Tasks
In a new post, use the Reply button at the bottom of this page to respond to the following questions:
Read the case study: Sarah
Then respond to the 4 questions
Case Study: Sarah
Sarah is a 21-year old college student who is distressed by her inability to form relationships with others and feels that she is generally unsuccessful in school and in life. She experiences high levels of anxiety in social and academic situations, and has trouble sleeping because of her tendency to ruminate. Her stress levels become unbearable and she decides to reach out for help.
When she visits her colleges counseling center she is assigned to a therapist, Dr. Becker, who interviews Sarah extensively in the hopes of finding and resolving key issues in her life. The following is an excerpt from Dr. Beckers clinical notes on Sarahs condition.
Sarah describes never fully developing trust in others, and states that she struggled with trust from a very early age. She is very skeptical of other peoples intentions, which she says causes problems when she tries to make friends. She is very timid and reserved in social situations.
Sarah recently gave a class presentation in front of a large group of her peers. She was incredibly nervous and bit her nails excessively beforehand, even more than she usually does on a regular basis. Sarah describes feeling as though she lacked the capacity to give a good presentation, despite extensive preparation. She states that she felt that her level of interest in the behaviors, comments, thoughts, and performance of others was unhealthy.
She compares her performance to the performance of her peers, and states that they were so good that she lost confidence in herself. Despite her feelings, she says she was able to get through the presentation and received a good grade from her teacher. She earned a 94 percent but feels that this is because the teacher was too lenient in grading, and it was mere luck that she received an A.
Based on the interview, Dr. Becker concludes that Sarah suffers from low self-esteem, which translates into negative self-efficacy. Dr. Becker focuses her therapeutic efforts on improving these qualities.
Questions: ( label with the questions)
1. In your opinion, why do you think Sarah has low self-esteem? Explain.
2. If Sarah was placed in a classroom with high achievers that were extroverted and confident, how might Sarah’s own self-identity change? Do you
think that Sarah should be placed in a classroom with a diverse group of high and low achievers?
3. If you were Dr. Becker, what strategies would you recommend Sarah? Identify 2 strategies with website links or citations to validate your
responses.
a.
b.
