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CASE MANAGER AND
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
COUNSELOR
Name:
Vicki Dickerman
Position:
Case Manager and Substance Abuse
Counselor, Kansas City Community Center
Education:
BS in Addiction Studies and
Psychology, Park University, Parkville, Missouri;
Certifi ed Co-Occurring Disorders Professional
Module
50
Psychotherapy: Humanistic, Interpersonal, and Group Approaches to Treatment
557
Alice: M-hm.
Therapist: Rather than having any opinion or reaction of your own in the
situation. Is that it? (Rogers, 1951, pp. 152–153)
The therapist does not interpret or answer the questions the client has raised.
Instead, the therapist clarifi es or refl ects back what the client has said (e.g., “In other
words, what you did. . . .”; “You feel that. . . .”; “Is that it?”). This therapeutic tech-
nique, known as nondirective counseling, is at the heart of person-centered therapy,
which was fi rst practiced by Carl Rogers in the mid-20th century (Rogers, 1951, 1980;
Raskin & Rogers, 1989).
Person-centered therapy (also called client-centered therapy ) aims to enable people
to reach their potential for self-actualization. By providing a warm and accepting
environment, therapists hope to motivate clients to air their problems and feelings.
In turn, this enables clients to make realistic and constructive choices and decisions
about the things that bother them in their current lives (Bozarth, Zimring, & Tausch,
2002; Kirschenbaum, 2004; Bohart, 2006).
Instead of directing the choices clients make, therapists provide what Rogers
calls unconditional positive regard —expressing acceptance and understanding, regard-
less of the feelings and attitudes the client expresses. By doing this, therapists hope
to create an atmosphere that enables clients to come to decisions that can improve
their lives (Kirschenbaum & Jourdan, 2005; Vieira & Freire, 2006).
Furnishing unconditional positive regard does not mean that therapists must
approve of everything their clients say or do. Rather, therapists need to communicate
that they are caring, nonjudgmental, and empathetic —that is, understanding of a cli-
ent’s emotional experiences (Fearing & Clark, 2000).
Person-centered therapy is rarely used today in its purest form. Contemporary
approaches tend to be somewhat more directive with therapists nudging clients toward
insights rather than merely refl ecting back their statements. However, therapists still
view clients’ insights as central to the therapeutic process (also see PsychWork ).
“At the Kansas City Community Center, we help people
rebuild their lives.”
For Vickie Dickerman, a case manager and substance
abuse counselor, this statement is the foundation of her work.
“Treatment is a collaboration between what the client
wants from a program and what you, as the professional, see
as essential in the treatment planning process. We also assist
clients in obtaining their basic needs in order that they may
become productive members of society,” she said.
Dickerman, who has worked for 20 years in the fi eld of
substance abuse with criminal offenders, uses several
approaches in helping people rebuild their lives.
“I address ‘criminal thinking errors’ along with client-
centered therapy,” she explained. “When clients engage in
‘criminal thinking,’ they view themselves as victims, focus
only their positive attributes, and avoid taking responsibility for their actions.” Dick-
erman seeks to change such thinking and help clients rebuild their self-confi dence in
their ability to meet their own basic needs.
“Expressing praise to offenders for something that would not appear to be an
accomplishment to most of us is of importance since clients’ low self-esteem and lack
of self-confi dence are often the result of lack of reinforcement from family members
and their peers,” Dickerman added. “Allowing setbacks should be considered a part
of the process since individuals with criminal thinking errors experience diffi culty
with receiving praise and may attempt to sabotage their success.”
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