Summary Of Ritsuko Kerfoot

A psychologist or psychiatrist carries out interviews with the child and family and a review of the child’s past records, behavioural interventions, and developmental history are taken.

Family is something that plays a tremendous role in our life. Even though the structure of families has changed over the years, it is important to acknowledge that there many families out there whether they are traditional families, nuclear family, stepfamilies or others which tend to have different types of problems in their families. Therefore, many families attempt to go to family therapy in order for them to obtain help in solving the different types of issues they might have at home. As stated in the book Family Therapy by Michael P. Nichols (2013), “The power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interaction… What keeps people stuck in their inability to see their own participation in the problems that plague them. With eyes fixed firmly on what recalcitrant others are doing, it’s hard for most people to see the patterns that bind them together. The family therapist’s job is to give them a wake-up call” (2013).

I was only two years old when my mother passed away. Left with an absentee father, I felt a void in my life. I was constantly misunderstood by other family members, which triggered my aggressive behaviors and communication style. Unable to cope with my emotions as an adolescent, I sought help from my school’s social worker. For the first time, it felt great to express my feelings without worrying about being judged. Through our regular meetings, she helped me improve my social development and attitude. She changed my life as I was becoming a better person. In addition, with her assistance, my family and I were able to value communication, understand each other and live in a healthier environment. This chapter of my life has inspired me to pursue a career in social work and be part of a team who continuously helps people overcome obstacles in their lives.

Lauren Smith is a five year old Caucasian girl who is demonstrating anxiety when separated from her mother. The family was referred to this service by their pediatrician. Over the past few months, Mr. and Mrs. Smith report Lauren has become increasingly troubled when being separated from her mother. She cries while clinging to her each morning before school and her father describes having to “pry her off” and carry her to the car. Lauren’s parents are also concerned with regressive behavior; she is speaking more often in third person when referring to herself, and she has also begun wetting the bed nearly every night. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had a conference with Lauren’s teacher two weeks ago at which time she told them Lauren was having difficulty concentrating and completing her work. The teacher also voiced concerns about her lack of interest in participating in group activities; she appears to prefer to play by herself. The parents report that Lauren is otherwise healthy and has been meeting age appropriate developmental milestones.

London will be treated using the Cognitive Behavioral approach as it is recommended for children by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (Freeman et al., 2007). Heavy emphasis will be placed on the inclusion of London’s mother and grandmother in and out of therapy sessions. Over the course of treatment, London will engage in relaxation techniques, rational emotive therapy, and exposure and ritual prevention therapy.

W said that as a teenager she had issues with depression and abandonment because her mother was a drug addict and abandoned her when she was 2 years old. She lived off and on with different relatives until going to stay with her paternal grandmother at the age of 10 and staying there until she was 17. Mrs. W speaks of seeing a counselor as early as the age of 10 for issues dealing with depression. Mrs. W says that she was socially withdrawn and felt sad because she felt that she did not feel loved or wanted. Once she gave her grandmother a chance, she said that she did feel that her grandmother loved her but she still felt out of place. She said that all her life she’s felt that she was looking for someone or something that made her feel loved and worthy. Mrs. W stated that she began cutting herself when she was 10 years old and had repeated therapy up to the age of 15 and reports that she has not had a cutting issue since she became pregnant with her first child. She also reports that she stopped therapy and has not had a therapy session since she was 16 right before her child was born.

Introduction first step to gather as much information as possible about the person and his or her problems and behavior. In this case, Clara a 4-year-old adopted girl is brought by her parents to see Dr. Mason because they have

In order to create a thorough assessment and treatment plan for Rhonda, a more comprehensive collection of information about Rhonda would be helpful. However, we do not always have the luxury of a complete picture of our clients. Further, clients are multifaceted and we need to remember we are predominantly only seeing them in the therapeutic setting, which limits our understanding of them (Murphy & Dillon, 2015). Even if we had an extensive intake file on Rhonda, we must always approach a client from a “not-knowing perspective”, emphasizing Rhonda is the expert on her own life, and thus decreasing the power-differential inherent in the therapeutic relationship (Murphy & Dillon, 2015, p. 204).

-e.g., “I’d like to spend some time today getting to know each of you, who you are, what you like to do, and then I’d like to find out more about what has brought you to treatment, your understanding about [adolescent’s] depression, and what I think will be helpful. By the end of today’s session, I’m hoping that we can form an agreement and some goals for treatment”

book Cathy mention therapy for Kelly but it did not start out well. The first Therapist is a bad fit and neither Cathy nor Kelly like her. Cathy gets Kelly a different Therapist but Kelly still wants to quit therapy. There isn’t any detail about whether she does quit or not. If she was my child I would have asked Kelly to give therapy a try at least for a few more months, to see if it could help her to have a person outside of the current situation to talk things through with. I feel this is so important that I would have changed therapists weekly if need be. I would find somebody that Kelly would be comfortable talking to, if that was possible at this point.

Collateral interview with Ms. Jennifer Small-Felix/Child Advocate and therapist was conducted via phone to discuss child’s behavior and follow up in reference to status of her medication. Child’s advocate was informed of change in child’s behavior reported by the foster mom.

Mental and emotional health can have interpersonal, and social impacts; I want to provide evidenced-based mental, emotional and behavioral health interventions within the context of families, communities and larger systems, to children and adolescents. My goal as a licensed counselor will be to develop a collaborative relationship where each client feels empowered to act as an expert in developing effective coping skills, manage anxiety, depression, navigate difficult life transitions, and enhance communication skills and relationships. Reflective practice and self-evaluation will be an integral part of my practice. This also means being able to set my experiences, values, privilege, beliefs and biases aside during counseling sessions and allowing the clients goals and needs to take precedence. In order to be well-rounded in my profession, my day-to-day functions will include, assessments, psychological testing, counseling, personality testing, teaching, treatment plans, referrals, coordinate services, case-management, client-family- community education, documentation,

Emily is a 6-year-old girl referred by her pediatric psychologist because of behavioral issues. Emily’s parents have informed the analyst that her problems first arose when she

The stigmas surrounding mental health create a barrier not only for the treatment of the parents suffering from these disorders but also for their children. For parents, a staggering 2/3 of the population suffering from mental illnesses, admitting that they cannot care for themselves and their children can be extremely difficult and thus their children suffer. It is said that 30-50 percent of children with mentally ill parents will have a psychiatric diagnosis in comparison to 20 percent of the general population. Many times, even when parents do choose treatment information about their children is rarely

The therapist will engage with developing the treatment plan. Each family member will participate and agree to the content in order to make it a collaborative effort and a family intervention. The plan will consist of three goals and two-three interventions based on Bowen family theory. The therapy will consist of twelve sessions and will meet weekly, in which Rosalyn and Carl will attend each session, while the children will attend three – twelve. If necessary, the therapist will assess the need to incorporate more private parent time.