The Williams Family Treatment Plan - Case Study Example

Case Treatment Plan- Case Study Psychology Lecturer Introduction to the Williams family Jeff and Sandy have been married for 21 years and have been blessed with two children; a son Jacob who is 18 years and their youngest sibling Leo who is 15 years old. The two have independent jobs with Jeff owning a car business that has been affected with financial difficulties in the recent days while Sandy works as a teacher at a local elementary school and has done that for the last 10 years. However, the family has been faced with a lot of issues and conflicts that has created problems thus; they present themselves for counseling sessions. Jeff, the husband, is facing a drinking problem and has turned to be a drunkard consuming alcohol every day after work. Moreover, the slow business and the downturned economy from the car business has further created more financial pressures on the family. This can be attributed to Jeff poor spending as well as poor management skills resulting from his drinking habits. Jacob, the eldest son, suffers from Asperger syndrome. Due to his condition, he has been alienated away from the society. He suffers from depression and overall sadness making him struggle with social engagement. He feels alienated, misunderstood and always disturbed. During the family counseling sessions he sits, looks at the floor and locks back and forth. When he is engaged in the counseling session, he turns to be agitated and begins steaming. The couple is perplexed in regards to their elder son’s behavior and the husband Jeff reacts with anger towards his son more compared to the mother. No one really understands Jacob in the family and due to his behavior; the family never visits any friends and family members. When they visit friends he wants to go home early or will behave strangely. Thus, the couple puts the blame on the school system for their son’s behavior. On the other hand, the youngest sibling is quite distant and disengaged to the family. The school grades are deteriorating from an average B to an average of D over the last four years. He never associates much with the family and reports increased frustrations over the years. The family is in a mess, and it needs to back its pieces together. Various obvious or hidden issues that the family is experiencing As describe above, the family is faced with many issues, and it has to collect its broken pieces together for it to be successful again. The main obvious reason that has caused the disengagement of the family can be attributed to Jeff recent trends of his behavior over the last years. As the head of the family, he should act as the role model for the others to follow. However, this is not the case, but rather Jeff has an alcoholic problem. Every day after work, he arrives home drunk and even continues drinking in front of his family when everybody is watching him. As a result, he engages in various arguments with his family and wife and barely remembers anything the following morning. This has caused a lot of troubles in the house. His car business that he owns is facing financial difficulty due to the recent economic trends and the fact that he has turned to be an alcoholic, it has become very difficult to run the enterprise resulting in losses that has affected the family negatively. Moreover, their eldest son Jacob suffers from Asperger syndrome. This is an autism spectrum disorder that is characterized by social interaction difficulties, as well as non-verbal communication as illustrated (Saltzman-Benaiah, 2006). Jacob awkwardness in his behavior has made the family to visit friends and family member’s seldomly. He suffers from depression, always feels sadness, feels misunderstood and will struggle with social engagement. There is no single treatment for the disorder. Both social support programs and education is beneficial to children with the disorder. According to research, intensive behavioral therapy during the pre-school and toddler period is essential in improving the language skills and cognitive abilities among children suffering from the condition. The intervention should start as soon as the child is diagnosed with the disorder (Woodbury-Smith & Volkmar, 2009). In the case study, since Jacob was diagnosed with the disorder no interventions have been taken making his improvement in behavior very difficult. As parents, it is important for Jeff and Sandy to get education about the disease process as seeking help as soon as possible as this gives the child the best chances of fulfilling the abilities. Sandy and Jeff have however not sought for any interventions and thus, they need to seek for treatment and care. Where to begin as a community mental health counselor As the community health counselor, I will start by addressing Jeff alcoholic drinking problem. Over the last years, Jeff was not having the problem and early interventions are important. Jeff recent change in behavior has resulted in problems in the family causing disagreements with the wife, and this has even affected his own children. With proper parent care and concern, Jeff ought to be receiving therapy in regards to his condition but this has not been the case (Beechem, 2002). Leo, the youngest sibling, is growing from frustrations in regards to his family recent trends, and this has distanced her from them. The child’s grade has deteriorated from an average of B to an average of C. Therefore; it is important to provide appropriate guidance and counseling to Jeff for him to stop his drinking problem. Once the drinking problem is solved, there will not be family arguments anymore; the family will regain its stability and it will be easy to understand Jacob’s problem and seek for treatment. It is important to let Jeff know the consequences of his alcoholic problem as well as ways of controlling and stopping it. Since alcoholism is a chronic disorder, seeking alternative help from a rehabilitative center is important. To be able to control the disorder, Jeff needs support, as there is trauma resulting from the drinking disorder. Thus, it is crucial to educate the family on the purpose of family support and integration. As well, the family requires support to be able to deal with the issues it is facing (Bottlender & Soyka, 2005). There is turmoil caused by living with a loved one that has an addiction problem as it results in emotional, social, physical and spiritual consequences. As the counselor being involved in family support will be critical. As well recommending for further support will be beneficial that will be achieved by recommending Jeff to a rehabilitation center. Due to the family’s financial problems, the counselor needs to recommend them to the best appropriate facility available. While there is no single treatment for Asperger’s syndrome, early treatment of the condition is essential for the utilization of school-based programs and appropriate medical care. This will help reduce the disorders associated symptoms increasing the child’s ability of learning and growing new skills (Berney, 2004). Thus, recommendation to Asperger’s treatment program will be crucial to the family. Services that I will provide as the community health counselor Counseling and support services for the family are important in an effort of restoring the normal family status. As the community mental health counselor attending to the family, I will provide counseling services to Jeff. It is important to him to understand his underlying addiction problem as well as ways of preventing and stopping further intoxication (Mearns, 2003). This will be achieved through education. It is essential to him to understand the consequences resulting from his alcohol intoxication problem for him to mitigate appropriate actions to curb further intoxication. Alcohol abuse is a chronic addiction disorder and stoppage can be a major problem. To ensure compliance, it is importance to foster and encourage family support. This will be important in ensuring a smooth transitioning period. Follow-up services by the mental health counselor are also important to determine whether the stipulated changes are being met as well as determine areas of correction (Felton, 2012). The counselor will also be involved in providing guidance and clarification in cases of difficulties. To ensure a smooth and appropriate rehabilitation process, I will refer Jeff to one of the best alcohol rehabilitation centers in New York, where he will seek further help and treatment. However, I will be involved in family support and follow-up until the disorder has been solved. The parents of a child with Asperger syndrome are the best source of information in regards to the child, thus are essential in providing information regarding the child’s activities and behaviors (Kasket, 2012). Therefore, the counselor needs to create a good bond and partnership with them. It is essential to provide education to the parents regarding the condition how it will affect the child to be able to manage their behaviors effectively. It is important to let the parents understand that early interventions provide the child with the best chances of fulfilling their maximum potential (McLeod, 2003). Thus, I will recommend the child to an early intervention program where the child will receive a great deal of therapies. Letting the parents understand the child’s therapy is also crucial, as it is crucial to implement the same therapy at home. It provides the child with consistency and as well teaches them that their learned behaviors need to be utilized everywhere. To ensure good progress, I will create a schedule for follow-up to determine whether the child is really making progress and learning. Providing the motivation to the parents and the child is crucial. Most of the child with the disorder improves with appropriate therapy and treatment thus it is crucial to keep the parents motivated. Rewarding a good, behavior acts as an incentive of reinforcing it. Once utilized effectively, it can change the child behavior; thus the counselor needs to provide motivational and support services to Jacob (Kasket, 2012). Involving all the family members in the care of an ill family member is essential for support. It is important for Leo to understand the status of his family members. Thus educating him regarding his brothers and fathers conditions is important to foster appropriate care and support. This way, Leo will be more engaged on the family matters, issues, and participate in their care. Providing guidance and motivation on how to act is crucial, as it will help her in improving her grades in school to be a top performer (Mearns, 2003). Rewarding her for the good grades will act as a good motivation to encourage her achieve better. This will be important, as it will help motivate Jacob, the elder sibling. Services that I feel could be provided by other agencies or organizations Social support and educational programs for a child with Asperger syndrome are important for teaching social and adaptive skill with the utilization of highly structured activities. Engaging the child in an effective program is crucial to help build the child’s interest, offering them predictable schedules, engagement of the child’s attention and for providing behavioral reinforcement (Saltzman-Benaiah, 2006). One of the few best organizations where I will refer Jacob for further support is the Autism Speaks Incorporation located in New York. It is a nonprofit based organization that is dedicated to the prevention, offering appropriate treatment and rehabilitation of the disabled children. The organization offers treatment to disabled programs and further provides grants to the families to help them take care of their child. Thus, the organization will provide a great benefit to Jacob and the family. Among the skills to be offered entails the, social training skills to teach the disabled child with interaction skills, cognitive behavioral therapy, language therapy, medications to treat depression and anxiety and further support and training to educate the parents on support and training techniques to utilize at home. With such effective treatment, the child will learn to overcome their disability and become more interactive in the society. In helping Jeff deal with his alcoholic problem, it is important to refer him to a rehabilitation center for further support (Mearns, 2003). One of the best in and outpatient rehabilitation supportive treatment facilities is the Cornerstone of Rhinebeck facility that is located in the tranquil settings in the Dutch’s county of New York. The facility has a multi-faceted structured program that will be very helpful to Jeff as it is one of the best premier rehabilitative providers of substance abuse treatment in New York and it has been commended for its innovative specialty family support and care it offers. The facility will be involved in further provision of counseling and education in an effort to ensuring that the patients stop his drinking behaviors. Moreover, the facility participants in many insurance managed care plans as well as government programs in an effort of supporting the provision of healthcare services. It provides free transportation facility to its members charging relatively low cost for patients care; thus it will be an ideal place for Jeff to seek further support and rehabilitation. Conclusion The Williams family have been married for 21 years and have been blessed with two children; a son Jacob who is 18 years and their youngest sibling Leo who is 15 years old. The family has been faced with a lot of issues and conflicts that has created problems thus; they present themselves for counseling sessions. Jeff, the husband, is facing a drinking problem and has turned to be a drunkard consuming alcohol every day after work. His car business is falling down creating financial pressures to the family and can be attributed to Jeff poor spending and poor management skills resulting from his drinking habits. Jacob, the eldest son, suffers from Asperger syndrome. Due to his condition, he has been alienated away from the society. He suffers from depression and overall sadness making him struggle with social engagement. The main obvious reason that has caused the disengagement of the family can be attributed to Jeff recent trends of his behavior over the last years. As the head of the family, he should act as the role model for the others to follow. However, this is not the case, but rather Jeff has an alcoholic problem. Since Jacob was diagnosed with the disorder, the family has not sought for any interventions and thus, they need to seek for treatment and care. Behavioral therapy during the pre-school and toddler period is essential in improving the language skills and cognitive abilities among children suffering from the condition. The intervention should start as soon as the child is diagnosed with the disorder. As the community health counselor, I will start by addressing Jeff alcoholic drinking problem that will be achieved through education, counseling, support and follow-up. For further assistance, I will recommend Jeff to Cornerstone of Rhinebeck facility one of the best in and outpatient rehabilitation supportive treatment facilities. Educating Leo regarding the family member’s condition is important as well as the provision of support and motivation towards academic excellence. In regards to Jacob’s case, it is essential to educate the family regarding the disease process to be able to support and understand his behaviors appropriately. I will refer Jacob for further support to the Autism Speaks Incorporation located in New York. Among the skills to be offered entails the, social training skills to teach the disabled child with interaction skills, cognitive behavioral therapy, language therapy, medications to treat depression and anxiety and further support and training to educate the parents on support and training techniques to utilize at home. References Beechem, M. (2002). Elderly alcoholism: Intervention strategies. Elderly alcoholism: Intervention strategies. Berney, T. (2004). Asperger syndrome from childhood into adulthood. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. doi:10.1192/apt.10.5.341 Bottlender, M., & Soyka, M. (2005). Efficacy of an intensive outpatient rehabilitation program in alcoholism: Predictors of outcome 6 months after treatment. European Addiction Research, 11, 132–137. doi:10.1159/000085548 Felton, A. (2012). Introduction to Counselling Skills. Nurse Education in Practice. doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2011.07.011 Kasket, E. (2012). The counselling psychologist researcher. Counselling Psychology Review, 27, 64–73. McLeod, J. (2003). Doing Counselling Research. In Doing Counselling Research. Mearns, D. (2003). Developing person-centred counselling. Sage developing counselling series (pp. xvi, 143p.). Saltzman-Benaiah, J. (2006). A Guide to Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2005.09.006 Woodbury-Smith, M. R., & Volkmar, F. R. (2009). Asperger syndrome. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 18, 2–11. doi:10.1007/s00787-008-0701-0 http://www.cornerstoneny.com/CenterLocations/rhinebeck.php http://www.ninds.nih.gov/find_people/voluntary_orgs/volorg273.htm Read More