Week 8 (Part 1):

Describe the client and identify any pertinent history or medical information, including prescribed medications.

The client is an African American girl, age 18 years old. She got to the healthcare facility in the companion of her grandmother and sister. Since her parents are drug dealers, she reports that her grandmother holds her and her sister into custody. The patient has been staying with her grandmother for eight months now since her grandfather was sent to prison for raping her and little sister. Her grandmother learned about the abuse when she went through the patient’s diary.

The client is new in the community college. Nevertheless, she is experiencing a flat affect, and she finds it hard to concentrate. She does not get enough sleep and has enough energy to do her things. She experiences low self-esteem and feels hopeless. Her grandmother says that her granddaughter has been performing poorly in school lately. The patient says she no longer part in her usual fun activities. She even no longer hung out with her friends. Four months ago, she had suicidal thoughts and was planning on taking Tylenol overdose. However, she denies the thoughts recently. To be on the safe side, she filled out the suicidal safety plan and also gave out her emergency numbers.

Current medications: Zoloft and Concerta

Using the DSM-5, explain and justify your diagnosis for this client.

In consideration of DSM-5 diagnosis, the client meets all the criteria of Major Depressive Disorder, both recurrent and moderate. She has sleeping problems, depression, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. These are signs of a depressive disorder. Moreover, these symptoms have been recurring for close to 6 months (Morrison, 2014).

Explain whether Existential-Humanistic therapy would be beneficial to this client. Include expected outcomes based on this therapeutic approach.

The most appropriate treatment process for the client is Existential-Humanistic therapy. It would be more effective since she is still in the adolescent stage and has sexuality issues since she was raped. Perhaps the patient is anxious about whether she is going to get along with life without trusting anyone. She lost trust in nobody since the day her family betrayed her. The Existential-Humanistic therapy process is likely to create a positive perception and give her a better life purpose. The process will help her handle all the challenges wisely and respond appropriately. Besides, the process will enlighten her on how to respond to positive and negative emotions to attain the main psychotherapy goal (Vos, Craig, & Cooper, 2015).

Explain any legal and/or ethical implications related to counseling this client.

The patient is in the adolescent stage and has had suicidal thoughts. Therefore there was a possibility of a legal and ethical case. Consequently, it is the role of the practitioner to report the issue of suicidal thoughts for her safety. In case there is any possibility for the patient to get into a severe injury, the practitioner will have to be more determined on the treatment. Otherwise, it would pose a more significant challenge

In research by Lloyd-Richardson, Lewis, Whitlock, Rodham, and Schutte (2015), they realized it is essential to fully comprehend the imminent risk of every facility before deciding about the patient’s situation to ensure privacy.

Every healthcare practitioner should critically comprehend the Initiating risk valuation processes to be able to differentiate suicidal and non-suicidal thinking patterns. The primary risk valuation is finding evidence, Risk screening, and finding out the best critical interventions. Even though the confidentiality of a client ought to be maintained, a probable risk may bring about the legal authority in the picture, which is great. (Lloyd-Richardson, Lewis, Whitlock, Rodham, & Schutte, 2015).

Week 8 (Part 2):

How often are you receiving clinical supervision from your preceptor?

I always work under my preceptor; she is still close to mean when I am dealing with a patient. Her name is jane and is always ready to give a hand in everything; she walks with me from client intake, valuation tutoring all through to medication.

What are the sessions like?

At the facility, we take in patients, take them through the assessment, we educate them on various issue=es relating to their illness, and finally, offer psychotropic medication sessions.

Every session is unique but exciting, the client is given enough time to talk about their issues in depth. We cooperate and determines which us the most beneficial psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for him or her. After the onset of medication, we plan weekly monitoring sessions to follow up on their response to drugs, some other time; we may fix the fellow up sessions biweekly.

What is the preceptor bringing to your attention?

After a client goes through the psychiatric assessment, the first thing my preceptor does is to question me on the most likely diagnosis and which medication I would prescribe to the client. This small quiz, which I get after every client, helps me to think critically and have been growing day after day.

How are you translating these sessions to your clinical practice?

All the sessions I partake are so critical, they will help me in my practice, but most importantly, on critical thinking. I have been growing my essential skills of thinking, and now I am and will be able to think over the information given by the client critically. I believe all these lessons I am learning and skills are molding met to become a competent physician.

References

Lloyd-Richardson, E. E., Lewis, S. P., Whitlock, J. L., Rodham, K., & Schutte, H. T. (2015).

Research with adolescents who engage in non-suicidal self-injury: Ethical considerations and challenges. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 9(1). doi:10.1186/s13034-015-0071-6

Morrison, J. (2014). DSM-5 MADE EASY: The Clinicians Guide to Diagnosis. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Vos, J., Craig, M., & Cooper, M. (2015). Existential therapies: A meta-analysis of their effects

on psychological outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(1), 115-128.doi:10.1037/a0037167