SWK 5013 Discussion 6-10

Published by James Taylor

Abstract

Mental health issues are widespread and universal, and by estimate, in a given year, about 54 million individuals have mental conditions. Mental health issues are illnesses that cause a mild, severe disturbance in behaviors and people’s thought resulting in inabilities to cope with the daily routine. Usually, a series of events and excessive are associated with mental health problems. A critical point to note is that mental illnesses are both physical and emotional and cane accelerated by circumstances in the environment. Also, mental health issues are not a subject to discrimination as they can affect individuals irrespective of age, backgrounds, sexual orientation, cultural identity or social status. According to therapists, it is essential to pay attention to sudden changes in behaviors are thoughts along with symptom experiences. Individuals with mental problems do not talk about it because of either being ashamed or not aware of their conditions. Examples of common mental health issues include eating disorder, panic disorder, anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, mood disorder, psychosis, autism or schizophrenia.

Keywords: disorders, mental, health, therapy, cognitive, behavior, thoughts, interventions

Unit 6 Discussion 1

In the case of Marlin and her family, I would apply a family therapy strategy as a solution-focused theory. The primary therapeutic scheme of this strategy would be to approach the situation with a deliberate effort of relationship building. In this way, the approach seeks to enhance a collaborative therapy project with client and family, to clarify goals for the sessions. When integrating a family therapy strategy, the method might apply future-oriented questions. After defining end goals, a solution-focused truck can be kept while working on pretreatment changes as a way to have more solutions constructed rather than solving the real problem (Suorsa, 2015). Family therapy, as a solution-focused theory would work to help the client and family identify what strengths and reach solutions in a brief period.

Breunlin & Jacobsen article discusses a family therapy technique detailing that the approach is a critical stakeholder in the mental health delivery system (Breunlin & Jacobsen, 2014). The author supports the family therapy technique by saying that it is a practice of seeing the whole family integrated into treatment. Based on family and the type of presented problem, a family has essential individuals in the system, like parents, who aid in the indispensable role of reporting client’s progress towards recovery goals (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015). When working with the Marlin family, using a family therapy approach, I would ask questions like requiring the participants to tell when the problem is significant or not big. When the family acknowledges the existence of a problem, they must be responsible for fixing it. As a therapist, I would want Marlin family to report on changes, an account on who took part in the shift and identified strengths that family members used to make changes possible. In that way, it would help the social worker to concentrate on what is functioning and make the client keep working towards the goal.

References

Breunlin, D. C., & Jacobsen, E. (2014). Putting the “Family” Back into Family Therapy. Family Process, 53(3), 462–475. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12083

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Suorsa, T. (2015). Solution-focused therapy and subject-scientific research into the personal conduct of everyday living. Outlines. Critical Practice Studies, 16(2), 126-138.

Unit 6 Discussion 2

From the DSM-5 category of substance abuse, I choose to address alcohol use disorder. An alcohol use disorder involves a pattern of alcohol use which consists of a problem in controlling drinking (Barak, Ahmadiantehrani, Logrip & Ron, 2018). Unhealthy alcohol consumption puts an individual into risky and unsafe factors that can result in alcohol-related complications. When a pattern of abuser occurs in repeated significant distress and challenges in normal functioning, then someone is likely to have a disorder. Symptoms of alcohol use include an inability to limit alcohol content, craving for drinks, failure to fulfill certain obligations at school or work due to repeated alcohol intake. Alcohol also causes a client to give up and reduce social work, activities or hobbies.

Diagnosing an alcohol use disorder may likely start by seeing a doctor, and if the doctor suspects that a person has the disease, he or she may be referred to mental health professionals. In assessing the problem, the doctor asks several questions related to drinking habits and can go further to speak with family members. The other steps involve performing physical examinations, la or imaging tests, completing psychological evaluations and use of DSM-5 criteria. During physical examinations, the doctor asks questions about a client’s health to observe physical signs that can indicate alcohol use complications. Specific lab test abnormalities may suggest alcohol use disorder, for example, testing health problems that are linked to alcohol consumption behavior.

Various research interventions have been developed as practices for the disorder, and they include detoxification, medication and therapeutic approaches (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015). Typically, detoxification is performed in a controlled way, where drugs are used to relieve symptoms. Once rehab is applied, an intervention like recovery programs can follow to support the person in maintaining abstinence from alcohol use. I believe the best response should be cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) (Fortuna,Porche & Padilla, 2018). The intervention is the best practices because it focuses on shaping an individual’s behavior through monitoring thoughts and actions. When treating an alcoholic person with a CBT approach, the goal is to teach a client to recognize situations that can make him or her take drinks. Once the circumstances are identified, then the person can avoid them if possible.

References

Barak, S., Ahmadiantehrani, S., Logrip, M. L., & Ron, D. (2018). GDNF and alcohol use disorder. Addiction to biology.

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Fortuna, L. R., Porche, M. V., & Padilla, A. (2018). A treatment development study of cognitive and mindfulness‐based therapy for adolescents with co‐occurring post‐traumatic stress and substance use disorder. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 91(1), 42-62.

Unit 7 Discussion 1

An Ecogram- Casey Family

Ecogram’s Legend

Dislikes the institutions like someone, not blood-related

likes family member

Dear Diana,

I write this letter regarding a therapy meeting we held with a client, Sam. Sam shared how anxious he felt when attending places like school and his fear has influenced the client’s way of life. Panic attacks had many consequences to Sam like exhibiting heart run, breath shortness, sweating, and vomiting. The client admitted that his background events attribute to sporadic symptoms like anxiety, for instance, he fears that moving out of the house would result in adverse circumstances to people around him. Tragic experiences like the death of Sam’s mother recruit him to negative thoughts. Based on the ecogram formulated, Sam has a weak relationship with an environment like institutions as he dislikes going to church or school. Despite Sam having a small circle of friend, he likes Rebecca for helping him with school work. Ideally, Sam cares about people close to him, for instance, he avoids going out to avoid bad thing from happening

In looking back, Sam cannot agree to attend places like church as he used to when he was under his biological mother. Upon asking the client how he relates to the new family, Sam declared that he likes his foster parents especially Rebecca who helps him with homework.

Additionally, he enjoys having his room and computer for playing games. Thus, such testimonies are an indication that Sam enjoys solitude and will unlikely to develop a strong relationship with the surrounding (Cuijpers et al., 2016). Taking Sam to the external environment like church will help him not only grow spiritually but socially (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2015). Adopting a foreign environment is a way to cope with fear and withstand emotions that cause panic attacks (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015). As a foster parent, such an approach is strongly advised to impact positive change in Sam’s life.

References

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Cuijpers, P., Cristea, I. A., Karyotaki, E., Reijnders, M., & Huibers, M. J. (2016). How effective are cognitive behavior therapies for major depression and anxiety disorders? A meta‐analytic update of the evidence. World Psychiatry, 15(3), 245-258.

National Association of Social Workers. (2015). Standards and indicators for cultural competence in social work practice [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=7dVckZAYUmk%3d&portalid=0

Unit 7 Discussion 2

Eating disorder is a mental illness characterized by irregular feeding habits accompanied by severe distress and concerns about body shape or weight (Brandt & Crawford, 2019). The eating disorder could be inadequate or excessive food taking which ultimately changes or damages and individual well-being. Examples of eating disorder which are most common include binge, Anorexia nervosa or Bulimia nervosa which affects both males and females. The disease can develop at any stage of an individual life but mostly appears at the age of ten or young adults. Appropriate treatment can be applied and are efficient from nay established eating disorders. Although consuming disorder conditions are treatable, symptoms and consequences could be detrimental when not well addressed.

Typically, eating disorders are diagnosed based on exhibited signs and symptoms or eating habits. A diagnostic measure can be performed by professionals like physicians and mental health professions like psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists. Diagnosing eating disorders include applying assessments and tests like physical exams, psychological evaluations, and other studies. In physical exams, the doctor examines a patient to rule out medical causes for feeding issues and can order lab tests. During psychological evaluations, a mental health professional asks about someone’s thoughts, feeding habits and feelings. A client can be required to fill out questionnaires (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015). Other studies include additional tests to verify any complications related to eating behavior. The best practice intervention for an eating disorder is psychotherapy which can help a person replace unhealthy behaviors. Psychotherapy approaches may include cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and family-based therapy (FBT). An FBT approach seeks treatment for children or teenagers with eating disorders and involves family to follow up on healthy eating patterns. CBT, on the other hand, is used as a treatment for binge eating disorder as it exposes clients in learning to monitor and improves eating habits (Wade & Wilksch, 2018).

References

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Brandt, H. A., & Crawford, S. F. (2019). Eating Disorders 2018: New Insights in Diagnosis, Research, and Treatment. Psychiatric Clinics, 42(1), xiii-xv.

Wade, T. D., & Wilksch, S. M. (2018). Internet eating disorder prevention. Current opinion in psychiatry, 31(6), 456-461.

Unit 8 Discussion 1

In the presented situations for trauma-informed practices, I chose to address Stan’s case who returned from a third tour in Iraq. Stan reports to experience difficulties in sleeping, high anxiety, and night terrors. In this case, I would apply a therapy called eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). I chose this approach because it would help Stan exhaust the traumatic memories. The method is unique in diminishing negative feelings that a person may be having after an occurrence of an event. The approach involves obtaining a client’s history, preparing treatments, develop target memory, desensitize the target and install effective cognitive processing of events. The therapeutic approach would utilize cognitive interventions and eye movements. Thus, along with this intervention, I would recommend cognitive behavioral therapy to use as first-line treating traumatic stress disorders.

Through an evaluated community resource, an identifiable community-based agency that can provide health services to Stan is post-traumatic stress management (PTSM) team from an international trauma center (Jindani, Turner & Khalsa, 2015). The group works closely with mental health, education departments, families, youths and federal agencies like FEMA and red cross to incorporate practices for the recovery process. PTSM is a group based on cognitive intervention and targets the reduction of traumatic stress. The community provides interventions such as psychological first aid, stabilization, coping strategies, consultancy, and technical support to individuals impacted by events. Exhibiting symptoms like the one experienced by Stan may imply the likelihood of post-traumatic stress disorder. Such an individual is required to seek help in helpful supports like family services agencies, family doctors, community mental health agencies, religious leaders or workplace employees (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015). Working with such agencies allows a client to feel comfortable in his or her living and gets to develop a positive mental state.

References

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Jindani, F., Turner, N., & Khalsa, S. B. S. (2015). A yoga intervention for posttraumatic stress: A preliminary randomized control trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015.

Unit 8 Discussion 2

In this discussion, a diagnostic category I am interested in is an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is a healthy body reaction to stressful conditions and can be explained as a feeling of fear, about what to happen. In cases of anxiety disorder, the sense of dread usually is within a person at all times and can be intense. Anxiety causes one to refrain from doing enjoyable things and can prevent a person from participating in environments that induce fear. I chose to address anxiety because it is a common emotional disorder which can affect anyone irrespective of age. Types of anxiety include panic disorder, phobia-related disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder (Stein & Sareen, 2015). An essential component of anxiety diagnosis includes physical examination, administering questionnaires and noting symptoms. Physical exams help professional to rule out illness that could be caused or marked by signs. Complete patient history is provided for enabling accurate diagnosis. In physical examination, clients are required to be open with professionals so that to note factors that could contribute to anxiety-like alcohol use, medications, hormones, and illnesses.

Anxiety disorder can be addressed by a therapy approach since this method treats more than just the exhibited symptoms of the disease. A therapeutic approach helps a client uncover underlying causes of worries or fear, learn to relax in situations presenting anxiety and develop coping skills. Various therapy methods can be used, but the best interventions include cognitive behavioral or exposure therapy. CBT intervention is appropriate because they address the negative patterns and distortions in how people envision themselves in the world (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015). The treatment allows a person to recognize that thoughts affect how individuals feel and not the situation which one face (Dahlin, M et al., 2016). Individuals with anxiety disorder have a negative way of thinking and this fuel their emotions of fear and anxiety.

References

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Dahlin, M., Andersson, G., Magnusson, K., Johansson, T., Sjögren, J., Håkansson, A., … & Carlbring, P. (2016). Internet-delivered acceptance-based behavior therapy for a generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 77, 86-95.

Stein, M. B., & Sareen, J. (2015). Generalized anxiety disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(21), 2059-2068.

Unit 9 Discussion 1

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a brain problem featured by an ongoing inattention and impulsivity patterns which interferes with child development (Patros et al., 2016). Inattention condition implies that someone wanders offs task and experiences difficulties in sustaining focus. Hyperactivity, on the other hand, means a person can be seen to move continuously in a situation not appropriate and exhibits excessive fidgets. Impulsivity characteristics imply that a person make hasty actions occurring in the moments without thinking about them and such activities may cause potential harm. An impulsive person is socially intrusive, interrupts others excessively and make decisions without considering long-term effects.

Typically, there are numerous concerns which children and their families encounter as a result of ADHD disorder. For example, families of children with ADHD may have to contend with behavioral, educational and developmental disturbances. ADHD requires more logistic, time and energy to be spent on young individuals with ADHD disorder. Such an increased demand for time or energy on affected clients is associated with elevated stress in family functioning. Financial burden incurred in treating ADHD adds to these difficulties. Where family environments become stressful, both children and adult face a significant risk of either physical or mental health problems. For example, families affected by ADHD have a level of marital conflicts which is sometimes linked to poor health outcomes.

In treating ADHD disorder, intervention at a micro level can be done through family-based interventions. An effective ADHD treatment involves working with parents and teach them how to handle their children exhibiting ADHD symptoms (Smith et al., 2015). Behavioral parent training allows parents to identify and manipulate consequences that are problematic. At a macro level of intervention, a classroom behavioral management can be applied to treat ADHD disorder, and this involves regular consultation with educators on behalf of the specialist (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015). At mezzo level of intervention, academic interventions can be made by manipulating instruction or materials used in schools with intent to improve behavior or theoretical results.

References

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Patros, C. H., Alderson, R. M., Kasper, L. J., Tarle, S. J., Lea, S. E., & Hudec, K. L. (2016). Choice-impulsivity in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 43, 162-174.

Smith, E., Koerting, J., Latter, S., Knowles, M. M., McCann, D. C., Thompson, M., & Sonuga‐Barke, E. J. (2015). Overcoming barriers to effective early parenting interventions for attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): parent and practitioner views. Child: care, health, and development, 41(1), 93-102.

Unit 9 Discussion 2

In this discussion, I chose Autism spectrum disorder to apply a developmental theory such as psychosocial theory which addresses the human stage from birth to death (Hirvikoski et al., 2016). In Erickson’s theory of development, the types of stimulus required by children to master stages and become productive society members are addressed. Also, the approach addresses developmental delays that can occur if stimulation does not happen. Erickson’s theory applies to children with autism because the social challenges experienced during development are the core criteria of diagnosing autism. A child can show social development for some time, then begins he or she begins to regress. When applying Erickson’s theory, the first stage of development is trust and mistrust (McLean, Syed, Yoder & Greenhoot, 2016). When a child is provided with basic needs like food, he or she can learn to trust people in the environment. When infants are neglected and not given support and care consistently, they learn to question people around them, believing caretaker will not always be there to offer support. According to Erickson’s theory, learning to trust is an essential step to learn how to love and sustain a relationship with others while possessing a positive self-image. Thus, since autism is associated with difficulties in communication with other people, the psychosocial theory of Erickson applies in this disorder.

I would recommend a family intervention like responsive teaching, as a developmental approach to treating autism spectrum disorder. Responsive teaching is a family program that teaches parents ways to support the development of children’s communication, emotional or social skills. Parents learn to be sensitive in how kids interact with their surroundings. A responsive teaching intervention is a relationship focused which encourages the parent to engage with kids in a compassionate way like taking a turn, to wait and follow children’s lead (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015).

References

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Hirvikoski, T., Mittendorfer-Rutz, E., Boman, M., Larsson, H., Lichtenstein, P., & Bölte, S. (2016). Premature mortality in autism spectrum disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 208(3), 232-238.

McLean, K. C., Syed, M., Yoder, A., & Greenhoot, A. F. (2016). The role of domain content in understanding identity development processes. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 26(1), 60-75.

Unit 10 Discussion 1

To: Local Newspaper

From: Social work Leader

I am writing to address anxiety disorder as the most significant mental health issue in the community. Ideally, it is paramount to point out that community professional, especially in a primary healthcare setting, encounters individuals suffering from anxiety disorder (Day, 2018). The mental health issue is often complicated to distinguish from other worries affecting individuals like adults. Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental conditions. I feel that the anxiety disorder issue is most significant since the situation is real and severe just like other physical conditions such as diabetes or heart diseases.

As a way to engage individuals, families, organizations, and group in addressing anxiety disorder, I would designate a community staff member to be the point of contact (Economou, Peppou, Souliotis & Stylianidis, 2016). The appointed individual will contact with community partners and mental health organization in ensuring family and people know who to contact when clarifying new programs. Also, the designated person will interact with family members, note people’s concern, encourage feedback on resources, outcomes or policies governing the interventions for the mental condition. Community members will be expected to report relevant issues and seek early intervention by communicating with an elected county staff member, and the person is supposed to act immediately.

As a community social work leader, I call for global health intervention by inviting donors, government agencies and mental health stakeholders to scale the coverage of health services. The government ministries are required to provide human right protection; donors will help increase in resources as the local government secure financial footing that supports mental health service (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015). Mental health stakeholders in support of government will strengthen data collection to help identify affected individual and monitor implemented interventions. I request that both international and national stakeholders in the research sector like universities to increase resource priority on mental health, disseminate and improve findings that govern interventions.

Yours,

Community social work leader.

References

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Day, P. (2018). Treatment of anxiety in elderly housebound patients. Journal of Community Nursing, 32(2), 52-55.

Economou, M., Peppou, L. E., Souliotis, K., & Stylianidis, S. (2016). The impact of the economic crisis in Greece: Epidemiological perspective and community implications. In Social and Community Psychiatry (pp. 469-483). Springer, Cham.

Unit 10 Discussion 2

In this discussion, the case to identify addresses Sam, a 15 years old teenage boy. Sam was born in Arizona, with no siblings or parents. The client’s mother died in an accident and no records about his father. Sam is a native male American and lives with foster parents. The diagnosis provided for this client who exhibited panic attacks involved physical examinations where the health professional closely observed exhibited symptoms such as fear. Additional tests were employed to track symptoms like heartbeats and breath shortness. During physical exams, it was noted that Sam revealed severe symptoms, like sweating, vomiting, breath shortness, chills or hot flashes. The foster parent provided background record that, the patient experiences such outlined symptoms when attending school. The client disliked visiting public places like school or church as he feared terrible things would happen to him or the family. According to the diagnosis process, following the DSM-5 model, the exhibited symptoms confirmed a panic disorder.

The intervention chosen for this case is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (ER, 2015). The approach was selected as the best treatment plan for intervening in mental health conditions like panic disorder. CBT therapy focuses on a person’s thought and behaviors that trigger fear and control anxiety and panic attacks. The method of intervention was appropriate because, if the client is trained to control negative thoughts and withstand exposure to situations causing panic, then he can overcome the condition. A potential ethical dilemma identified in this case is symptom exacerbation (Cooper & Granucci Lesser, 2015). Though exposure therapy helps overcome fear, the intervention is not sure whether it would reduce or elevate panic symptoms. As a social work leader, an approach to individuals with this type of disorder through a system-based is integrating family members, community groups like educators and peers ([NASW], 2015). Such individuals would help the client manage their fear by exposing them to situations triggering panics like schools, church or sports grounds.

References

Cooper, M., & Granucci Lesser, J. (2015). Clinical social work practice: An integrated approach with enhanced Pearson e-text (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

ER, I. (2015). Diagnosis and management of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults. Am Fam Physician, 91(9), 617-624.

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