Treating Client with Trauma.
ANSWER
Several factors must be considered when treating this client to effectively care for and support them. Here are three traits to think about, along with two explanations for each on how they could affect the course of treatment:
Cultural Heritage and Values: a. Respect for Cultural Values: It is essential to comprehend and honor the client’s Asian cultural heritage as well as the values that his parents instilled in him, including honor, service, dignity, and respect. These principles affect how he views mental health care and whether or not he is willing to participate in therapy.
b. Language and Communication: The client’s ability to communicate in his native tongue and the conventions of his culture can influence how he shares his feelings and experiences. Establishing rapport and confidence might take effective communication in his favorite language.
Exposure to Trauma and Loss:
a. Combat-Related Trauma: It is critical to acknowledge that the client was exposed to traumatic events while serving in the military, such as seeing colleagues die and his parents get involved in an automobile accident. His extreme anxiety, depressive symptoms, and auditory hallucinations could be attributed to these encounters.
b. sadness and Bereavement: It’s critical to address the client’s complex and unresolved sadness at the loss of his parents. His incapacity to cope with these losses may worsen his anxiety and despair.
Family Dynamics and Role Transition: a. Marital and Parental Responsibilities: The client’s role as a husband and soon-to-be father is essential, especially in light of his recent marriage and wife’s pregnancy. He may be experiencing anxiety and depression due to the stress of approaching motherhood and worries about his wife’s health issues.
b. Unemployment and Financial Stress: Identifying the client’s financial stress and unemployment is critical. These pressures could exacerbate his mental health problems and make it more difficult for him to support his family, heightening his hopelessness and helplessness.
A successful treatment plan must consider the client’s cultural background, trauma experience, and family relationships. It enables the therapist to establish rapport, talk about particular traumas and losses, and support the client in overcoming the current stresses and changes in his life. The treatment must be tailored to their traits and experiences for the client’s rehabilitation and overall well-being.
Question Description
Can you help me understand this Social Science question?
Your supervisor asks you to see a client who is new to the agency. He is 21 years of age and of Asian descent. His parents had moved to the U.S. when this client was approximately 3 years old to give their only son more opportunities. His parents taught him their native language and educated him about his culture of origin. They were a religious family with a deep sense of devotion to their values of dignity, honor, respect and service.
He recently lost his parents in a car accident while he was serving in Iraq 6-7 months ago. He was serving his first deployment that started about 18 months prior. He also witnessed many of his friends being killed by a roadside bomb approximately 3 months into serving there.
He is recently married and his wife is 6 months pregnant with their first child. She is starting to show signs of complications with the pregnancy and needs to be off work and on bed rest for the remainder of her term. He was honorably discharged to tend to his wife and child but has not found work to support them.
This client currently exhibits severe symptoms of anxiety. He is unable to get any rest due to worry over his wife and child. He is having flashbacks of his friends being killed and any loud noise freaks him out. He reports that he has also not been able to process his parents’ deaths and feels depressed all of the time. He has lost his appetite and states he has started to hear voices.
It is your turn to present a case in the outpatient meeting. You bring this description plus your ideas and how to best treat this client to the meeting
- What 2-3 characteristics might you consider in treating this client?
- Give at least 2 reasons why each characteristic might influence the treatment of this client.