Eclectic Therapeutic Intervention - Essay Example

? Eclectic Therapeutic Intervention A Critical Analysis and Eclectic Therapeutic Intervention of a Case Study Psychopathology basically deals with the medical sciences especially in the area of mental stress, mental disorder or retarded behavior. The terminology is largely used among the psychiatrists and psychologists where it defines the overall process related to diagnoses and treatment of mental disorders. Psychopathology is a distinctive branch of medical sciences which requires extensive research and therefore it offers varied treatment applications. In much broader terms it defines the brain biochemistry of an individual (JOHN D. STIRLING, 1999). This paper aims to discuss the Eclectic Therapeutic Intervention in regard to a case study. Problems such as mental distress, abnormal behavior and mental disorders have been a part of human societies since the beginning of this world. Therefore several psychopathological treatments have been used by the psychiatrists and psychologists at different times in the history. The core concepts of psychopathology include (JOHN D. STIRLING, 1999): Clinical Syndromes Mental retardation and disorders of personality Physical disorders which are directly connected with the improper brain activity Impact of Psychosocial elements or stressors Level of brain functioning In addition to this the basic concepts which deal with the development of psychopathology are following (MICHAEL RUTTER, 2000): Understanding the causal etiology i.e. what are the possible factors contributing to enhance the disease in a specific patient. Use developmental mechanism which clearly identifies and then establishes a logical relation between all the contributing factors. Consider the regularity of occurrences which actually helps the medical professional to formulate the treatment procedure for a patient of mental disorder. Case Study This case study concerns a 30 years old male Sean Jackson who has white-British Ethnic Background. He does not have recognizable qualification although he is able to read and write. Since his early adulthood he has been maintaining criminal history and was arrested and then punished for his several criminal acts. Recently he was arrested for being involved in a burglary however, during the investigations he said that he was extremely drunk when somebody handover him the stolen stuff. Later on Police could not find who the other person was. The Client also reported that he has been a focus of some psychological manipulations by a covert organization and also mentioned that there is a hidden force which actually controls his actions and motives for which he has been imprisoned in the past. Sean Jackson has been convinced to seek medical help and a proper psychological treatment. Historical Background Family history and early childhood experiences matters a lot when it comes to psychological disorders and abnormal behavior. When Sean Jackson was 2 years old he had some weed killer poisoning he was then immediately taken to the hospital from where he was transferred to an Institutional Care for young children along with his two elder brothers. Afterwards his mother did not maintain any contact with him until his adolescence while on the other hand his father had a complete criminal history due to which he often spent most of his life time in prisons and then later on he was murdered. The death of his father brought a lot of fears for Sean Jackson as now he believed that he might also be killed like his father. Sean was left alone in the Institutional Care for around ten years and this time period had the worst impact over his life as the working authorities in the Institution were indulged into abusive activities with children and Sean was among the victims. Just two years before he shifted to his home town where his family including his mother still lives but he does not visit them. Sean Jackson is completely homeless apart from those particular days that he has spent in prison. He had a very short personal relationship with a young prostitute who then reported sexual violence against Sean for which he was convicted. The client has developed a fear that there is some secret organization which controls his actions and psychologically manipulates his motives due to which he often falls prey to convictions. Now Sean is living an isolated life with extreme distrust over the people to try to resolve his issues especially the medical professionals. Diagnoses The most prominent symptoms presented by the case study include: Sean is unable to deal with people rather he prefer to remain isolated lifestyle and develops distrust frequently over those individuals who try to solve his problems. This indicates that Sean has been a victim of Social Phobia which is also reflected through his early childhood experiences. Another significant symptom suggests that he does not take the reality as what it is there rather he acts in an irrational manner and tries to put the blame over unseen forces and people who were not there at the site of crime. This symptom indicates that he might have developed neurosis as a result of being isolated in early childhood. Social Phobia: Social Phobia is an intense psychological disorder in which the patients experience certain fears and avoid those situations in which they expect that they might be noticed or evaluated. The situations vary from person to person according to the underlying reasons due to which he/she has developed this disease (MELINDA SMITH, 2012). Sean Jackson experienced prolonged separation from his mother and lived for around 10 years in an Institutional Care which had been indulged in to abusive activities with children. This provoked an extreme sense of insecurity in him leading to social phobia. Children who are subject to sexual violence in early childhood often decline to maintain good social relations especially in the case where their parents do not support them. Sean experiences severe anxiety when people approach him for resolving his issues and this has significantly influenced his overall academic performance and personal relations. He does not visits his family neither he has friends except for the only personal relationship that he had in his early 20’s with a young girl of 17 years. Social Phobia comes under the DSM-IV TR and the diagnostic criterion is 300.23 (SOCIAL PHOBIA, 2013). Further analysis of the diagnosis indicates that the hidden fears of Sean Jackson which compels him to act abnormally and to put the blame of his criminal deeds over others and also the severe insecurity that he has regarding his life that someday someone will kill him as they did with his father; all these symptoms are related to the social phobia. Sean avoids people who investigate into his personal matters also indicates that he has been suffering from this disease. Neurosis: It has a connection with the interpersonal conflicts and the way people deal with friends and family actually symbolizes their neurotic behavior. In the case of Sean Jackson he did not have any conflict with anyone rather he maintain a pessimistic attitude which is reflect by his love for his girl friend who had betrayed him and got him into serious trouble while he thought that she still loves him. The medical code of neurosis is ICD-9-CM (ALLEN FRANCES, 2000). The diagnostic symptoms of the disease suggest that people who are unable to realize the severity of situations and decline to accept the realities are subject to neurosis. Sean Jackson directly denies that he wasn’t involved in the criminal activity and puts the blame over an unknown person shows that he haven’t been able to realize what the reality is and in order to get rid of the investigations he makes lame excuses (NEUROSIS, 2013). Other significant diagnostic symptoms of neurosis include: substantial personality issues, panicking behavior and extensive interpersonal conflicts. In additionally to this, victims of neurosis present significant physical symptoms such as chest pain, weakness, breathing issues, etc (ALLEN FRANCES, 2000). Sean, on the other hand has a sound physical health which is indicated through his job of a security guard. Since these diagnostic features are unidentifiable as per the data provided therefore social phobia is found to be a better explanation of the psychological issues with Sean Jackson rather than neurosis. Discussion According to the above diagnostic features it is evident that Sean Jackson is a victim of social phobia since he has spent so many years away from his family and does not have friends either. In addition to this he does not have a sound academic record although he has basic knowledge of reading and writing this indicates that his cognitive functions are working well and that he does not have any physical or cognitive thinking issues. The only problem lies is his isolated and disconnected lifestyle which compels him to stay away from the matters of others and in the same way he avoids investigations about his life to the maximum extent. In order to come up with a treatment plan for Sean Jackson we first need to evaluate the reasons for which his mother left him in the Institutional care and the criminal history of his father. The family history plays a significant role in the development of social phobia since family acts as the very first social institution. Treatment Sean Jackson is 30 years old and can be easily treated with the help of medicines while counseling and exposure to social events also plays a major role in the treatment of social phobia. The psychological treatment of Sean Jackson would require a time period of approximately 2 years whereas the active involvement of his family especially his mother is the necessary condition for the treatment. Since Sean Jackson does not allow anyone to investigate into his personal matters therefore it is exceptionally important for the psychiatrist to make an ethically sound environment so that his self esteem and privacy concerns are not affected in anyway. Therapeutic interventions involve the participation of parents and siblings in order to successfully complete a psychological treatment (LOUISE REBRACA SHIVES, 2008). Since Sean does not lives with his family therefore it is necessary for the medical professionals to first shift him in his parents’ home where his mother can take good care of the overall treatment procedures. Following are the two eclectic intervention programs which will be used in the case of Sean Jackson (SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER: TREATMENT AND DRUGS, 2011) Psychotherapy: It is the most effective and efficient way of dealing with the symptoms of social phobia. Psychotherapy comprises of various counseling sessions during which the psychiatrist aims to remove the negative feelings and concepts of the client. In this intervention procedure the involvement of parents is a must. But since in the case of Sean Jackson his mother does not live with him therefore the medical professional would have to first go for family counseling so that the conflicts between son and mother can be resolved. The most significant approach in psychotherapy is the removal of anxiety. For instance, in this case psychiatrist would have first remove the fear of being killed from the mind of Sean so that he will comfortably allow people around him to help and resolve his issues. Medications: There are several medicines available for the treatment of social phobia. These medicines are highly effective especially in adults’ case since they have a better immune system and also because they know the worth of treatment. This compels them to maintain regularity in medicine consumption. Following are the medicines which might prove beneficial in the case of Sean Jackson: Paroxetine (Paxil) Fluvoxamine (Luvox) Sertraline (Zoloft) In addition to this he can be treated with beta blockers which actually manipulate the activity of body chemical responsible for anxiety and fears. This is an effective treatment which shows significant results. Recommendations The most important condition for the success of any psychological treatment lies in the regularity of dosage and counseling sessions. Therefore it is highly recommended that Sean Jackson, his family and the medical professionals must maintain a regular routine for the treatment and must stick to it until significant results are achieved. Conclusion Psychopathology is an important area of medical sciences since it deals with the unconscious attributes of people. The case study of Sean Jackson further emphasizes upon the significance of psychopathology and the way by which eclectic interventions can resolve the issues of Social Phobia. Sean Jackson has become a victim of social phobia due to his early life experiences and also because of the ignorance of his parents in childhood. However, his psychological conditions can be improved with the application of psychotherapy and related medication. References Allen Frances (2000) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association John D. Stirling, Jonathan S. E. Hellewell (1999) Psychopathology, Routledge: page 1-4. Louise Rebraca Shives (2008) Basic Concepts of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, 7e, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: page 562. Melinda Smith, Ellen Jaffe-Gill (2012) Social Anxiety Disorder and Social Phobia, Helpguide.org. Michael Rutter, L. Alan Sroufe (2000) Developmental Psychopathology: Concepts and Challenges, Development and Psychopathology: volume 12, page 265-296. Neurosis (2013), Behave Net, viewed: 20th March, 2013 Social Anxiety Disorder: Treatment and drugs (2011), Mayo Foundation for Medical Education And Research, viewed: 20th March, 2013. Social Phobia (2013), Behave Net, viewed: 20th March 2013 Read More