| Summary: | In this intake session, Bunmi O. Olatunji conducts cognitive-behavioral therapy with a married African American woman. The client has been married for 11 years and has two children, one with her husband and one who is the child of her husband's previous marriage. The client reports anxiety and stress in relation to her husband's ex-wife, who remains involved with her husband due to their child together. The client feels excluded, hurt, and threatened by the ex-wife's continuing relationship with her husband and her husband's mother. Olatunji helps the client explore her own feelings, core beliefs, and interpretations of situations, as well as how they are contributing to her experience. He gently helps her challenge some of her beliefs and weigh the evidence for her interpretations. He encourages her to identify the triggers for her emotional responses and the cues that tell her she is becoming overwhelmed so that she can try to moderate her response in the moment. Throughout the session, Olatunji validates the client's adaptive coping skills and emphasizes her ability to change the situation through changing her own thoughts and behavior.
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