Essay Sample on Counseling in the 21st Century: Impact on Society & Movie Industry

Introduction

Professional counseling has gained an increased level of significance in the late 20th century and the 21st century. Its importance originates from the changing nature of human society, which warrants that professional counselors adapt new techniques to cope with the ever challenging psychological problems that their clients experience. The movie industry has done well to reflect some of these psychological problems that affect humans and the techniques that psychologists use to help their clients. One such movie that captures the struggles of counselors and their clients is the film, Precious. Precious is an American drama film from 2009 that is based on the Novel Push by Sapphire tells the story of a young girl named Precious who has suffered years of verbal, physical and sexual abuse from her parents.

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Precious is the main character in the film, and the sexual abuse from her father has resulted in two pregnancies (Daniels, 2009). Her eldest child, Mongo, has Down syndrome and lives with her grandmother. Some of the main character's primary issues include trauma that has resulted from physical and sexual abuse from her parents. The effect of her trauma has also affected her physical wellbeing as she has significantly gained weight. According to Post (2013), psychological trauma can affect the development of a child's mind-body systems, social interactions, and behaviors. Precious had been suffering abuses from her parents since she was three years old and had resorted to escaping reality by fantasizing that she exists in a place where she is loved. She is also suffering from self-esteem issues that impede her interaction with the rest of the students in school. Precious is always sitting at the back of the class, where she would attract little attention from others. She has also resorted to bullying as a way to release her frustrations and cope with the injustices she is experiencing at home, especially from her mother, who displays the same attributes.

The movie features attempts by various professionals and adults to help Precious. There is Blue Rain, whose Precious' teacher that teaches her to read and write. She is one of the inspirational figures in the film as she is one of the characters that help precious address her problems. Mrs. Rain's act of kindness towards Precious made her realize that she is not getting the treatment she deserves from her parents, especially her mother. At one point in the movie, Precious asks why the people that barely know her would be kind to her than her mother and father. That marked one of the first breakthroughs in the film as Precious started to realize that she can get help.

Another noteworthy moment was the male nurse at the hospital who was attending to her during her delivery of her second child. It represents one of the moments of happiness to the main character. The moments that she has always fantasized about. Precious even feels good when her classmates tease her about the kiss on the forehead that she received from the male nurse while at the hospital.

However, the role of a professional counselor is fulfilled by Ms. Weiss, who is a social worker that takes an interest in Precious' case. Weiss shows excellent professionalism by managing to get close enough to Precious for her to open up about herself. Precious initially had a preconceived idea that Mrs. Weiss didn't like her. During one of their counseling sessions, she tells him, "You don't like me" (Daniels, 2009). Mrs. Weiss counters her argument by saying that in fact, she is wrong about that and that she likes Precious. Her approach enabled Precious to view her less of a counselor and more of a friend who's genuinely concerned about her wellbeing. Precious is used to being mistreated and disliked even by members of her own family. One of the reasons she also resisted earlier attempts to help was because she was convinced everyone was out to get her.

On the other hand, the adults involved in Precious case show varying levels of attempts. The teachers in her previous school were not interested in getting into her personal affairs. Only the principal showed care to the point of finding her an alternative school after she was expelled. On the Each One Teach One program, Precious had a support system ranging from teachers to her fellow students. It would have been near impossible for either Ms. Rain or Mrs. Weiss to push harder without running a high risk of pushing Precious further away. As a result, it is safe to say that they couldn't have done it any better than they already did.

Given the role of the counselor in the film, I would strive to meet the following three goals. The first one would be to enhance coping skills. The second one would be to improve her relationship with others, and the third goal would be to facilitate her potential. Coping mechanisms are one of the tools that human beings rely on to enable them to withstand the difficult times in their lives. Because everyone is bound to encounter a trying moment in his or her life, it is essential to ensure that a person has an excellent coping mechanism. Without a coping mechanism, characters such as Precious can resort to suicide. Research has established that suicide is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors (Firestone). Precious' situation had all the elements to motivate her towards suicidal thoughts. Firestone (n.d) pointed out childhood trauma as one of the environmental aspects that could lead to suicide.

Working on her coping mechanisms will also help me achieve the goal of improving her relationship with others. Some of her coping mechanisms such as bullying are detriments to her social interactions as other people are afraid of her. She is also scared to open up to other people because she feels like no one cares about her or that anyone should care about her. Precious lacks any friends or people that she could confide in. The first person that she comes close to is her teacher Ms. Rain.

Also, the goal of facilitating her potential works on improving her emotional, physical, and psychological wellness. She should be able to use her abilities and attributes to help her realize her potential. At her current state, she cannot achieve her because she is emotionally broken. She lacks the self-esteem to tackle problems in her life and always resorts to run away or hide from those situations that she cannot address with violence. I would seek to get her to see her self-worth so that she can stand up to people such as her mother.

One of the critical strategies to help Precious in her healing process, would be the use of engagement treatment, along with play therapy. Play therapy is particularly useful in counseling children, but it has some application to the adults, especially as in the case of Precious who is an ethnic minority that was maltreated (Urquiza, 2010). Sticking to therapy is vital for Precious to heal. For that to happen, Precious' mother would have to be an integral part of the treatment process. It was the same technique that was used by Mrs. Weiss so that she could get Precious to continue with her therapies. There is an essential relationship between the family process and treatment attendance (Gopalan et al., 2010). Another way to helping Precious would be working with her teachers to aid her recovery process. According to Heath et al., (2008), the classroom and the teacher provide some critical support structure for the students.

The film Precious depicts some factors in the field of professional counseling. Clients who have experienced traumatic childhood have severe psychological scars. To deal with such patients, the therapists would have to include various techniques such as engagement and play therapy that would consist of the family and deal with childhood maltreatment, respectively. Precious found closure through Mrs. Weiss and Ms. Rain. They were able to connect with her emotionally, and she confronted her mother and came in terms with her childhood problems.

References

Daniels, L. (Director). (2009). Precious [Motion picture on DVD]. United States of America: Lionsgate.

Firestone, L. (n.d.). Suicide: what therapists need to know. Retrieved June 24, 2019, from https://www.apa.org/education/ce/suicide.pdf

Gopalan, G., Goldstein, L., Klingenstein, K., Sicher, C., Blake, C., & McKay, M. M. (2010). Engaging Families into Child Mental Health Treatment: Updates and Special Considerations. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(3), 182-196.

Heath, M. A., Leavy, D., Hansen, K., Ryan, K., Lawrence, L., & Sonntag, A. G. (2008). Coping With Grief. Intervention in School and Clinic,43(5), 259-269. doi:10.1177/1053451208314493

Post, B. (Director). (2013). Trauma, Brain & Relationship: Helping Children Heal[Video file]. United States of America: Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. Retrieved June 24, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyEEMlMMb0&feature=youtu.be.

Urquiza, A. J. (2010). The future of play therapy: Elevating credibility through play therapy research. International Journal of Play Therapy,19(1), 4-12. doi:10.1037/a0018217