The Case of Rape
Barbara Schwamlein , Andrea Melton, Tiffany LeMasters, Christina Wernecke
BSHS 445
July 6, 2015
Amanda Williams, LCSW
The Case of Rape
The case scenario involves a female college student who went to a party with a fellow male student. The male student gave the female a drink, which after drinking she does not remember anything until she woke up in bed naked in a frat house. The female student goes to the Counseling Center to talk to someone. The counselor introduces herself which helps the counselor build a working relationship with the student. The counselor tells the student the steps she needs to take are reporting what happened to the police and agreeing to a rape exam. The counselor asked open-ended questions, which allowed the student to elaborate on what happened. The counselor told the student she would stay with her throughout the exam, which reassured the student (James & Gilliland, 2013). The counselor tells the student that she needs to call her parents, which could have waited until later (James & Gilliland, 2013). The student mentioned that her dad has guns and would be extremely upset, which moves the crisis into a secondary victim status. The parents might not have been the best choice for a support system for the student. The student was worried that her parents will be disappointed with her (James & Gilliland, 2013). The counselor also repeated everything the student said but failed to reassure the student that none of this was her fault. The counseling session over all was productive but missed some of the finer points when relating to a victim. In this case of rape, the counselor used a lot of parroting (repeating what the client was saying). The counselor also asked a lot of open ended questions so she could get all the information she needed. The client was not sure what had happened, so the counselor had to find out by asking a lot of questions. In the year 2002, they found that most rapes were committed by someone that was known by the victim. A large percentage of rapes are not reported to the police due to shame or humiliation. The girl was given a drink that had been drugged. The counselor acknowledged everything the client said by saying “ um hum” this way the client knew that the counselor heard what she said. The counselor could see that the client was getting upset so she tried to calm her down and then asked if she knew the boy’s name. The client replied she only knew his first name but that she would try to find out his last name. The counselor told her that it would have to be reported to the police and she described what the rape kit would consist of. The counselor also told her to let her parents know so that they could be a good support team for her. The counselor also told her that she (the counselor) would stay with her and be support through the examination. Also she told the girl that she could see her after she cooperated with the police for any follow up care. The client agreed. The first and most effective treatment method that needs to take place in this scenario is the realization that there is a problem. Through counseling and communication with family, friends and counselors, this realization of the problem can come about. Although it may be hard to see much of the time, it is important to see this problem, so as to take the next steps forward in treatment. In this scenario, it is important to communicate openly with her, helping her to see what she has and how this decision to go out to the party has affected her.. Once she realizes that this may potentially be a problem in her life, it is important to involve the mother and father in the treatment process. Counselors and family should allow her to be a part of setting the goals that she wants to achieve in life and ultimately out of therapy. When goals are set by the client, they tend to be more meaningful, allowing her to be more motivated to achieve them. These are the