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Short note on gender differences
Depression and its effects on adolescents
Reflection issues in counseling
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Reflection of meaning was used in the transcript section, T-29, by helping to provide insight to the client’s meaning when she stated that she felt isolated. Reflection of feelings was used in the transcript section, T-17. By using reflection of feelings, I validated how the client felt by stating that she must feel frustrated with what is going on with her current situation. I used premature interpretation in the transcript section, T-14, by making an assumption on how her dad must feel like rather than acknowledging her feelings of having to add her father on social media. The intended outcome of the session was to learn more about the client and her current situation. It was important to listen to her discuss her issues with the relationship …show more content…
After using reality therapy to help guide the client to achieve goals of improvement between her relationships with her mother and father, if depression is still occurring, focusing on an evidence-based treatment might be more appropriate. In the Psyc 607 course, Treatment of Children and Adolescents, I learned that depression could be effectively treated in adolescents using Interpersonal Psychotherapy. The textbook, Evidence-Based Psychotherapies for Children and Adolescents included an evidence-based article called Treating Adolescent Depression Using Interpersonal Psychotherapy explained that, “Although not the sole cause of depression, interpersonal conflict is more common among depressed adolescents than their non-depressed peers” (Weisz and Kazdin, 2010, p. 140). Furthermore, the authors of the article included in the textbook, Jacobson and Mufson, explained that, “Dysfunction interactions patterns with parents and peers and were linked to higher levels of depression one year later among a group of adolescents” (Weisz and Kazdin, 2010, p. 2010). Hence, …show more content…
When I went outside, I was in America, but inside my house, it was Mexico. My father was the leader of the house. It wasn’t that way for some of my American friends” (Sue & Sue, 2008, p. 375). Reading this quote reminded me of the client because she discussed having trouble adjusting and having her father has head of the household. The textbook included a chapter on counseling Hispanics and Latinos. Sue and Sue discussed the importance of family value among the Hispanic population. Learning this made me understand why it was so important for the client to build a relationship with her mother and father that she had not seen in nearly fourteen years. Sue and Sue explained that “stress found among adult Mexican immigrants results in depressive symptoms…culture conflicts all function as stressors for recent immigrants” (Sue & Sue, 2008, p. 386). Hence, the stress of immigration and cultural conflicts can also contribute to the client’s depressive symptoms. However, as I learned in the diversity course, it is important to evaluate the clients’ importance of their culture and determine whether the depression is a result of cultural conflicts rather than make an
With the growing population of minorities in the United States, it is reasonable to believe that at some point in a counselor or therapist career, there will be a session with a Latino/Hispanic client. From a cultural competence perspective, it is imperative that a counselor understands the Latino/Hispanic culture and their worldviews. Counseling Latinos offer to be discussed in the paper is the case of an Alberto and Angela a Mexican American couple married for 27 years. Alberto has recently lost his job. (
The client stated that she came to therapy because she has been feeling really lonely and feeling as though that she is not enough since the death of her father. After the death of her father, her mother did not pay her any attention; she understood that her mother was grieving, especially when her grandfather passed a year later. I stated that the frequent death that surrounded her mother, seem to have caused her mother to distance herself from her. She responded “yes, and it even gotten worse when my mom started to date and eventually marry my stepfather”. She mentioned that once her little sister was born, she became jealous and envious. I emphasized with her by stating that she must have felt as though her little sister was going to take the attention that she sought from her mother. After confirming that her mother paid more attention to her sister and stepfather, she mentioned that during this time she began to cut herself in places that no one would notice. The pain did not take the feeling away, but she wanted to know that if she could still feel pain after the thought of losing everything. However, the only person who paid her any attention during this time, was her grandmother. Her grandmother showed her the love that her mother nor “father figure” never showed her. I stated, “the love that your grandmother showed was not the love you were
Depression is a mental health disease, which sometimes goes undetected for many months or years in patients. There is not a certain characteristic the one has that says whether or not they will be affected by depression. Depression is like a rain cloud constantly hovering one or like a big black blanket that one cannot pull off of them. (Leung, LaChapelle, Scinta, & Olvera, 2014) states in a study it was report that “Mexican Americans were more likely than any other racial group to have a persistently high depressive symptoms trajectory. The study also found that Mexican American women had higher rates of depression than the men in this group. Depression is defined as a feeling of hopelessness.” Depression can be treated with medications like anti-depressants or Beta-Blockers. In some patients the mental illness never dissipates even with the help of
Social problems include difficulties with family relationships, isolation, interpersonal conflicts, and pressures of social roles. The Latino culture tends to place a higher premium on the well-being of the family unit over that of any one family member, a concept termed familialism (Smith & Montilla, 2006). In general, familialism emphasizes interdependence and connectedness in the family, and often extends familial ties beyond the nuclear family (Falicov, 1998). Given these values, Latinos often describe depression in terms of social withdrawal and isolation (Letamendi, et al., 2013). Social roles also play an important role in mental health, traditional gender roles in particular are strongly enforced and can be a source of distress. In Latino culture, men and women are expected to fulfill the roles outlined in the traditions of Machismo and Marianismo respectively. Machismo indicates that the man is supposed to be strong and authoritative, while Marianismo designates the woman as the heart of the family both morally and emotionally (Dreby, 2006). Although there is little research on causal factors, adherence to these traditional gender roles can pose a psychological burden and has been found to be strong predictor of depression (Nuñez, et al., 2015). The centrality of social problems in the conceptualization of depression for Latinos may be reflective of the collectivistic values that are characteristic of the group. Although these values have the potential to contribute to depression, they also have the potential to serve as protective factors and promote mental health (Holleran & Waller, 2003). Therefore, it is imperative that the counselor carefully consider cultural values, both in terms of potential benefits and drawbacks, to provide appropriate counseling to the Latino
The process of acculturation “a social and psychological process of change when one culture comes in contact with another” does not directly affect mental health but the process can be stressful, even if positive over negative, or a mix of the two. If the process is positive such as “improving one’s life” while challenging may not have a negative effect or be as stressful in the next case where … if the process of acculturation is negative, the process may be stressful making for acculturative stress (Tafoya, 2011). And in the case of a latino/a coming into the United States there are several potential factors leading to stress. Those may include discrimination, whether perceived and/or direct and may come in the form of unfair treatment (Among others) and language barriers. Again, many potentially stressful issues that come with one culture coming in contact with another, and the process of becoming accustomed to a new culture (Torres, Driscoll, & Voell, 2012).
Rogler, L. H., D. E. Cortes, et al. (1991). "Acculturation and mental health status among Hispanics. Convergence and new directions for research." Am Psychol 46(6): 585-597.
According to Glasser (1965), “reality therapy is a treatment based on changing negative behavior, habits and relationships by focusing on the present or current situations.” An essential aspect of Reality Therapy focuses on the five needs of survival, love and belonging, achievement and power, independence and freedom, and fun, being essential for individuals to ascend through life and establish relationships (Content Guide 5, n.d.). The various techniques utilized during Reality Therapy include: exploring behavior as a focus of change, focusing on the present situation, the adolescent assumes responsibility, a friendly relationship exists between the therapist and patient, the therapist is patient with the individual, the individual considers their ability to change, and lastly the therapist takes into consideration specific factors that are in control of the individual (Content Guide 5, n.d.). In the video, we see the Dr. McFarland create a both friendly and comfortable environment where Adrianne is able to express her opinions and thoughts of her present situation with her parents. Dr. McFarland is also patient with Adrianne, and this is one of the strengths of Reality Therapy, since the way the questions are presented to Adrianne, for example “what are the things your parents need to see from you”, this allows Adrianne to take responsibility and focus on the present situation. One limitation/weakness
In thinking about what culture or special population I would really want to learn and understand about, the Mexican culture kept coming to mind. I believe in my practice I will see a lot of clients who are Mexican and I would truly like to understand their culture and not be ignorant to it. Every culture has their own special ways and I as a counselor would love to learn and understand so one day I can give them the best counseling possible. It is important to me to fully understand their culture because not everyone will respond the same way and in order for there to be a good client/therapist relationship, I need to learn and understand the best I can. In my paper I will take a look at the Mexican culture, how it differs from American culture and ways to help improve my relationship with a Mexican client. I will look at their social structure, family, religion, language, literacy, communication styles, socioeconomic position, traditional health care beliefs and practices, and health care seeking behaviors. The Mexican culture is dynamic and expressed in various ways, owing to individual life experience and personality. Some Mexicans living in the United States may be more or less acculturated to mainstream U.S. culture (Smith, CH 2 online). I will also research some different types of therapy/treatment approaches that would be most effective for the Mexican client and what they are dealing with. With all my research and findings I hope to learn and become better aware of their culture and possibly others, so I can be the best therapist I can be. No therapist wants their stereotypes, biases, and culture bound attitudes toward their client's culture to make it difficult for them to serve them effectively (Wright, 1988).
...ning a therapeutic relationship. Paraphrasing includes repeating the content that has been expressed in a different way, this method can provide the client of feeling important and recognized. Reflection of feelings/content involves identifying the feelings and/or content in what has been said (highlighting the key aspects of the story), again this method encourages for the patients to be validated and heard.
Everyday discrimination is not the only precursor of chronic health conditions, but familismo has also been a contributing factor. Familismo is deeply rooted in the Latinos culture that passed away from generation to generation as ‘‘features of familismo such as pride, belonging, and obligation members of the family continue to be distinctive attributes across generations regardless of the length of time one has resided in the US’’ (Ayo´n et al., 2010, p.743). Consequently, this intimate relationship among the members of Latinos family creates a high volume of mental stress that eventually deteriorates their health conditions. A survey conducted by Ayo´n et al. (2010) showed one identical outcome for two different groups. Based on Parents
In other words, recent immigrants to the United States will experience a dip in their mental health, but will regain their mental health as the years go on. This model differs from the popular lifestyle model of acculturation, which implies a decline in physical health with acculturation. Interestingly, much of the research on this model of acculturation derives from studies of Hispanic immigrant populations in the United States, which potentially limits its applicability to other ethnic groups, such as Vietnamese immigrants (Salant & Lauderdale, 2003, p. 72). These theories provide the foundation for making sense of the data surrounding mental health in Vietnamese immigrant communities, and for understanding how post-migration factors play a role in depression and
I remember when I first came to The United States, I experienced cultural shock, I felt overwhelmed by the differences, and for a while is what I saw only the differences. I felt out of place, alienated from the dominant culture. My anxiety and depression was worsening by this situation. I decided to go to and Spanish speaking psychiatrist who explained to me the slow process of assimilation. He also shared with me that most of his Spaniards’ patients had similar concerns, worries, and complains. I felt better about my situation and he shared with me similar feelings that he had as an immigrant from Mexico City himself had
Depression in children is qualitatively different from depression in adults – these people are more at risk for more severe illnesses in adulthood, as well, which suggests that depression in young people has the potential to be particularly problematic. 60% of adolescents with depression will have recurrences in adulthood and also have a higher rate of suicide throughout their life (Clark, Jansen, & Cloy, 2012). The symptoms of childhood depression might be mistaken for normal mood swings as pertinent to changing developmental stages, and is often presented as irritability and negative attitudes. Diagnosis of depression in children is difficult for this reason, and therefore it must be stressed how careful one must be when diagnosing mental illness in children (“Depression”, 2014). Furthermore, there is a stigma against labeling a child as depressed, which might make it even harder to diagnose depression in children. An example of this is how clinicians might be quick to diagnose children with adjustment disorder (AD) than rather consider the possibility of diagnosing with one of the more serious and long-term depressive disorders. The nature of AD is that it is a ‘temporary’ psychological reaction to an identified stressor that involves impairment in social, occupational, or school functions. This reaction must occur within 3 months of encountering the stressor and cannot last for more than 6 months (Newcorn, J.H. & Strain, J, 1992). This is tied to the historical notion that children cannot be depressed, even as psychology as a field has evolved to acknowledge that children and adolescents can be depressed.
I really enjoyed taking this course, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot on the subject of adolescent psychology. I also enjoyed getting to read my classmates thoughts and opinions on the subjects that we covered over the duration of this course. I think this course gave me the opportunity to reflect on my adolescence and allowed me to see and understand it in a new light. I also feel that I have a better understanding of adolescence and why we make the choices we make during this time of our lives.
People are always assuming that depression is just a complication for adults, not something that affects children. Depression can strike anyone at any age. It is more than just feeling “blue” every once in awhile. A depressive disorder is a serious condition that affects the mood, behavior, and thoughts of people. Adolescent depression and adult depression are not different medically. However, the symptoms in adolescents may manifest themselves in different ways than in adults due to different social and developmental challenges facing adolescents (Krans).