Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
After watching Episode 1, describe: What is Mr. Levy’s perception of the problem? What is Mrs. Levy’s perception of the problem? What can be some of the implications of the problem on the family as a whole? After watching Episode 2, describe: What did you think of Mr. Levy’s social worker’s ideas? What were your thoughts of her supervisor’s questions about her suggested therapies and his advice to Mr. Levy’s supervisor? After watching Episode 3, discuss the following: What were your thoughts about the way Mr. Levy’s therapist responded to what Mr. Levy had to say? What were your impressions of how the therapist worked with Mr. Levy? Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.What did you think about the therapy session as a whole? Informed by your knowledge of pathophysiology, explain the physiology of deep breathing (a common technique that we use in helping clients to manage anxiety).
Explain how changing breathing mechanics can alter blood chemistry. Describe the therapeutic approach his therapist selected. Would you use exposure therapy with Mr. Levy? Why or why not? What evidence exists to support the use of exposure therapy (or the therapeutic approach you would consider if you disagree with exposure therapy)? In Episode 4, Mr. Levy tells a very difficult story about Kurt, his platoon officer. Discuss how you would have responded to this revelation. Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.Describe how this information would inform your therapeutic approach. What would you say/do next? In Episode 5, Mr. Levy’s therapist is having issues with his story. Imagine that you were providing supervision to this therapist, how would you respond to her concerns? Support your approach with evidence-based literature. Note: The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
Introduction
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition resultant from experiencing a distressing event. Typically reported among veterans, the condition makes it difficult for them to socially adapt to a non-civilian life. It is not uncommon for persons suffering from PTSD to use either psychoactive drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism (Cautin & Lilienfeld, 2015). The present paper discusses the psychiatric management is a PTSD case involving a veteran as the client.Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
Discussion
o Mr. Levy’s perception of the problem
He expresses the opinion that his experiences as a soldier in Iraq changed him. His experiences were distressing, and he turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism. He does not think he is ready to engage in typical social activities (such as going to work) prefers spending time watching television.
o Mrs. Levy’s perception
She believes that her husband is an alcoholic and this is straining their relationship. In addition, he has not explained himself in terms of why he does not want to go to work. Her husband changed after being discharged from the army and he has become less communicative. These factors are straining their relationship as a couple.Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
o Implications of the problem on the family as a whole?
Mr. Levy is an alcoholic who spends most of his time at home watching television while missing work. Also, he is non-communicative. This has placed a strain on his wife, and she feels that he changed. Wheeler (2014) expresses similar sentiments by explaining that persons suffering from PTSD would typically turn to an addictive substance as a coping mechanism. The addiction compounds the problem by making it more difficult for them to communicate with the rest of the family. In addition, it causes them to ignore important social activities such as work so that the family experiences financial strain.Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
o Mr. Levy’s social worker’s ideas
The social worker expresses the idea that he would be an ideal candidate for alternative therapies, such as art therapy since he is a young veteran who suffers from PTSD and was discharged from the army one year ago. This is not a good idea. That is because the social worker appears to be more interested in experiments with the alternative therapies as opposed to addressing the patient’s needs. A therapy should only be considered after comprehensively evaluating the case. A better approach would involve first evaluating the case before recommending a personalized therapeutic approach that is tailored for the client’s needs (Wheeler, 2014).Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
o Supervisor’s questions
The questions asked by the supervisor point the therapist in the right direction. They make the therapist to think more about addressing the client’s needs than experimenting with treatment approaches. Also, they focus attention on the implications of using a non-familiar therapeutic approach (Wheeler, 2014).
- Episode 3
o Therapist’s response
The therapist provided the right response by guiding the client in providing information about his case. Exposure therapy is appropriately used when the client becomes emotional while recounting past therapeutic events. This conforms with recommended psychotherapy approaches that requires the therapist to first understand the case from the client’s and experiences before presenting a plan for providing treatment (Wheeler, 2014).Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
o Therapy session
The therapist work in the right way, first collecting information from the client to include experiences before presenting a treatment plan. Having the client recount the traumatic events ensures that he confronts them within a controlled environment and can begin the healing process (Reamer, 2014).
o Breathing mechanics
Deep breathing is typically used to help the client calm down when he or she appears anxious and distressed. An anxious client breathes faster and has a fast heart rate, causing an oxygen deficiency that simultaneously increases the breathing speed and heart rate. Deep breathing compensates for the oxygen deficiency so that the breathing speed and heart rate reduce (Alverti & Pedotti, 2014).Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
o Therapeutic approach used
The therapist used exposure therapy. This is an appropriate approach since it allows the client to be evaluated in a controlled environment where anxiety from recounting the traumatic events can be addressed. Also, it allows the therapist to get a better awareness of the issues affecting the client and caused him to attend therapy (Cautlin & Lilienfield, 2015).Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
- Episode 4, Kurt story
o Discuss how you would have responded to this revelation.
An appropriate response to the story is to acknowledge that the choice was difficult at the time. The therapist is supposed to offer support and not judge the client’s choices at the time. Regardless of whatever choice the client made in the past, the objective of therapy is to enable the client to live with his choices. As a result, a fitting response is to reassure the client he is not being judged for his past choices (Wheeler, 2014).
o Therapeutic approach. What would you say/do next?
The information informs therapy by allowing the client to open up so that the therapist gains a better understanding of the case. In applying a supportive and non-judgmental approach, a trusting relationship is formed in which the client is motivated to open up with honest experiences and opinions. Also, it helps the client in accepting rather than avoiding the past traumatic events (Wheeler, 2014).Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.
- Episode 5
o Response to concerns
As a supervisor, it is important to remind the therapist to always be objective in handling the case with a focus on helping the patient as the primary objective. Through adopting an objective approach, a personalized solution would be presented that best serves the patient rather than the therapist (Shea, 2015).
Conclusion
One must accept that PTSD is a source of concern for families, especially when it involves veterans who have experienced distressing war events. In addition, one must acknowledge that it is not uncommon for persons with PTSD to use drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. Therapists address the concern by presenting an opportunity for the patient to receive treatment by first understanding the nuances of the PTSD before presenting a personalized solution.Assessing Clients With Addictive Disorders.