comes from a small town and is attending a large state university. She speaks openly and seems to be in good spirits; she even smiles at times: “My new friends seem so much worldlier and confident than me. Most of them have traveled out of the country, have the latest greatest smartphones and computers, and act like college is no big deal. I mean, I am the first one in my family to go to college and sometimes I feel like I landed on the moon! This IS a big deal for me, plus I don’t want to let my family down. I think with a little help I can figure it out, but right now I just feel like the only one who doesn’t have it figured out yet – like I am playing catch-up.”

Key experience(s):

Key behavior(s):

Key feelings/emotions:

Empathic response (formula):

Case 2. A 66-year-old man is talking to a mental health counselor: “My wife died last year, and this year my youngest son went away to college. The other children are married. So now that I’m retired, I spend a lot of time rambling around a house that’s . . . . (pauses, looks out the window for a while) . . . really too big for me. . . . You know, when I was working, there was a certain fullness to life. I always knew what to do. I, well . . . I made a difference. Now that I’ve got a comfortable retirement, I . . . .”

Key experience(s):

Key behavior(s):

Key feelings/emotions:

Empathic response (formula):

Answer 1

Case 1:

Key experience - Being shamed by the peer group in the college and tries to escalate.

Key behavior - Try to stand up his own among the college students and to get rid of the shame.

Key feelings/ emotions - Confused and worried

Empathic response (formula): You are confused and worried because of the shame among the college students and came out of this now due to a strong relationship with your family.

Case 2:

Key experience - Feeling of loneliness due to the loss of a companion and retirement.

Key behavior - Try to become passive and to live alone in the rest of his retirement life.

Key experience - hopelessness, loneliness, depressed.

Empathic response - You are depressed and lonely due to loss of your partner and you came out from the thought and learned to enjoy the retirement life.