Treatment Analysis

Posted: December 22nd, 2022

Treatment Analysis

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Treatment Analysis

Brief Interview Summary

            The interview focused on highlighting the clinic’s approach to healthcare provision. The facility serves a wide demographic, although most of the patients are the elderly (above 65 years old). Patients come from diverse cultural backgrounds, with a majority of them being Caucasians and African Americans. The clinic offers adult and specialist mental health services. Currently, there is a high demand for adult mental health services in the region, but there is a need to offer similar services to the younger population. The readmission rate in the clinic is 23.4%, and the average length of stay in the facility is currently 33 days. The caseload per physician was relatively higher than the national average, and the administration intends to recruit more advanced nurse practitioners to realize better levels. The organization’s common treatment goals are to guarantee efficiency in the delivery of affordable and quality patient-centered care. Some of the ethical issues within this setting include patient privacy and end-of-life decisions, which the organization addresses by prioritizing the patients’ needs.

Family Systems Theory Used to Support Treatment

            Bowen’s family systems theory presents a practical framework describing healthcare provision within the facility. This model suggests that understanding individuals requires a collective approach with the family as the central emotional unit (Sexton & Lebow, 2015). Sexton and Lebow (2015) explain that a family operates as a system, wherein inter-reliant and interrelated individuals have unique roles and particular roles. Families function under relationship agreements which dictate interaction and the execution of responsibilities. The system also determines the patterns and behaviors exhibited by each individual. For example, if the father suffers from depression, the mother would take on more responsibilities to maintain stability. However, the imbalance could lead to a new and potentially dysfunctional equilibrium that could affect the entire system.

            The clinic incorporates the intergenerational approach to family systems. This form of therapy emphasizes how generational differences impact individual and family behavior. The clinician attempts to identify the behavioral patterns across generations including anxiety management and depression. Using this approach provides insight into some of the underlying multigenerational problems. Structural family therapy is also conventional, involving an assessment of the family’s patterns, behaviors, and relationships (Becvar & Becvar, 2017). The clinician can then understand the family’s structure, the subsystems, and their impact on the individuals.

Individual Theories of Psychology

            A prevailing individual theory in psychology is behaviorism. Theorists argue that life experiences determine an individual’s actions. People learn behavior, and this information can help in understanding behavioral change in patients. Conditioning is a critical concept in behaviorism, and it highlights how stimuli and rewards can shape learning (Taylor, 2015). Behavioral therapy is useful in determining the underlying traits contributing to an individual’s problems and attempts to correct this behavior through modeling, classical conditioning, or operant conditioning.

            The psychodynamic theory centers on three forces that influence human behavior, including the id, the ego, and the superego. The clinic incorporates different psychodynamic techniques to deliver care. The first approach is free association, whereby the patient describes their feelings or thoughts regardless of their relevance. Therapist association requires identifying clues and conveying interpretations based on the patient’s perception and reception of the therapy. Catharsis is also useful in helping the patients to relive past experiences, thereby equipping them with essential skills to overcome their problems.

Consideration of Ethical Issues

            The main ethical issue is patient privacy and confidentiality, which the organization upholds by enforcing organizational policies. Psychologists need to understand the boundaries of the clinician-patient relationship and avoid disclosing patient information at all costs. It is also essential to understand the legal requirements, their ethical obligations, and the ramifications of breaching confidentiality. Another moral issue is respect for a patient’s autonomy. Patients need to have all the necessary information required to give informed consent. The clinician should also discuss the scope of their practice with the patient before treatment. For example, pediatric patients would require specialized care offered by a qualified expert. If the clinician identifies a conflict of interest with their patient, they should consider terminating their sessions and providing a suitable alternative.

Clinician’s Role in Providing Family-based Treatment

            The clinician has a critical role in integrating the family system when providing treatment. An efficient way of achieving this is by normalizing the challenges faced by a family by highlighting similar scenarios experienced by other families (Basham et al., 2016). The clinician can also describe each individual’s reactions to an underlying problem and translate them effectively. This approach enables family members to understand issues from different perspectives, thereby being able to develop sustainable solutions (Duhamel, 2017).  It is vital to understand each individual, their interactions with other family members, and the existing subsystems in the more extensive family system (Duffy, 2018). The clinician should also identify the impact of external factors on the family system and their overall wellbeing. An apparent comprehension of the internal and external environments is integral in developing a suitable treatment plan for the patient.

References

Basham, K., Byers, D. S., Heller, N. R., Hertz, M., Kumaria, S., Mattei, L., … & Shilkret, C. J. (2016). Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

Becvar, R. J., & Becvar, D. S. (2017). Systems theory and family therapy: A primer. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

Duffy, J. R. (2018). Quality caring in nursing and health systems: Implications for clinicians, educators, and leaders. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Duhamel, F. (2017). Translating knowledge from a family systems approach to clinical practice: Insights from knowledge translation research experiences. Journal of family nursing, 23(4), 461-487.

Sexton, T. L., & Lebow, J. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of family therapy. London, UK: Routledge.

Taylor, S. E. (2015). Health psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.