Assessment for and Challenges Related to Pervasive Mental Illness and Health Concerns

In the 1950s, a radical shift in counseling occurred. Numerous key figures in the fields of family counseling and therapy proposed the view that pervasive mental health problems were not individual problems, as was previously thought, but originated with and were perpetuated by family dynamics. The shift from working with individuals with pervasive or severe mental illness or health concern via individual psychotherapy to working with the identified “patient” and their families in the 1950s provided the context for the birth and growth of family counseling/therapy. Since that time, mental health professionals working with families with a member experiencing pervasive mental illness or a health concern have moved away from the controversial stance above, to acknowledge that both genes and biology influence behavior and that relationships can maintain or exacerbate symptomology as well as assist in alleviating it via various coping mechanisms.

Tertiary intervention is the formal term for working with clients experiencing pervasive mental illness or health concerns, but it may also be referred to as remedial or rehabilitative counseling. When you encounter a couple or family for which tertiary intervention may be appropriate, your assessment focus should shift. First, you should be cognizant of any symptoms or cues that may substantiate your concerns, and if validated, you will need to assess whether couple and family counseling is indeed the best form of counseling service to provide. It may be that one or more persons would benefit from individual services, whether in conjunction with or as a precursor to any couple or family counseling.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4 a brief description of three symptoms/cues observed in a family/couple session that may require assessment and intervention beyond the scope of a family/couple session and explain why. Then, explain how you, as a counselor, might take the next steps with the individual who requires additional assessment and intervention. Finally, explain any challenges of continuing couple/family counseling once an individual requires concurrent treatment.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

 

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Media

Please note: These films are not available through Walden Library. Contact your instructor if you are unable to obtain a copy independently.

Please select, obtain, and view one of the following two movies to use with this week’s Application Assignment:

• Movie: Madden, J. (Director). (2005). Proof [Motion picture]. [With G. Paltrow, A. Hopkins, & H. Davis]. United States: Miramax.
• Movie: Daniels, L. (Director). (2009). Precious [Motion picture]. [With G. Sidibe, Mo’Nique, & P. Patton]. United States: Lionsgate.

Readings

• Course Text: Gurman, A. S., Lebow, J. L., & Snyder, D.  (2015). Clinical handbook of couple therapy (5th ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  • Chapter 23, “Couple Therapy and the Treatment of Borderline Personality and Related Disorders”
  • Chapter 25, “Couple Therapy and Medical Issues”
• Article: Aymer, S. R. (2010). Intimate partner abuse: A case study involving a father and a son. Clinical Case Studies, 9(1), 3–17.Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Article: Martin, C., Southall, A., Liveley, K., Shea, E., & Whitehead, K. (2009). Multisystemic therapy applied to the assessment and treatment of poorly controlled Type-1 Diabetes: A case study in the U.K. National Health Service. Clinical Case Studies, 8(5), 366–382. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Article: Rosenfield, B. M., Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2008). Extreme makeover: The case of a young adult man with severe ADHD. Clinical Case Studies, 7(6), 471–490. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

  Discussion Questions (DQ)

  • Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
  • Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
  • One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
  • I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

  Weekly Participation

  • Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
  • In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
  • Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
  • Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

  APA Format and Writing Quality

  • Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
  • Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
  • I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

  Use of Direct Quotes

  • I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
  • As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
  • It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

   

  LopesWrite Policy

  • For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
  • Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
  • Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
  • Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

  Late Policy

  • The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
  • Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
  • If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
  • I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
  • As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

  Communication

  • Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
    • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
    • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.