ESSAY: Practicum – Week 5 Journal Entry

Develop effective documentation skills for family therapy sessions *
Develop diagnoses for clients receiving family psychotherapy *
Evaluate the efficacy of solution-focused therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for families *
Analyze legal and ethical implications of counseling clients with psychiatric disorders *
Develop effective documentation skills for family therapy sessions *
Develop diagnoses for clients receiving family psychotherapy *
Evaluate the efficacy of solution-focused therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for families *
Analyze legal and ethical implications of counseling clients with psychiatric disorders *
Select two clients, you observed or counseled this week during a family therapy session. Note: The two clients you select must have attended the same family session. Do not select the same family you selected for Week 2.

Then, address in your Practicum Journal the following:

Using the Group Therapy Progress Note in this week’s Learning Resources, document the family session.
Describe each client (without violating HIPAA regulations) and identify any pertinent history or medical information, including prescribed medications.
Using the DSM-5, explain and justify your diagnosis for each client.
Explain whether solution-focused or cognitive behavioral therapy would be more effective with this family. Include expected outcomes based on these therapeutic approaches.
Explain any legal and/or ethical implications related to counseling each client.
Support your approach with evidence-based literature.

ANSWER

Week 5-Practicum Journal Entries

The First Client

The first client was a 26-year-old black male self-admitted as an inpatient for the fear that he was going to hurt his colleagues and other people if left alone. The patient hails from outside the town and has, in the recent past been undertaking military drills. Just the other day, he realized that his mother is not his real mother and that he was adopted at a tender age of 5. This has recently resulted in him acting out of rage. The patient has a history of rage and violence, which caused the hospitalization of some of his colleagues and friends at a very tender age. There are no other significant indications or psychiatric history. He also notes that he has not had any moments where he felt like other people were out to harm him. There are no cases of verbal or physical abuse from his immediate family as well.

Diagnosis

According to the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental health disorders commonly referred to as the DSM-5, the patient exhibits a lot of angry outbursts, which he expresses in the form of physical aggression, lack of enough sleep since he started acting in outburst against his friends, and exaggerated response in other cases (American psychiatric association, 2016).The patient has also stated that he is finding it hard to trust people since he discovered that his mother is not his real mother and that he is adopted.

Legal and Ethical Implications

There are a number of concerns that have been raised concerning the patient which include his sudden inactive role within the military. The patient came to seek immediate help for his anger so that he is able to resume the military drills in due time. The military as an institution has a number of mental requirements that the patient needs to meet to get back to the camp. Ethically, it is very important that the patient’s safety and assessment be prioritized before any other thing is done. The patient was therefore constrained within the facility for two days for observation purposes before he was discharged even though he had insisted that he be released earlier. A case can, therefore, be made that people who are involved in military drills and undergoing a number of internal rage issues can find it hard to engage in any substantial form of appraisal of danger. Military drills and training tend…