Person-Centered Therapy for the Recovery of Social Alienation in a Student with Internalized Conditions of Worth: A Case Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64420/ijcp.v3i1.509Keywords:
Person-Centered Therapy, Social Alienation, Student, Internalized Conditions of WorthAbstract
Background: Intense academic pressure and parental expectations often lead students to tie personal worth to achievement, creating real-ideal self incongruence that triggers anxiety, perfectionism, low self-esteem, and social withdrawal. Objective: This study aims to examine the formation of in-ternalised conditions of worth and to analyze how Person-Centred Therapy (PCT) facili-tates psychological recovery and self-concept reconstruction. Method: The study emplo-yed a qualitative, single-case study design with a high school student experiencing social alienation and achievement-contingent self-worth. Data were collected through semi-structured counseling interviews, classroom observations, and psychological assessments, and analysed using thematic analysis to identify patterns related to self-concept and family expectations. Result: The findings revealed that conditional acceptance related to acade-mic achievement contributed to a fragile self-concept and social withdrawal. Through em-pathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard, PCT supported emotional openness and reduced self-criticism. Conclusion: Person-Centred Therapy effectively facilitated self-acceptance and reduced social alienation. Originality/Value: This case report offers significant insight into the fields of School Counseling and Adolescent Clinical Psychology by documenting the manifestation of social alienation, self incongruence, and perfectio-nism linked to internalized conditions of worth from academic expectations, an area that remains scarcely reported in single case literature. This examination provides profound contextual understanding and serves as a strategic reference for school counselors, psy-chologists, and mental health practitioners in clinical decision making and managing similar cases through Person Centered Therapy to foster self acceptance and psychological recovery.
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