Question 3.8

a). Imagine that you are a counsellor and have found the following articles when researching about learning theories. You are going to add these to your extensive collection of professional articles and want to make sure you know where to find them. Describe how you would organise them so that you are easily able to find information about a particular issue or topic in the future. For example, what storage/organisation system would you use and how would you categorise them? (100 wds)

• The Modern Life Span Perspective.
• Alcoholism Causes and Risk Factors: A developmental perspective.
• Eriksonian Personality Research and Implications.
• Practical Applications of Maslow's theory.
• Applying Piaget's Theory in Counselling.

Now imagine that you are working with a client, James, who is in his mid-forties. He is a successful and well-known actor and has won many awards in his career, as well as getting the recognition of his peers. He says that he never dreamt as a child that he would have so much success. James came from a poor family. As one of the younger of six children, he always wore hand-me-down clothes. As a small child, his parents were so busy trying to make ends meet that they had little time for the children. He was a sensitive child and struggled at school with what he now recognises was a learning disability. Because his five siblings were clever and did well at school, his parents thought that he was just being lazy. His father beat him at times for "wagging" school, telling James he would never amount to anything unless he studied and tried to better himself.

At school, James was a target of bullies and more than one teacher had told him he was stupid. He grew up with a strong sense of inferiority and hopelessness. In his twenties James was unable to settle on any kind of career and drifted for a number of years. By chance he went to an acting class and realised that this was something that he really enjoyed and, despite a belief that the odds were against him, he decided to try to become a professional actor. Despite his success, James says that he still feels like a fraud and that one day others will realise that he cannot act at all. He has come to see you for help to feel better about himself.

b) Will Bowlby's attachment theory be useful for helping James to understand the challenges he is facing? Justify your reasoning. Note: This question is designed to assess your ability to evaluate how 'applicable' a theory is in specific counselling context. You must demonstrate that you have considered the strengths and limitations of the theory (50 wds).

c) Will Piaget's cognitive development theory be useful for helping James to understand his current circumstances? Justify your reasoning. Note: This question is designed to assess your ability to evaluate how 'applicable' a theory is in specific counselling context. You must demonstrate that you have considered the strengths and limitations of the theory (50 wds).

d) Briefly outline how Maslow's hierarchy of needs could explain aspects of James' development and/or current situation (100 wds).

e) Imagine that you would like to use Maslow's hierarchy of needs to help James understand what he has been and/or is currently dealing with. You present James with a copy of the pyramid, and briefly explain each area of need. Based on your response to question 3.10(d), what would you say to James in order to help him develop his own understanding? (100 wds).

f) Imagine that you have a 25-year-old client, Zoe, who is having difficulty with forming intimate relationships. Would Freud's, Erikson's theory of development be more helpful for understanding Zoe's difficulty? Justify your reasoning (70 wds).