Scenario
You are a recently hired mental health professional working at a community-based mental health agency. As a new employee, you are given a new case, and your supervisor has asked you to present an initial conceptualization of the case using one of the counseling theories you have learned in school. As part of the presentation, your supervisor has asked you to include a treatment plan that includes ways to help the client as well as a consideration of any ethical issues that could arise when working with the client.
Supporting Material
The following resource supports your work on the project:
Resource: Project Two Case Vignette (uploaded below)
This case vignette contains simulated client information that you will use to complete your work.
Directions
For this project, you will create a therapy plan using the case vignette linked in the Supporting Materials section. You began this work in Milestone One by selecting a counseling theory that appeals to you and examining the case vignette to determine the presenting issue. You also created a draft of the treatment goals and an action plan. You must incorporate any feedback you received on Milestone One before including that material in this project.
Now, you will document your reflections on any ethical issues that might be analyzed from the case vignette and any possible barriers to care. You will also reflect on and document any personal biases that might be relevant to the goals and action plan and how they might be resolved.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Counseling Theory: Describe the counseling theory that will be used to evaluate the client. Consider the following:
Why did you choose this theory?
What is particularly appealing about this approach?
Presenting Issues: Determine the presenting issues for the client in the case vignette. Consider the following:
What are the client’s self-identified areas of concern?
What areas might be impacting the client’s daily life?
Treatment Goals: Describe the treatment goals for the client based on the presenting issue.
Action Plan: Create an action plan for treating the client. Consider the following:
What sort of interventions would be planned?
What are you trying to accomplish with the interventions?
What is the rationale behind selecting your chosen interventions?
APA Ethics Code: Identify the sections of the APA ethics code that are relevant to the case vignette. Consider the following:
How are the selected sections relevant to this case vignette?
Are there sections that do not apply?
Personal Barriers: Evaluate the case vignette for the client’s personal barriers to care. Consider the following:
What factors in their personal life could present challenges?
Environmental Barriers: Evaluate the case vignette for environmental barriers to care. Consider the following:
What challenges might the client have in accessing care?
Psychoeducation: Discuss potential opportunities to provide psychoeducation to the client on the presenting issue. Consider the following:
How might education assist with challenges the client faces?
Personal Bias: Document any of your personal biases and understanding of self to be mindful of when working with the case vignette. Consider the following:
What preexisting biases might you have on the presenting issue?
What biases may be present based on how the client perceives the presenting issue?
Which of your personal perceptions might impact how you handle a case?
Bias Reconciliation: Reflect on methods to reconcile any of your own personal issues that might present a challenge when working with clients.
What to Submit
To complete this project, you must submit the following:
Therapy Plan
Your therapy plan should be a 4-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Any sources should be cited according to APA style.
This project asks you to conceptualize a counseling case using a theory you’ve studied, build a treatment plan, and address the ethical issues that could arise — all based on a provided case vignette. Work from the vignette outward, and let your chosen theory shape everything.
Key takeaways
- Pick one counseling theory and apply it consistently (CBT, person-centered, solution-focused, etc.).
- Case conceptualization = presenting problem, relevant history, and how your theory explains it.
- Treatment plan = measurable goals + specific interventions tied to the theory.
- Name real ethical issues: confidentiality, informed consent, competence, and boundaries.
- Ground everything in the vignette and cite your theory and ethics code (e.g., ACA).
Start from the vignette
Pull out the presenting issue, relevant background, strengths, and risk factors from the case. Everything downstream should refer back to these facts.
Conceptualize through your theory
Choose a theory that fits the case and explain the client’s difficulties through its lens — e.g., CBT frames the problem as unhelpful thoughts and behaviors; person-centered focuses on incongruence and conditions of worth. Consistency here is what makes the work coherent.
Build the treatment plan
Write goals that are specific and measurable, then list interventions drawn from the theory (cognitive restructuring and behavioral activation for CBT; reflective listening and unconditional positive regard for person-centered). Include how you’d measure progress.
Address ethics
Discuss issues likely to arise with this client: confidentiality and its limits, informed consent, scope of competence and when to refer, dual relationships/boundaries, and cultural considerations. Reference your professional ethics code.
Structure
Presenting problem → conceptualization → goals → interventions → ethical considerations → summary. Keep client details professional and cite your sources.