Selecting Effective Treatment Summary - Essay Example

? Chapter Summaries Chapter Summaries Chapter One: The Importance Of Systematic And Effective Treatment Planning Inadequate clinical comprehension, improper treatment and inaccurate diagnosis have contributed to numerous clinical errors today. Chapter one of Seligman & Reichenberg’s (2011) book, Selecting Effective Treatments, discusses the importance of systematic and effective treatment planning. The chapter begins with three cases of patients being diagnosed inaccurately and also being offered inappropriate treatment. This show the extents to which clinical interventions are not systematic and also effective (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). The main aim of this chapter is to assist psychotherapists from each and every discipline – counselors, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses and psychiatrists – in diagnosis and treatment of patients. This chapter seeks to assist these psychotherapists make sound therapeutic decisions in order for them to assist their patients ease their difficulties and make them feel better concerning themselves, as well as their lives, and attain their goals. An urge for accountability and treatment efficiency calls for systematic treatment planning (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). Since health care expenses have gone up, the growth and effect of administered care has also gone up. Third-party payers now increasingly need mental health experts to explain and validate their treatment plans. Case leaders assess treatment plans in order to determine whether they are correct. Therefore, the therapist’s knowledge and skill of treatment planning is a vital aspect of people’s capacity to obtain their psychotherapy need (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). This chapter presented a prominent outline for an all encompassing treatment plan. The authors did a wonderful review on the literature, and this will certainly help psychotherapists improve their healthcare work. The chapter advocated for improved interaction between clients and their therapist in order to increase therapeutic outcomes. Chapter Two: Mental Disorders in Infants, Children and Adolescents This chapter starts with a portrayal of an eight-year-old girl, Shannon, who, for a long period of time, had been showing a wide range of academic and behavioral problems (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). As is widespread amongst children with attention-deficit, as well as disruptive behavior illnesses, the parents to the young girl had manifested similar signs as youngsters. Therefore, they experienced tough times appreciating the severity of Shannon’s signs helping her improve her behavior. The chapter provides an overview of mental disorders in adolescents, children and infants, and it also talks about mental retardation. Some of the other topics that have been incorporated in the chapter include: learning communication disorders and motor skills, pervasive developmental disorders, eating and feeding disorders related to infancy, pervasive developmental disorders, separation anxiety disorders, enurests, encoprests, selective mutism, treatment recommendation and additional diagnosed in children and adolescents and other recommended readings. Problems in school like misbehavior, inattention or academic failure, normally prompt school counselors or teachers to suggest therapy for their students (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). Academic problems are frequently related to socio-emotional problems like insecure attachment, aggression, inappropriate peer relationships, social isolation, as well as lack of motivation. Therefore, a therapist working with a young person normally has targets of intervention such as the school, family and the environment. Such therapists need to be exceptional diagnosticians since confusing and comorbidity presentations are widespread in childhood mental disorders (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). It is always advisable to include a treatment method for a patient such a Shannon in such a chapter, in this book, and that is what the authors did. Also, the recommended readings seem quite educative, and such books would help the reader compliment the information that he or she has attained from this chapter. Chapter Three: Situationally Precipitated Disorders and Conditions This chapter covers four aspects of experiences, which an individual might have about anxiety disorder: physical tension, mental apprehension, dissociative anxiety and physical symptoms. The chapter divides anxiety disorder into universal anxiety disorder, phobic panic disorder and disorder, and each has its own symptoms and traits, which require diverse modes of treatment. The emotions and feelings present in anxiety disorders vary from straightforward nervousness to long sessions of terror. The chapter begins with the story of a 40-year-old woman, Beth H, who sought medical counseling two weeks following the revelation of her cancerous state (breast cancer) (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). The chapter goes forward to state that the woman reported that she was full of fear and sorrow because her diagnosis was not able to make any vital decisions concerning her treatment. Because of this, Beth was left a sad woman because she was not able to receive the treatment she deserved. Apart for discussing the situation of this lady, the chapter also touches on other sectors such as overview of situationally precipitated conditions and disorders, others condition, which might be a focus for clinical attention, adjustment disorders, treatment recommendations, as well as a cite map and other recommended readings. According to the chapter, both "conditions" and "disorders" have a similar precipitant and are normally mild especially if the affected individual has no other mental disorder. This will extremely vital for the authors to bring out since not many readers knew about that. Anxiety disorder is a widespread, chronic disorder, which, if left untendered to, then it can cause stern consequences. Therefore, such a chapter is extremely educative. Chapter Four: Mood Disorders Mood disorders (also known as affective disorders), according to chapter four of Seligman & Reichenberg’s (2011) book, are those wherein extreme distinctions in the mood – either high or low – are the main feature. People go through such distinctions from mild to moderate levels in the normal course of life, but to some individuals, the edge of moods in either direction becomes gravely maladaptive, even to the degree of suicide. Most individuals with mood disorders have some type of unipolar depression – major depression or dysthymia. In such disorders, the individual experiences a wide range of emotional, cognitive, motivational, as well as biological symptoms comprising of persistent sadness, unenthusiastic thoughts concerning the self, as well as the future, lack of energy or inventiveness for taking part in formerly pleasurable events, too little or too much sleep and losing or gaining weight (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). The chapter discusses how unipolar depression might have numerous causes; traditional biological grounds have increasingly been proved to relate with more psychosocial elements. Among biological causal causes for unipolar depression, there is proof of a reasonable genetic contribution to the susceptibility for major depression, but almost certainly not for dysthymia. Furthermore, major depressions are obviously connected to numerous interacting disturbances in neurobiological regulation, comprising of neuroendocrine, neurochemical, as well as neurophysiological systems (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). Distractions in seasonal and circadian rhythms, in depression, are prominent elements of depression, as well. The recommended readings seem quite educative and such books would help the reader compliment the information that he or she has attained from this chapter. Reading of this chapter can be advised. Chapter Five: Anxiety Disorders After going through this chapter, a reader can tell apart between anxiety and fear and make the distinction between trait and state anxiety, as well. A reader will also be able to identify the basic symptom criteria for normal anxiety disorder, obsessive disorder, different forms of phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as acute stress disorder. (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011) Chapter five of this book discusses the impacts (negative and positive) of the DSM-IV-TR anxiety illness diagnoses. It fully demonstrates the familiarity in the demographics that correlate various anxiety disorders. The chapter also identifies and describes numerous cultural-bound syndromes, which are similar to the DSM-IV-TR anxiety illness and discusses cultural distinctions with regards to anxiety states. Chapter five of this book uses various theories such as traditional conditioning, operant conditioning, as well as social learning, to explain how numerous anxiety disorders come to exist and be maintained (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). The chapter also explains the most prominent ways of treating anxiety disorders from a behavioral view, and, in particular, the use of exposure theories. One key point of the chapter is that a lot of people were affected, indirectly or directly, by the September 11 terror attacks. Following the attacks, rates of PSTD, substance abuse, stress-related symptoms and health-related problems like asthma, all increased. There are numerous literary examples of mental disorders, which offer rich material for learning, but this chapter is exceptional. The whole content of the chapter involves how stress makes people obsessive and anxious, which eventually leads to a disorder. This was highly thoughtful of the authors. Chapter Six: Disorders of Behavior and Impulse Control Some of the learning objectives of this chapter include: describing the traits of adjustment disorders and also explain what the widespread adaptation syndrome means (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). Chapter six of this book explains the consequence of stress factors in illness and health, giving special concern to the task of the immune system. It also explains the duty of acculturative stress in relation to the mental health of native and immigrant populations. This chapter also discusses some of the mental features, which moderate stress, comprising of styles of coping, psychological hardiness, self-efficacy expectations, optimism, ethnic identity and social support. The chapter explains the relation between physical disorders and psychological factors comprising of headaches, asthma, cardiovascular disease, cancer and also AIDS (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). After going through this chapter, the reader will be able to describe the three groups of personality disorders and also the features of schizoid, schizotypal and paranoid personality disorders (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). Also, the chapter is quite educative since the reader can be able to describe the main features of borderline, antisocial, narcissistic and histrionic personality disorders. Chapter six of this book also describes the key features of dependent, avoidant, as well as obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. Finally, it discusses the problems encountered in the classification of personality disorders, comprising of their validity, reliability and sexist biases. Apart from the case study provided at the beginning of this chapter and also the recommended readings, which compliment the content of this chapter, I found this chapter quite educative to any person who is willing to familiarize him/herself with disorders of behavior and impulse control. Chapter Seven: Disorders in which Physical and Physiological Factors Combine Age is broadly considered as the most significant determinant of the loss of a person’s physical performance potential over time (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). A minute amount of physical performance is a requirement for people since the demands for any physical job are frequently dictated by extrinsic factors, which cannot be altered. A reduced work capacity might lead to insufficient performance, enhance the risk of overdo injury and also compromise efficiency of any job operation (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). Nevertheless, appropriate exercise can counteract the consequences of aging on strength and stamina and allow a person to maintain sufficient levels of performance late into life. This is what chapter seven of Seligman & Reichenberg’s (2011) book, Selecting Effective Treatments, discusses. Some of the sub-sections of the chapter include an overview of disorder wherein physical and psychological traits combine, factitious disorders, somatoform disorders, delirium disorders, amnesic disorders and mental disorders, which arise because of a medical condition and also other cognitive disorders. Both muscular capabilities and stamina depreciate with age. This leads to a decline in both maximal achievable performances and drops, in PFC level. Nevertheless, it is too difficult to determine whether the noted reduction is as a result of natural aging, or of physical inactivity, lifestyle, disuse or genetics. Age-concerned changes noted in physiological tests of highly trained and spirited master athletes can be considered as a performance “ceiling”, echoing the results of primary aging with insignificant extra margins for enhancement through training (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). Barring in mind the development of age structures in today’s world, physical exercise might be the key to supporting suitable levels of fitness needed both for everyday life and work. Chapter Eight: Personality Disorders The eighth chapter of this book is divided into the following sections: an overview of personality disorders, schizoid personality disorder, paranoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, anti-social personality disorder, historic personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, personality disorders that are specified and also a treatment map, as well as the recommended readings. According to Seligman & Reichenberg (2011), the causes of personality disorders are the subject of significant controversy and debate. Seligman & Reichenberg (2011) argue that some experts believe that personality disorders are brought about by early experiences, which prevented the maturity of normal thought, as well as behavior patterns. However, they state that other researchers consider that genetic or biological influences are the main causes of personality disorders. Even though, a definitive cause has not been established, it is most probably that a blend of environmental variables and genetic predisposition lead to the increase of personality disorders. Such patterns of behavior should be pervasive and chronic, affecting numerous aspects of the person’s life, comprising of social functioning, close relationships, school and work (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). The person can exhibit symptoms, which affect some of the following fields: emotions, thoughts, impulse control and interpersonal functioning. Finally, the pattern of behaviors should be even across time, as well as have a beginning, which can be traced back to early adulthood or adolescence (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). This chapter educates people in order for them to understand the various personality traits that exist and also how they come to be. Therefore, after going through this chapter, one can understand people who are affected by this disorder. Chapter Nine: Disorder Involving Impairment in Awareness of Reality: Psychotic and Dissociative Disorders The ninth chapter of this book incorporates an overview of psychotic and dissociative disorders. It also has another section that explains these disorders broadly, in addition to recommending their treatments (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). Finally, it closes with the recommended reading similar to the way other chapters did. According to the chapter, the five dissociative disorders recognized by the APA – American Psychiatric Association include depersonalization disorder, dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, dissociative identity disorder, and dissociative disorder not otherwise specified. Depersonalization disorder is a mental disorder that includes periods of detachment from surrounding or self that might be faced as "unreal" while maintaining awareness that the situation is only a feeling and not a truth (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). Dissociative fugue is a reversible amnesia for personal identity, normally incorporating unplanned wandering or travel and, at times, accompanied by the creation of a new identity. This state is normally connected to stressful life situations and can be lengthy or short (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). A key finding of this chapter is that both dissociative fugue and dissociative amnesia normally emerge in adulthood and hardly ever arise after 50 years. The chapter states that the ICD-10 categorizes conversion disorder as a dissociative disorder whereas the DSM-IV categorizes it as a somatoform illness. With regards to psychotic disorders, surplus dopaminergic signalling is hypothesized to be connected to the symptoms of psychosis, particularly those of schizophrenia; nevertheless, this theory has not been definitively upheld. The chapter could have expounded more on that in order for the reader to understand this disorder fully. Chapter Ten: The Future of Diagnosis and Treatment Planning The closing chapter of the book incorporates new understandings of diagnosis, changes in treatment methods, cultural and social influences concerning treatment planning and also the recommended readings (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). The authors advocate for motivational intervention as a key method to improving the future of diagnosis, as well as treatment. Motivational intervention is a fairly new, but positively received, advance to encouraging optimistic behavioral change. The loom is adapted from a wide range of sources, comprising of cognitive therapy, client-centered counseling, systems theory, as well as a trans-theoretical replica of change (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). The mission of clinical institutes should be to change the understanding and treatment of mental disorders through both clinical, as well as basic research, opening the way for recovery and prevention along with cure. For clinical institutes to go on fulfilling their vital public health mission, they should foster innovative thoughts and make sure that a full array of novel scientific views are utilized to further finding in the growing science of brain, experience and behavior. In this manner, breakthroughs in science can turn into breakthroughs for every mental disorder (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2011). There is an inevitable tension between the longer-term nature of scientific growth and the vital need for change. Scientific progress is basically slow and incremental. However, vital progress has been made plus it has been hastening in the past years. Clinical institutes can make use of this information in order to ensure that mental disorders are dealt with efficiently in the near future. Reference Seligman, L., & Reichenberg, L. W. (2011). Selecting effective treatments: A comprehensive, systematic guide to treating mental disorders. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Press. Read More