The Hunger Games and PTDS

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Have you ever watched a movie and automatically diagnosed a character based on their behavior and thought process? Prior to this program, I could easily watch a movie without thinking too deeply into the issues that a character may have. Recently, I have become very fond of anything that has to do with the Hunger Games. Upon watching the movie and reading the first book, it became apparent that one of the main characters was suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, commonly known as PTSD. The Hunger Games is an annually televised lottery where a boy and a girl from each district in the nation of Panem, compete in a game of survival called upon by the nations Capitol. Each tribute is forced to fight and kill off other competitors until there is only one winner standing. The winner then wins a new house for themselves and their families in their District, along with food, fame, and wealth. Panem is the only part of the world that survived the war against the world, called the Apocalypse. Therefore, each year, the Capitol holds the Hunger Games to keep the districts in order so they do not rebel again. Each tribute that enters and wins the games never returns the same. Out of all the victors, Haymitch seems to be the most affected. The predominance of his symptoms intrigued, me so I decided to take a further look at his case. I will explore background information of Haymitch as well as ethical concerns that may arise in therapy. In addition, I will provide diagnostic considerations and set up a treatment plan to improve Haymitch’s overall well being. Haymitch is a 40-year-old Caucasian male. He has dirty blonde hair and his appearance is of a paunchy, middle age man. According to Katniss, Haymitch was good looking prior to t... ... middle of paper ... ...provement of his well-being. Works Cited American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games. New York: Scholastic Press. Davidson, L., Tondora, J., Staeheli, M., O’Connell, M., & Rowe, M. (2009). A practical guide to recovery-oriented practice: Tools for transforming mental health care. New York: Oxford University Press. Jongsma, A., & Peterson, M. (2006). The complete adult psychotherapy treatment planner. (4th ed.). New York: Wiley. The Hunger Games Wiki. (2009, July 7). Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/The_Hunger_Games_Wiki Toporek, R., Lewis, J., & Crethar, H. (2009). Promoting systemic change through the ACA advocacy competencies. Journal of Counseling & Development, 87, 260-268.

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