Mental Disorder - Book Report/Review Example

?Mental Disorder Insert Mental Disorder A mental disorder is defined as a psychological pattern, reflected in ones behavior that is generally associated with distress or disability, and not considered in the normal development of personal culture (Haglin & Whitbourne, 2010). Background of the disorder It is mainly associated with distress, pain, disability, loss of freedom and the increased risk of suffering death. Acute stress disorder is an anxiety disorder notified due to a cluster of dissociative and anxiety symptoms that occur within a month of a traumatic stressor. Recently, I met John in the street a year ago who looked somehow troubled and deeply stressed. I knew that he needed some immediate medical care although he was hesitant, but I convinced him on the essentiality of medical attention because I realized it was not noble of me to leave him in the streets. Cause of the disorder After being in the hospital for a while where he was attended and properly dressed, I made time and held a talk with him on what caused the depression, hence leading to loss of memory. He told me that he had been involved in an incidence on a weekend when he was driving back home with his kids and wife, in which his car lost control and the vehicle braking system failed. In this incidence, a heavy truck from the opposite direction bumped into his car so that they almost had a head-on collision; to avoid this fatal accident, he drove sideway and the car overturned in a big wide trench. As a result, he and his beloved sustained major injuries; although he emerged, he lost two children and his wife. He explained to me that he saw their bodies being evacuated from this carnage, which traumatized him mainly because the images of this accident frequently came into his mind. Diagnosis This environmental problem caused some mental disturbance in John’s life, hence leading to adjustment in his conduct, always in depressed mood and also affected his value judgment. This led to behavior change and lack of proper flow of thoughts; he was ever distressed and guilty of himself for what had happened to his family. Most of the times he stayed isolated from other people due to thoughts of guilt and responsibility he bore in regard to the ordeal in which he lost his family. John was also frightened by the thought of re-experiencing the trauma in recurrent dreams, images, thoughts, illusions or flashbacks of the horrendous accident. This incident affected him to an extent of impairing his social functions and ability to do basic tasks, including seeking of help. He was neurotic, which implies that he was ever distressed and void of the physical appeal of a healthy being. John has been psychotic as well since he lost contact with reality and ended up doing bizarre things and poor perceptions of himself. I had to diagnose the specific disorder affecting him. This required some several sessions with him to allow adequate psychotherapy for accurate evaluation or assessment (Butler & Dennis, 1999). Although it took quite some time, the important aspect was to discover the disorder to pave the way for a treatment plan. Treatment plans The treatment plan I had to set has some goals to achieve, which includes the immediate management of the client, which mostly engages dealing with the most pressing issues. It is called in for issues that may involve intense distress or the risk of the client, hence one needs to be hospitalized, but the clinicians are more focused on the pressing issues, whether short term goals or long-term goals. In the short term (immediate), I had to ensure that John’s ways of thinking, behavior and emotions were addressed to achieve normal psychological functioning. The first step effect was to set a good relationship with client and clinicians and I had to visit John frequently to plan on therapy strategies to engage long-term goals, which are usually the ultimate aims of therapeutic change. I had to select a treatment site which could be appropriate for him. In my case with John, a psychiatric hospital was the recommendable site. Hospitalization was appropriate for John’s situation that was in risk and needed same close attention of clinicians. In the hospital setting, I could continuously monitor John closely with the help of trained personnel. The psychotherapeutic interventions are best implemented in a hospital since all facilities are available. The treatment process had to begin after the immediate management of John’s hospitalization. In the first week we had a one to one therapy basis which was usually once after three days in a week and lasted for one hour only. This is referred to as an individual psychotherapy. After some weeks, I identified persons who belonged to his family and once a week I engaged in a family therapy, which helped him feel a part of them. In the hospital, there were scheduled group therapy clinics in which I largely involved John, and achieved a free environment to share problems openly, receive feedback, develop trust, and improve interpersonal skills. Group and family therapies help patients reinforce effective strategies for coping with the trauma, and may reduce the risk of social isolation as a reaction to the trauma. This also worked well in John’s case. They give patients opportunities to describe what happened and how they responded; they also let patients receive warmth and care from their listeners, and help put memories of the event into a coherent narrative, and also allow them to integrate the trauma into their natural lives (Bowles & Stephen, 2000). The clinician is the one who has the ability to interact closely with the patient in a mindful way to provide insight into the nature of a client’s problems. I had to observe John closely and gather some information about him, which helped me to select different therapy strategies. The client John had to have some kind of openness towards me for the success of the therapy although it’s usually painful or even embarrassing to someone to reveal his/her personal life, so one’s social attitudes are vital in treatment of many psychological disorders. Conclusion After five weeks in the psychiatric hospital, I recommended John to go home but advised him on the outpatient therapy services for our patients because being in the hospital was a radical and an expensive intervention for him, which he took positively and attended. Since he had made a tremendous recovery already, the outpatient therapies could work out perfectly for him. In addition, he could have some time and attempt to recollect what was left in his life, including going back to work. Now one year has passed and John has resumed work and is living happily in his transformed life. References Bowles, Stephen V. (2000, March). Acute and post-traumatic stress disorder after spontaneous abortion. American Family Physician, 61. Butler, Dennis J. (1999, August). Post-traumatic stress reactions following motor vehicle accidents. American Family Physician, 60. Halgin, R., & Whitbourne, S. (2010). Abnormal psychology: Clinical perspectives on psychological disorders (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Read More