Capella University Theories of Psychological Consultation Case Study Paper

Capella University Theories of Psychological Consultation Case Study Paper

In 7 pages (2,000 words), you will evaluate the two theories, synthesize the key concepts of the methods related to the theories, and create a set of guidelines for your consulting work that draw on the theories.

Use the case study that you developed as the context for this assessment.

Case Study:

Darrian is the director of a non-profit organization that offers services to children in foster care and families in need. He is the head of the organization and is the leader for several managers throughout the company. However, his main focus is on evaluating the skill-building programs that the organization offers to families and children. Darrian reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer and the board of directors. Due to increased competition of federal grant funding, the organization has been reluctant to hire many new people. However, there is a high turn over rate within the organization, as three high level managers have left, along with several direct care workers. Darrian has a very busy schedule that requires him to travel a lot so he is not always available to his employees. Darrian is also a single father to three children and takes care of his elderly aunt. Over the past few months, his home life has been super demanding, which has caused his leadership skills to decline drastically. Darrian supervises the Residential Programs and Clinical Services Manager, Danny, and the Community Programs Manager, Ann. Danny and Ann both supervise five staff members each. Darrian is often times not engaged with Danny and Ann because he has to deal with unforeseen family issues, is required to respond to over 200 emails daily, works eleven hour days, and does not engage in self care. When Darrian’s employees need his assistance he does not do well with giving clear direction or delegating tasks and often times adds unnecessary issues onto his own work load. Darrian’s home life requirements have also impacted Danny and Ann, as they have had to take on more responsibility to compensate for Darrian’s absence. Because Darrian does not do well with providing learning opportunities to Danny and Ann, they have not thrived well as managers and are not very supportive of their staff. Unfortunately, these issues have trickled down to the direct care staff, as they do not feel supported and are often times left with large tasks to complete. Many of the direct care workers and their supervisors eventually experience burn out and either perform poorly or resign. The organization lacks policies that strictly enforce behavior expectations or competencies. This often results in miscommunication that leads to misunderstandings and risky situations that could jeopardize the livelihood of the organization. Darrian is aware that the organization needs major improvements, but he does not know where to start. He has decided to reach out to an outside source to receive leadership consultation.

Prepare a 7 page paper that meets these requirements:

• Include a synopsis of your case study. Even though you included a summary with your previous assessment paper, in an actual project, you should always provide a synopsis of your consulting project with every deliverable received by the client. For the purpose of this assessment and to mimic real-world expectations, include details about the consulting situation, issues you anticipate addressing, key people involved, and the kinds of behaviors involved in the situation. Be sure to identify the key goal of the potential consultation and the challenges to be addressed.
• Evaluate two theories of psychological consultation (from the list provided) that can be used in your case study scenario:
  • What does each theory posit? Provide an analysis of each theory by including key points about the theories, the primary theorists, and the strengths and limitations—in the general sense and specifically to your case study.
  • How can the theories be used in your consultation setting? Provide evidence via case studies, your own experiences, scholarly literature, and so forth, to support your claim about the theories.
  • What are their differences and similarities? How can they complement each other?
• Synthesize the most effective concepts and practices from the two theories into an approach for use in your case-study scenario.
  • What are the best aspects of each theory that you will synthesize?
  • What evidence did you find to support your synthesis and approach?
• Formulate a set of guidelines that can be used in your case study scenario.
  • How will you integrate the theories as a model for your proposed work with the client?

Be sure to cite peer-reviewed journal articles in support of your analysis, synthesis, and formulation of the guidelines. Additionally, incorporate your own research of scholarly literature, experiences, and concrete examples to clearly show your understanding of these theories and how they can be used by consultants in a consulting setting.

Use the following subheadings in your paper and format your subheadings in APA style:

• Subheading 1 – Case Study.
• Subheading 2 – Consulting Theories and Their Basis in Evidence.
• Subheading 3 – Synthesis of Consulting Theories.
• Subheading 4 – Consulting Guidelines.
• Subheading 5 – References.

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current edition APA style and formatting guidelines.
• References: At least seven scholarly resources, which should be peer-reviewed journal articles or other scholarly articles written within the past five years.
• Length of paper: Approximately 2,000 words or about 7 typed, double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 points.

Resources that may be used:

Theories of Consulting Psychology

• Boden, M. T., Berenbaum, H., & Gross, J. J. (2016). Why do people believe what they do? A functionalist perspective. Review of General Psychology, 20(4), 399–411.
• Gantt, S. P. (2013). Applying systems-centered theory (SCT) and methods in organizational contexts: Putting SCT to work. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 63(2), 234–258.
• Green, S., Evans, O., & Williams, B. (2017). Positive psychology at work: Research and practice. In Proctor, C. (Ed.). Positive psychology interventions in practice, 185–206.
  • This text may be available in the Capella library.
• Nevis, E.C. (2010). Commentary I. A poetics of practice: Organizational consulting from a gestalt perspective. Gestalt Review, 14(3), 301–304.
  • Nevis remarks on his self-authored text, Organizational Consulting: A Gestalt Approach (2001), published by the Gestalt Press: Cambridge, MA.
• Scott, C. N., & Kelly, F. D. (1995). Realism, constructivism, and the individual psychology of Alfred Adler. Individual Psychology: The Journal of Adlerian Theory, Research & Practice, 51(1), 4.

Person-Environment Fit

Although this theory was not included as one of the five for use in the assessments, it is an established I-O theory that may be of value when working with clients. The larger person-environment frame includes person-organization, person-group, person-supervisor, and person-job fit. Review of these articles (as well as consideration of additional I-O theories) will serve to enlarge one’s practice field as a consultant.

• Afsar, B. (2016). The impact of person-organization fit on innovative work behavior. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 29(2), 104–122.
• Cooper-Thomas, H. D., & Wright, S. (2013). Person-environment misfit: The neglected role of social context. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 28(1), 21–37.
• Kristof-Brown, A. L., Seong, J. Y., Degeest, D. S., Park, W., & Hong, D. (2014). Collective fit perceptions: A multilevel investigation of person-group fit with individual-level and team-level outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(7), 969–989.
• Liu, L., Zhu, F., & Wen, Y. (2016). Person-organization fit and turnover intention: Professional identity as a moderator. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 44(8), 1233.
• Oh, I., Guay, R. P., Kim, K., Harold, C. M., Lee, J., Heo, C., & Shin, K. (2014). Fit happens globally: A meta-analytic comparison of the relationships of person-environment fit dimensions with work attitudes and performance across East Asia, Europe, and North America. Personnel Psychology, 67(1), 99–152.
• Seong, J. Y. (2016). Person-organization fit, family-supportive organization perceptions, and self-efficacy affect work-life balance. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 44(6), 911–921.
• Seong, J. Y., & Choi, J. N. (2014). Effects of group-level fit on group conflict and performance: The initiating role of leader positive affect. Group & Organization Management, 39(2), 190–212.

Additional Resources for Further Exploration

• Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. (n.d.). What is cognitive behavior therapy? Retrieved from http://www.abct.org/Help/?m=mFindHelp&fa;=WhatIsCBTpublic.
• Caldwell, R. (2012). Systems thinking, organizational change and agency: A practice theory critique of Senge’s Learning Organization. Journal of Change Management, 12(2), 145–164.
• Hoever, I. J., van Knippenberg, D., van Ginkel, W. P., & Barkema, H. G. (2012). Fostering team creativity: Perspective taking as key to unlocking diversity’s potential. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(5), 982–996.
• Holt, R., & Cornelissen, J. (2014). Sensemaking revisited. Management Learning, 45(5), 525–539.
• Knight, A. P., & Eisenkraft, N. (2015). Positive is usually good, negative is not always bad: The effects of group affect on social integration and task performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(4), 1214–1227.
• Lam, C. F., Spreitzer, G., & Fritz, C. (2014). Too much of a good thing: Curvilinear effect of positive affect on proactive behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(4), 530–546.
• Morgeson, F. P., Mitchell, T. R., & Dong, L. (2015). Event system theory: An event-oriented approach to the organizational sciences. Academy of Management Review, 40(4), 515–537.