MBTI Padlet Project: Brian Baruck by Brian Baruck

Strategies to administer/process the MBTI & facilitate a healthy discussion about the results with the client

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:35:44 UTC

Give an overview of the pairs before discussing results
Give examples of what each preference means so he fully understands
Tell him "These are your preferences but that does not necessarily mean you only operate in this way, just that you will feel more natural doing it this way"
Remind him that preference is not about skill or ability, just how it feels natural doing it
Emphasize that there is no right or wrong with any of these
Use open questions and probes to help the client explore what he really likes, dislikes and prefers
Walk him through the results and discuss with him the many possibilities of what they could mean. Avoid just handing them to him and letting him make his own assumptions
Follow up with questions about his thoughts on the results and help him explore what these results have uncovered for him
Brainstorm with the client the variety of possibilities the knowledge of his results can open for his career search
Encourage the client to explore both sides of each preference to help him understand that although he may lean one way that does not mean he cannot swing the other way sometimes
Use this exploration process of discussing the results and their meaning to continue to build a therapeutic bond with the client. This will help him understand that this is a process that he does not have to take on alone and that I am there to help him.

Challenges and how to navigate them

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:36:49 UTC

Pushback on his level of confidence in the test
- Ensure him that this test does not hold an incredible amount of weight and explain that it is part of the process of getting to know himself better
Lack of trust in the therapy process
- Focus first and foremost on building a solid therapeutic relationship with the client. By establishing trust and rapport before administering the test we are able to communicate the purpose and results of it more effectively
He may dislike the idea of putting a label or score on his personality and preferences
- Take the time to explain the purpose of the test. Additionally, take more time to explain that the results show preferences but that does not necessarily mean he only operates in this way. The results simply show you which way you feel more natural interacting with and processing the world around you.

Why or why not? Barriers or issues? Multicultural and social justice issues?

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:38:06 UTC

I believe that the MBTI would eventually help this client to find a deeper understanding of himself but he may not be open to it at first. Hassan comes from a family that does not have any experience with therapy and tests like the MBTI and due to this, he may have some distrust. Additionally, the whole idea of coming to therapy is very new to him so throwing a test like this at him right out of the gate may not be the best idea. It is crucial to gain an understanding of how his cultural identity has played a part in his development. His family does not believe in therapy and rarely discusses mental health so we also have to build a foundation of trust with him before moving on to a test like the MBTI.

In time I could see the test allowing him to see more options for himself when it comes to finding a new career that fits his goals and personality.

Age: 24

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:47:31 UTC

Gender identity: Male

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:47:43 UTC

Race: Arab

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:48:11 UTC

Ethnicity: Iranian

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:48:27 UTC

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:48:42 UTC

Religion: Muslim

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:48:54 UTC

SES: Low for most of his life until he got a job out of college, now he is middle-upper class

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:49:00 UTC

Living Environment

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:51:02 UTC

Hassan was born in Iran but moved to the US when he was 8. He lived in a small apartment in Chicago with his parents for most of his life as his parents were not wealthy at all.

Employment Status

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:55:52 UTC

Hassan is very intelligent and received a full scholarship to go to college. He got a great job in finance right out of school and is currently working as a financial analyst at an investment bank. Although he now makes great money he hates what he does and wants to find a career that is more fulfilling and offers him a chance to do some good in the world.

Anxiety + low self-worth

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 17:58:43 UTC

Hassan has been struggling with a lot of anxiety recently. This is mainly due to the pressures of his job and due to this, he has been dreading waking up every day to go to work. He is very overworked and he often feels that if he does not constantly exceed expectations bad things will happen (ex. getting yelled at by his boss).

Additionally, Hassan has been feeling down on himself because he does not feel he is making a positive impact on anyone in his work. The only people he feels he is helping is the 1% of the world and he is feeling down on himself for not using his intellect to make the a world better place.

Specific issues/symptoms

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 18:01:12 UTC

Racing thoughts
Pit in his stomach
Racing heart rate
Sense of dread when he wakes up before work
Fixating thoughts about worst-case scenarios at work, even when he is not at work
Queasiness or nausea when he walks into work
Low self-esteem

Length of time, frequency, intensity, history of problem

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 18:02:48 UTC

Symptoms started shortly after he began working at his job following graduation
Gradually getting worse as time goes on
Started out as jitters before big presentations or meetings but has increased to multiple times per day
Now he feels that his anxiety is becoming a burden on other parts of his life and that he cannot do anything when this anxiety comes
Has not struggled with anxiety since he first came to the US and began as a new student who did not speak very much English. First time this has been an issue since he was 8-9 years old.
He has never really had a low self-worth until recently and it has been weighing on him heavily. He feels his job is taking over his life and he fears the man he is becoming

Who do you admire? Who would you pattern your life after? Who did you admire growing up? How are you like/different from this person?

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 18:05:35 UTC

Who do you admire?

My parents
Mahatma Gandhi
Martin Luther King Jr.
Shirin Ebadi

Who do you pattern your life after?

He is not sure what he wants his life to look like right now so he is unsure who he wants to pattern his life after

Who did you admire growing up?

Thierry Henry
Wayne Rooney
Christiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi

How am I like/different from this person?

Similar
- I also desire to have a career in which I can have a positive impact on people's lives
- I also admired professional athletes of the same sport when I was younger
- Nowadays I am still unsure what I want my life to look like so it is tough for me to say who I want to pattern my life after
Different
- I had a very different upbringing and life experience than Hassan so my worldview is going to be vastly different
- I was not raised by parents who came to the US from another country so our family dynamics will differ
- I was raised with a higher SES than Hassan was so our childhoods were different
- We do not share the same religion so our outlook on life, death, spirituality and other religious ideas will vary
- I was raised with a different value system than Hassan so what we seek in careers will likely be different

Do you read magazines regularly? Which ones?

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 18:05:42 UTC

Hassan enjoys reading soccer (or football as he calls it) magazines to keep up with what is going on with his favorite sport.

He also enjoys reading travel magazines. He has always wanted to travel the world and he dreams of being able to do that one day, whether that is in his free time or through his career.

What do you like to do in your free time?

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 18:05:48 UTC

Watch soccer/football
Cook
Spend time with his family
Go out with his friends in the city
Exercise, specifically running

Do you have a favorite motto or saying?

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 18:05:53 UTC

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"

What were your least/most favorite subjects in school?

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 18:05:58 UTC

Hassan loves to read so he loved English and History classes growing up. He was always naturally good with numbers so math classes came easy but he never truly enjoyed them. His least favorite subject was foreign language. It was hard enough for him to come to the US and have to learn English as a second language so learning more felt like an annoyance to him.

What is your earliest recollection?

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 18:06:03 UTC

His earliest recollection is from when he was about 6 years old and his father took him to see his first professional football game in Iran. He loves this memory and he says that this is what sparked his love for the game.

Traits, ways of coping, values, world views

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 18:54:20 UTC

Traits: hard-working, religious, faithful, loyal to their own, and determined
Ways of coping: In Hassan's family there is no talk of mental health at all. He was raised by parents who had to scratch and claw for everything they have ever had so the way they cope is by continuing to put their heads down and work hard. Therapy was never something discussed and the belief was that people should work through their problems on their own
Values: hard work, family-oriented, respect for elders, responsibility, men are the bread-winners/the head of the household
World views: Hassan's family has lived through a lot of hard times and due to this they believe you can only count on yourself and your family. They have also experienced a lot of racism for being Muslim so they feel that they do not fit in very well in America. Finally, they believe that a job is a way to make money for your family, not something that is meant to bring joy or fulfillment

Intergenerational trauma and coping mechanisms

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 19:00:10 UTC

Intergenerational Trauma:

Parent's belief in religious and personal freedoms led to persecution in Iran that got so bad they had to escape
Parents had to leave their parents behind because they did not want to leave their home and said they were too old to start a new life in the US
Can never return to Iran due to their decision to come to the US

Coping Mechanisms:

Ignoring the issue and pushing away the pain
Work through your problems and keep moving forward
Prayer and faith in their religion

Islamophobia

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 19:17:23 UTC

When applying for jobs Hassan noted that even though his record and grades were exemplary he had a lot of trouble finding a position. He said he had a feeling that a lot of his difficulties stemmed from the sound of his name and the way he looked. He would often get inappropriate questions about his religion and heritage in interviews and had to deal with getting passed over for positions he was overqualified for.

Racism

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 19:19:00 UTC

At his current job, he has been passed over for promotions in favor of white employees who often were not even doing as good of work as he was. Additionally, the culture in the industry he works in can be toxic and he has to deal with a lot of inappropriate jokes and comments about his religion and ethnicity.

Mental health issues arising from his job

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 19:22:51 UTC

Hassan has been dealing with a lot of anxiety that stems directly from his job. He is in a high-pressure industry and although he is smart he feels that the pressure can be too much.

Hassan also has been feeling sad due to his lack of fulfillment from his job. He works in an industry where the goal is to make rich people even more rich and he feels that what he is doing with his life is not fulfilling. This has also led to a decreased sense of self-value.

Hassan's MBTI Results

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-23 22:51:51 UTC

ESTJ-T

Extraversion (high, around 70%)

Sensing (middle, around 55%)

Thinking (high, around 70%)

Judging (high, around 75%)

Turbulent

Cultural bias

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-24 02:05:33 UTC

As explained in the next column over, Hassan has dealt with racism and islamophobia throughout his career. From difficulty finding work coming out of college to inappropriate and derogatory jokes at his current job, he has had a lot of obstacles placed in his way.

Additionally, he was denied multiple promotions in favor of white coworkers and that has cause him to develop a somewhat cynical view of what his career will look like.

Name: Hassan Mohammadi

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-24 02:08:06 UTC

Extroversion vs Introversion

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-24 02:09:22 UTC

For Hassan, I believe the most important part of the MBTI will be the extroversion vs introversion preference. Hassan has long put himself into a box of what he thrives at and that has led him to a career in which he is not happy. This preference will hopefully reveal to him that he has a quality that will help him in virtually any field he ultimately chooses.

Extraverts tend to be action-oriented, enjoy frequent social interaction, and feel energized after spending time with other people. These are qualities that he did not previously use as much in his finance job and this could be one of the reasons that he was unhappy. It is very possible, in my opinion, that Hassan would be much happier in a job where he is not staring at a computer screen all day. Instead he may enjoy dealing directly with people and using his extroversion to his advantage.

Ethics

bbaruck3 — 2024-05-24 02:18:26 UTC

It may be an ethical issue to simply dive right into the MBTI with this client due to him and his family's lack of experience with therapy/mental health. Simply giving him a test he does not know about and then showing him results he does not understand would be very confusing and potentially harmful for him. To address this, I need to ensure that I am very deliberate in building rapport, establishing the therapeutic relationship, explaining the purpose of the test and diligently going over the results with him.