Identifying information: The client is a fifty-nine year old, White, middle class, transgender female. She is unmarried and lives alone in an apartment that she owns. Cheri is currently unemployed and has just completed training to become an electrologist. She has past therapeutic experience having received treatment prior to hormone therapy and sexual reassignment. Presenting problem: The client has expressed she is, “At a crossroad” and “having a difficult time making financial decisions” about her future. After losing a job of ten years Cheri has recently completed training to become an electrologist and would like to work with other trans-women who are transitioning, however, she is having some difficulty making the financial commitment necessary to purchase her own electrolysis equipment. The hesitation has led to self-doubt about her ability to find clients and have a successful business. Her current situation has led to feelings of discomfort, angst and uncertainty about her future. These complex emotions have left her with a sense of ambivalence about her business plan. She associated this ambivalence with the depression she experienced when she left the ballet in her late thirties. She has come to therapy to talk about her fears and strong hesitation to making a significant life decision. Cheri has expressed she will find it useful to have someone to talk to while she explores these fears and contemplates her professional future. History of presenting problem: The client has struggled with depression on and off commencing in her early twenties. Her depression was somewhat alleviated when she began abstaining from alcohol but often returned complicated by feelings of gender incongruence. Cheri attributes therapy and her e... ... middle of paper ... ...elmed,” indecision and hesitation. I was able to maintain adequate rapport with her throughout the interview and she was able to follow directions. She denied any auditory or visual hallucinations. The client has complete insight into the nature of her condition. Clinical Assessment and Formulation: The current challenges Cheri is facing appear to be normative in nature. After working for a gallery for ten years Cheri unexpectedly found herself unemployed. Her immediate response was adaptive. She faced her unemployment with a plan of action that she proceeded to fulfill. Having completed the coursework she is now prepared to work as an electrologist. However, she finds herself hesitating due to the cost of the equipment she would need for self-employment. Having benefitted from therapy previously she has now entered therapy to discuss this crossroad in her career.
Consequently, there is much stigma associated with being gay. Casey may have reverted to alcoholism to deal with her issues of acceptance. Hence, that may have triggered her association with alcohol: It may have been a coping mechanism for her. In order to make a viable plan, we must discuss the psychosocial and environmental issues that affect alcohol dependent women. According to our book, “There is good evidence that people are likely to reveal more aspects of their situation if they are approached with commitment, an open mind, empathetic attunement, authentic responsiveness and mutuality. “(pg. 23) The information that is obtained via the patient and research will help the social worker formulate a plan. Some of the factors that are related to this situation are as follows: Casey has an alcohol problem, is a lesbian and is experiencing anxiety and depression. If we look at the biopsychosocial model we can conclude that her biological health, psychological and social environment are all interrelated. These are all influencing the very core of her being. The alcohol is influencing her ability to take control of her life and her circumstances. It is affecting her behavior and her relationship with her
Alcoholism has been a fixture in our society since the first introduction of alcohol. Despite it being an equal opportunity disease, a large majority of not only the treatment, but also the research, has been about men. This lack of consideration of the different needs for men and women has led to many women going through recovery systems that do not address their experiences, and therefore do not allow them to take full advantage of that recovery system. This paper will attempt to look at the different experiences that men and women have in their journey through a substance addiction (particularly alcohol), from addiction through recovery. The main recovery method that will be discussed here is Alcoholics Anonymous.
Working with any type of disorder can be challenging, let alone working with co-occurring disorders. It takes a skilled clinician to separate the symptoms of the diagnoses to best treat them. One way to assist the client in managing these symptoms is to educate the client on the slow process of repairing the brain, the post-acute withdrawal symptoms, and depressive symptoms. Non-judgmental and active listening techniques contribute in building a strong therapeutic alliance with the client while altering the experience of the client. Healing from substance use and depression is a very challenging and requires the partnership of the clinician and the client in order to have lasting recovery.
The client is a 20-year college student, who has experienced many hard times through her life, especially with her family. Before beginning
In conclusion, keeping Gender Dysphoria as a diagnosis aids the most vulnerable population in seeking treatment and care, options, protection, and guidance. As society and medicine moves forward, we may be able to steer away from mental health bias and general discrimination towards non-conformity, but for now it is important to protect the patients who are helped by the diagnosis. Gender Dysphoria currently allows patients to be treated under their insurance, have access to care, and fight for their
In the disease of alcoholism, there are many psychological effects on the person. It can cause depression, anxi...
Severe mood swings, violent rages, memory loss—each of these problems were a part of my family life during the past two or three years. These problems are the result of alcoholism. Recently, a member of my family realized his abuse of alcohol was a major problem to not only himself, but also to those around him. He would lose control of his temper and often would not even remember doing it the next day. Alcohol became a part of his daily life including work, home, and any other activities. His problem was that of a "hidden" and "high-society" alcoholism. When he was threatened with the loss of his job and the possibility of losing his family, this man knew it was time to get help. After he reached his lowest point, he took the first step towards recovery—admitting his problem.
Mental health professional have tried to correct their ‘‘gender identity disorder’’ with brutal aversion therapies. Tran’s youth who came out often faced crises throughout their family and social systems. Once out, developing a sense of realness about their new gender became extremely important. An urgent need develops ‘‘to match one’s exterior with one’s interior’’ In ad...
For Adult Children of Alcoholics, surviving their families becomes the point of existence. The fortunate may be able to draw support from a supportive adult, and may emerge with fewer difficulties than their brothers and sisters. The majority, however, have to “make do.” Some spend lonely hours in their rooms wishing only to vanish behind the woodwork. Others attempt to rescue the foundering vi...
From the individual perspective, the client was a victim of child abuse, which led to feelings of fear and sadness and a desire to avoid these emotions. Socially, she came from a family of alcoholics giving her easy availability. There was also the pressure of keeping up appearances due to her mother’s status in society. The initial individual consequences of the client’s alcohol use were reinforcing. She felt invincible, warm, and it helped her avoid the thoughts in her head. Everything was right with the world as long as she was intoxicated.
Bipolar disorder, also called a manic-depressive illness, is a common disorder which causes mood swings, lasting periods of depression, and episodes of mania. “Extreme changes in energy, activity, sleep, and behavior go along with these changes in mood” (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2008). A person becomes more goal-oriented and has grandeur visions of success. Patient M shows all these symptoms while talking to her friends and professors in college. She describes herself as a person who is above the two standard genders, what she calls a “third sex”, and who switched souls with a senior senator from her state. The latter belief inspires her to start a political campaign and achieve a high position in the government. She also suffered from depression in the past, which lead to contemplations about suicide at one point. Besides showing all appropriate symptoms, her environmental and inheritance factors point out that she has predispositions to develop the bipolar disorder.
While growing up I had many ideas of what professional career I wanted to obtain, although until recent years, occupational therapy was not even a thought. It was not until my grandmother had a stroke that I even knew what occupational therapy was or entailed. I watched my grandmother participate in therapy leading her to learn how to tie her shoes again, and the things I thought were so simple as to dress herself again. It was during that time as high school graduation was approaching that I realized I wanted to be apart of that. I wanted to have a role helping others learn and exceed as she did because I seen how much joy it brought her. This experience opened my eye to the things we so often take for granted, that some people lose the ability of doing or lack the ability of doing. Throughout her journey of facing and overcoming these problems, it led me to a yearning to pursue this
Living life as a transgendered person is not easy. There are very few times when someone comes out as transgender and their lives are still relatively easy to manage. There are a copious...
In this era of organizational restructuring and technological change, individuals can no longer plan on spending their entire working lives with one organization. Life no longer follows a linear path: schooling, work, retirement. Career paths, too, are no longer a linear rise up the ladder to the top. Some analysts proclaim the "new rules of work" : everyone is self-employed and the concept of "job " is disappearing (Hall and Mirvis 1995). Such fundamental changes mean that people need more help than ever with career issues. However, a recent survey of 1,046 adults (Hoyt and Lester 1995) showed that 40% would turn to family or friends first; 37% to counselors. Only 30% had discussed career choices with school or college counselors; only 36% had made a conscious career choice or plan; and, for 4...
According to Institute of Alcohol Studies there is more than one kind of relationship involved between alcohol problems and mental health, such as: mental health problems may be a cause of problem drinking and vice versa; there may be a factor in common, in the genes or in the early family environment, which later contributes to both a mental health problems and alcohol probl...