Paper for psychology class

Assignment 2: Positive Psychology and Spirituality

Substance abuse counseling lends itself
nicely to the integration of positive psychology and spirituality. While
both of these therapy approaches have been explored for many years, the
integration into substance abuse counseling is a relatively new
development. As such, many clients may not be aware of the techniques in
positive psychology and spirituality that can be of use in their
recovery.

Juanita has been seeking treatment for her
marijuana use from you for a month now. While she has significantly cut
back on her substance use, she is having difficulty quitting and
remaining abstinent for periods that last longer than a few days. In
your counseling sessions, Juanita has mentioned that she feels very
badly about herself—she feels guilty about being unable to quit and
explains that she doesn’t think she is strong enough to quit altogether.
She has also expressed nervousness that her boyfriend would no longer
like her if she quit smoking, and she has expressed concern that if he
leaves her, she wouldn’t be able to find a new boyfriend because she
doesn’t believe she is pretty enough. Juanita is also unsatisfied with
her job as a cashier at the local grocery store, but has expressed her
opinion that she doesn’t think she is smart enough to get a better job.
You know from Juanita’s history, that her mother was very critical of
Juanita when she was a child and that her father was absent for most of
her childhood. In high school, Juanita excelled at classes in biology
and math, but she never attended college.

To help Juanita overcome her barriers to
marijuana abstinence, write a summary of what the counselor should cover
in the next meeting with Juanita. Ensure that you cover the following
points:

• Explain the concepts of positive psychology to Juanita.
• Examine the goals of positive psychology and explain
  how this approach will help Juanita obtain sobriety, focusing
  specifically on the concerns and dissatisfactions she has expressed.
• Design at least two exercises based on positive psychology for Juanita to work on in between counseling sessions.
• Explain spirituality to Juanita, emphasizing the differences between spirituality and religion.
• Examine how spirituality and positive psychology can work together to help Juanita achieve her goals.

Write a 4–5-page paper in Word format. Use
scholarly resources, including the textbook to support your ideas. Apply
APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming
convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc.