Case+7,+Question+2

__Identify Relevant Variables__: Who are the people? What are the treatment goals, client background/history/dynamics, and multicultural considerations?

(sd) The people:

Carol Green, LCPC A former client A current client Carol's pastor Carol's fellow church members (congregation as a whole) Members of the church council Community at-large (small town)

(sd) The treatment goals:

Carol "provides individual, couple and group counseling, focusing on relationship issues and spiritual growth."

(sd) Client background/history/dynamics:

A current client is a church member and serves on the church council with the counselor. This client "cannot prevent herself from initiating therapy-type conversations whenever there is a break in the meeting agenda." While the "client has acknowledged her willingness to respect ... boundaries," she "continues to provide Carol with 'just a brief update' on some aspect of her life when they see each other at council meetings or at church." The client is repeating a behavior that the counselor has asked her to stop.

Transference ... client seeing a relationship that isn't necessarily there ...

(sd) Multicultural considerations:

The context of this case is a small town in which Carol serves as a counselor and actively participates in a church. Many of her clients "are referred by her pastor and fellow church members. [And] it is not uncommon for a client to make reference, by name, to current or former clients." As stated by Campbell and Gordon (2003), multiple relationships can be an unavoidable reality "in rural practice ... because of the limited number of rural practitioners, access difficulties, characteristics of rural communities, and characteristics of psychologists who practice in these communities" (Corey, Corey & Callanan, 284). Likewise, Barnett (1999a) "points out that mental health professionals who are engaged in a rural practice or who work in a closed system (such as ... religious communities) often have to become an integral part of the community to be accepted as a credible mental health resource" (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 285).