Case Study
Patient Demographic: Client Age: 18 Sex: Male Gender: Male Sexuality: Heterosexual Ethnicity: Caucasian Relationship Status: Single Counseling Setting: University Counseling Center Type of Counseling: Individual and Group Presenting Problem: Interpersonal relationships Diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder. 299.00 (F84.0)
Mental Status Exam: Mental Status Exam: The client is sloppily dressed and appears his stated age. He exhibits pressured speech at times; otherwise, he speaks in a monotonous tone. The client becomes irritable when discussing the incident with campus police, and brightens when expressing his passion for snakes. He displays poor eye contact and there is difficulty with normal back-and-forth conversation. The client denies suicidal or homicidal ideation. He lives on campus in sober student housing and denies drug or alcohol use. History of th
Presenting Problem: You are a counselor a university counseling center. The university has a program providing limited assistance to students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The ASD program director has referred an 18-year-old white male enrolled in the program. She is concerned over his recent run-in with campus police. The client arrives to his scheduled counseling session today and explained that he has a girlfriend who “now apparently wants nothing to do with me.” Campus security has been involved due to the client showing up at his girlfriend’s dorm, yelling and creating a disturbance. The client explains that his peers told him he would have sex in college once he got a girlfriend. When his girlfriend refused to have sex, he said he didn’t understand and only wanted to talk. The client continues to express a desire to have sex now that he is in college by stating matter-of-factly, “I haven’t had much luck, but I’m going to keep trying.” When asked about interests, the client spoke at length about his love for snakes and knowledge of all 300 worldwide species.
Other Contexts: The client has attended and actively participated in all group therapy sessions. You are preparing the group for termination and discussing a “graduation” ceremony. The client has taken on a leadership role in the group, and you have asked him if he would be your “assistant” for the next group of neurodiverse men. The client approaches you, shakes your hand, and uses eye contact as he politely thanks you for the offer. You state you are pleased he has accepted. He then says, in a matter-of-fact tone, “Absolutely, I see that you really need help with offering better refreshments and teaching certain skills.”  During the last group session, a member stated, “I didn’t know there were other people on campus that viewed things in the same way that I do

Question: During the last group session, a member stated, “I didn’t know there were other people on campus that viewed things in the same way that I do.” This is an example of which one of the following?
(A): Transference
(B): Altruism
(C): Catharsis
(D): Universality

Correct Answer: Universality
Explanation: This member’s statement is an example of universality (one of Irvin Yalom’s curative factors), which is the feeling that one receives when connecting with others. Group members learning that others who live on campus share similar viewpoints will likely reduce isolation, which is a by-product of universality. Catharsis is a psychodynamic term referring to the emotional release of previously repressed energy tied to a traumatic event. Transference is a Freudian concept that describes the redirection of a repressed emotion onto another person. Altruism is another one of Yalom’s curative factors regarding group members learning to help others. Therefore, the correct answer is (D)
Competency: counseling skills and interventions