Therapy Session Sample Essay.
Week 4 script
Therapist: Well hello everyone my name is Tommy; I am a licensed marriage and family therapist. I want to welcome you all to today’s session. I understand we completed the initial paperwork for therapy, but I wanted to review the guidelines concerning confidentiality. In essence, what it shared in our sessions, must stay in here and not leave the room okay?
Dad: okay.
Son: cool
Therapist: In addition to that, I will break confidentiality if child abuse is discussed or if you want to hurt yourself or others. Understand?
Son: I understand
Dad: Understood.
Therapist: So, what brings you all today for therapy, what can we work on today?
Dad: It is too much to start with, it is a lot to handle.
Therapist: What about you Raj, what brings you and your dad to therapy today?
Son: I don’t know, my dad has been acting different.
Therapist: How old are you Raj?
Son: I am 8 years of age.
Therapist: Dad, earlier you mentioned that it is too much to start with and it is a lot to handle right? What do you mean by that? Let us take it slow. I am here to help.
Dad: Well, umm. How do I begin this? Well for the past 6 months, I feel like a giant octopus. I feel like I am everywhere. I am everywhere with my son, wife, and work. It is a lot.
Therapist: Okay, I hear you dad. It sounds like you are going through a lot, as you stated. Am I right?
Dad: Yes, you are right. I am going thru a lot.
Therapist: That is understandable, you came to the right place. Hopefully, we can unravel any tangled cords okay.
Dad: okay, sounds good.
Therapist: How you are Raj? How have you been feeling?
Son: I am alright, my daddy has been acting different. He seems like a juggling clown.
Therapist: Dad, when Raj says you been like a juggling clown, what do you think that means? Let’s peel back some layers.
Dad: Maybe it means that my son sees his dad as being everything. My son sees his dad working hard to provide, helping my kids with their homework, and being a good husband. I am very involved with my family. Me and Raj are very close, we are attached.
Therapist: Dad, it sounds like you and your family have a pretty good relationship with each other.
Dad: Yes, we do. Family is everything in our household, but I feel like I am running on empty on times, because I am everywhere and at times, I feel like I can’t take a deep breath. I love my son Raj, and I hate to say this in front of him, but I need to take a breather sometimes.
Therapist: Breather?
Dad: Yes a breather, I feel like I am overwhelmed with work, being a dad, husband, and provider. Feeling overwhelmed has created a lot of anxiety for me.
Therapist: You mentioned feeling overwhelmed which creates anxiety, talk about what does anxiety look like for?
Dad: It means being everywhere. Lately, I have been sleeping in the same room as my son Raj, because if I don’t, he will freak out. He’ll cry. My wife wants me to spend more time with her. My boss has made us work mandatory overtime to meet our goal. Does this make sense? Can you see that I am everywhere?
Son: yeah, my dad is like a juggling clown, I want him to sleep in my room. My dad has been a clown for a while now. I think I am a clown too.
Therapist: Raj, how are you in school? I am a good student. I earn my golden stars for the day, my dad goes to school with me.
Dad: Raj is trying is trying to say that I have to sit in his classroom for about 2 hours each day, if I don’t go to school with him, he’ll get upset and ruin the teacher’s day. I go to school with him because he likes when I go.
Therapist: Dad, could you describe the attachment your son has towards you.
Dad: Sure, my son is very attached to me. He wants me to be around him everywhere I go. I already go to school with him. Sometimes, Raj wants to go to work with me. In some cases, Raj will wait for me at the door as I am coming in.
Therapist: How is that experience for you? To be honest, I love my son, but I feel it adds to my anxiety. I feel like I can’t breathe.
Son: Dad, I love you too. I love you a lot. You are the coolest ever, I want to be with you all the time. It is fun being with you. My dad and I are like peanut butter and jelly, Kool-Aid and sugar.
Therapist: dad, how long has Raj been attached to you?
Dad: it’s been like this for the past year. It is like, wherever I go, he wants me to go or wherever he goes, he wants me to go with him.
Therapist: Let me ask you this, the strong attachment Raj has towards you, do you find it to be healthy or unhealthy? Describe it to me.
Dad: Well, like I said, I love my son, but the attachment he has towards me is very unhealthy. I don’t know anybody else who is in a similar situation. My son, is too attached to his dad.
Son: Well, I think it’s healthy. I think it’s cool, because we get to play Xbox Live, dad comes to school with me, and I get to go to work with him, and also, dad sleeps in my room with me.
Therapist: Well Raj and dad, I want to thank you for sharing all this with me, I would like to say that you came to the right place. I think we can do good work here. If you two are okay with it, I like to start with a few things and begin a few interventions. Sound good?
Dad: yes, that is fine.
Son: What are interventions?
Therapist: interventions are tools to help us work on a few things.
Son: okay, sounds good if I am with my dad, it is fine with me.
Therapist: Let us begin with a few things. What we are going to do is called play therapy. This approach will let Raj express himself in a way that he cannot do with his words. Raj and dad, come over here and look at all these toys I have here setup for you.
Son: Wow look at all these cool toys. Can I play with anything I want?
Therapist: Yes
Dad: Do not make a mess son and do not break anything.
Son: Looking down (ok dad).
Son: I guess I can play with the Legos, you cannot break Legos, right dad?
Dad: That is true but you can still make a mess like you do at home and I am the one who steps on them in the middle of the night and has to clean them up.
Therapist: That sounds like it can be frustrating dad have you asked Raj if he could ever clean up his mess when he is done playing?
Dad: No, but I should not have to he should just know what to do.
Therapist: Raj when you are done playing with the Legos you put them back in the Lego box.
Raj: Ok I will do that.
Narrator: Raj played with the Legos for a while being very careful not to let any of the Legos move to far from where he was playing. Raj’s father kept looking over Raj’s shoulders and could be heard making grunts the whole time Raj was playing too excitedly. Raj would notice his father and adjust the way he was playing.
Therapist: Raj I noticed that you are trying very hard not to make a mess.
Raj: That is right making messes is bad and only bad people make messes. If I make a mess, then daddy will get mad and I will be a bad person. So, I try not to make a mess anywhere.
Narrator: Raj continued to play, and the therapist joined Raj. The therapist and Raj played together for a while building various things. The session was almost over.
Therapist: Ok now that we are done playing it is time to clean up our mess. Will you help me clean up Raj?
Raj: Ok let us clean up our mess.