wk 1 and 2 Journal
5
Counselling
Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Course:
Instructor:
Date:
Counselling
The following are the documentations of the clients assessed and treated during a family therapy session and a discussion to justify the steps taken.
First client
Name of client: Janet Chaper
Assessment Reason: Having problems handling her family as a single mother without stable employment.
Day of meeting: Monday, 9th, 2020 Time: From 12:00pm to 2:00pm.
Assessment Details
Cooperation: She was willing to open up and express herself well.
Explanation of details: She has a long list of items to clarify, and she did her best within 20 minutes.
Clarity of problems: Not everything was clear. We had to instantly do away with unnecessary points, and focus on handling the significant issues.
Understanding of situations: She understood that some issues were within her solution, and some needed extra advises and mentoring to solve.
Recognizing mistakes: Yes, she understood where she erred and had no powers to control.
Giving room for reason and quizzing: This was moderate, she first thought she is the right one, till I convinced her to understand my explanations too.
Attempted suicide: No, but thought of it.
Mental Stability: She is stable, but needs to be keen not to fall to depression.
Moods: Moderate. Changes from good to worse.
Effects on behavior: She is paranoid and needs a lot of time to calm.
Willingness to change: Yes, she wants to remain sober, and happy all the time.
Discussion: We had a lengthy conversation, and agreed on frequent visits to the facility. Janet also has roles to play and to document her progress. We will use these documentations for evaluation and completion of the assessment and treatment.
Comments: There is hope for improvement, we plan to go over this for around 2 to 3 months, with a visit every fortnight to the clinic.
Second Client
Name of client: Maxborn Abbot
Assessment Reason: Fell to drug addiction previous after recovery.
Day of meeting: Monday, June 9th. Time : 5.00pm to 7.00pm.
Assessment Details: Abbot was a drug addict, he stopped after an individual-decision, and he is again troubled by his love for drugs.
Cooperation: He was fully cooperative and gave enough time for assessment. He understood that I was the expert, and he followed every procedure given to him during the interview.
Explanation of details: He was thorough in his elaboration.
Clarity of problems: Was easy to understand, and give comprehensive details of his addiction.
Understanding of situations: Yes, he understands why, and how the procedure should work.
Recognizing mistakes: Not quite. He had extra people to blame for his woes.
Giving room for reason and quizzing: Yes, but was rigid on answeres.
Attempted suicide: No.
Mental Stability: He is heading the wrong direction, needs a quick solution before he drowns in psychological disorders.
Moods: Moderate.
Effects on behavior: He has sharply changed, and is more addicted to the drugs he uses.
Willingness to change: Yes.
Discussion : We discussed a lot at length with enough time to get the root of problems, plan on a solution, and give recommendation for his homework.
Comments: Abbot’s solution requires excellent determination in completing his diagnosis and treatment. He needs to stop using drugs to become a healthy and great person he was before.
Discussion
The two clients above had different approaches to their problems. Janet has not sought any medication before but has always relied on self-motivation and inspiration to balance her situation. Her history is having to repeat the same procedures for herself. Her medication would be to exercise control, avoid quarrels. She may use antidepressants once a week, but not too much of them. Abbot, on the other hand, needs to be keen on how he implements her procedures. He has been in the same methods before and will need to work harder to avoid the problems again. My recommendation for him is to have less strenuous procedures to help him avoid using the drugs again, then apply the moderate ones, then the hard ones, and finish with less demanding. Such methods should help him identify his points of weakness and work on encountering them forever.
In the diagnoses above, there are cases of mental retardation that are drastically affecting both Janet and Abbot. Their experiences are worsening and make them feel socially inferior when with the rest. According to the American Psychiatric Association. (2013), they are likely to develop autosomal trisomy if they do not solve their problems in time. It starts from mild, to severe, to damaging levels. Due to this fact, they need timely intervention to solve the problems they encounter and regain their emotional and psychological fitness.
One common ethical issue related to the two cases include confidentiality and respect to the two parties (Bhola & Raguram, 2016). I have to keep all their information confidential, avoid sharing their problems with any other person, and also avoid judging them. Welfel (2015), agrees that this is a principle each psychologist must apply to ensure confidence between them and their clients. Besides, the clients must never be judged or despised for their situations. Every person taking them through the recovery process should understand that the conditions are normal, and can be solved.
Reference
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders. Maine Avenue, SW.
Bhola, P. & Raguram, A. (2016). Ethical Issues in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice: Walking the Line. Springer.
Welfel, E., R. (2015). Ethics in Counseling & Psychotherapy. Cengage Learning.