CASE STUDY – JILL 1The Case of JillLorraine AcostaJohnson & Wales UniversityCASE STUDY – JILL 2The Case of JillAlthough getting to know Jill’s story and how she got to where she is are details that are highly important to the understanding of her world, I would want to implement solution-focused therapy because it’s an approach that focuses on creating solutions to problems rather than evaluating the root causes of those problems. More than likely, Jill won’t want to revisit the painful moments of her divorce, so I think this would be a great start. I believe that Jill is mired in unresolved past conflicts with her divorce and loneliness and blocked when she focuses on past or present problems rather than on future solutions. I would want to acknowledge the competencies that Jill possesses and apply them toward solutions. By creating positive expectations that change is possible, I will be able to build up her hope and optimism. I would want to make an emphasis on what has been working for her rather than dwelling on her weaknesses and problems so that she can become involved in resolving her problems and make her feel empowered. My main goal is to shift her problem-oriented mindset to a solution-orientedone.The first thing I would want to explore in Jill’s life are her beliefs about herself. She mentioned that “she’s just living to exist,” so, I would want to take a deeper look into that perception as this can be a sign of suicidal behavior. I would then want to take a look at all her relationships. She doesn’t have any close friends because she becomes too dependent on them; I would want to correct the issue by evaluating her actions and reactions to the people around her so that she can become aware of the choices she makes that don’t add value to her life. This will make it easier for her to hold on to friendships. I would also want to explore her relationship withher children: Does she see them a reasonable amount? If not, do they at least speak on the phone? Are they close? Do they get along? Is there a reason her son living with his father insteadCASE STUDY – JILL 3of her? Etc. Equally important, I’d like to discuss her divorce. It seems that the situation she finds herself in began around the time her divorce started and so I would want to explore what current beliefs and perceptions she’s adopted through that difficult process. Furthermore, I wouldwant to grant her the time to tell her story and share her pain, struggles, and frustrations while allowing her to choose the goals she wants to accomplish rather than focusing on giving a diagnosis or on the emergence of her problems. To help her feel empowered, I would want to challenge her to keep an eye out for the small successes, or exceptions in her problems, that she would otherwise ignore. Promoting hopeby helping her discover these exceptions will help her to apply this knowledge to eliminate problems in the shortest amount of time possible. If something is working, do more of it. If something is not going so well, try something different. In the various ways to assist Jill in thinking about what has worked for her, I would want to engage in conversations that lead to progressive narratives where she can create situations in which she can make steady gains towardher goals. This will start to deconstruct the power of her problems and new solutions will begin to manifest. In conclusion, my goals in therapy with Jill are to help her understand that she has the capability of behaving effectively, event though this effectiveness may be temporarily blocked bynegative beliefs, focus on the advantages to a positive focus on solutions and on the future. If shecan reorient herself in the direction of her strengths using solution talk, then there is a good chance that therapy will be brief, and, finally, to help her realize that three are exceptions to every problem and some times where problems just don’t exist. By talking about these exceptions, Jill can get clues to effective solutions and can gain control over what had seemed to be an insurmountable personal