Application of Theory Guidelines
Yi Duan Low
SUNY Upstate Medical University
NURS 609 Family Psychiatric and Mental health Theory
Professor: Prof. Patricia Powers
Introduction
The nationwide health promotion and disease prevention plan, Healthy People 2020, recognizes that mental health promotion and mental health reduction is one of the most significant health objectives. Statistics have indicated that mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability in United States and Canada, while suicide is the 11th leading cause of death that has killed approximately 30,000 American each year (“Mental Health and Mental Disorders”, n.d.). The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recommended a series of
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Among the many different psychotherapy modalities that were introduced during our course of study, exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, and behavior therapy intrigued me the most. Each therapy entails unique concepts and have their own strengths and weaknesses. Unlike medical prescription, clinicians shall always tailor and consider combining different psychotherapy modalities based on the patient’s need.
Exposure Therapy
Edna B. Foa developed Exposure Theory and argues that fear and anxiety is a conditioned response where people have learned to use avoidance to maintain their daily functioning. Foa also argues that distressing emotions gradually subside when one confronts the feared triggers (Prochaska & Norcross, 2010). There are different sub-techniques branching from the concept of exposure therapy. For instance, prolonged exposure to the actual or imaginary feared stimuli until symptoms are alleviated, is commonly used with patients suffering from phobias. Similar to exposure concept, the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is another approach to desensitize disturbing memories by recalling traumatic event and cueing eyes movements at the same time. Studies have shown that exposure therapy is the treatment of choice for patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In addition, exposure therapies have also been proven to help patients with anxiety
Healthy People 2020 has chosen twelve health indicators and has set a goal to improve them. Public health has a significant role in ensuring that these topics are addressed and that the goal is achieved. The leading health topic and indicator that I chose is within the Mental Health Status Improvement, and the indicator is reducing the suicide rate. In 2010, when the 10-year initiative started, the baseline measurement for suicides was 12.1; however, in 2015, it had increased to 13.3. The HP2020 target goal is 10.2 (Healthy People, 2017). The increase denotes that there was no progress made and that the measure worsens instead of improving.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a type of therapeutic treatment which helps clients understand their thoughts and feelings that influences the behavior. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) does treat other disorders such as phobias, addictions, depression, and anxiety (www.psychology.about.com). CBT is mainly focused on the short term goals and assisting the clients to deal with a certain problem. During the treatment process, the clients will learn to identify and make changes to their thought process of destructive and disturbing things. The basics when dealing with CBT is that the thoughts and feelings play a very important role
According to Sharf, (2008) the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) was designed to treat posttraumatic stress disorder. EMDR requires that the clients visualize an upsetting memory and accompanying physical sensations. The clients repeat negative self-statements that they associate with the scene. The procedure is repeated again and again until the client’s anxiety is reduced. EMDR focuses on desensitizing strong emotional reasons in clients and help them to reframe their belief systems to accommodate new emotional states (Sharf, 2008).
Over 40 million Americans have been diagnosed with at least one mental illness (NIMH 2015), and 43,000 Americans commit suicide every year (NIMH 2014), with most of those deaths deemed preventable (Mann et. al 2005).
Developed by Edna Foa, prolonged exposure therapy exposes patients to their traumatic event over and over again while being in a safe place (Blankenship 277). Although prolonged exposure therapy is one treatment it has four main elements including education, breathing retraining, in vivo exposure, and imaginal exposure. Education consists of learning about the treatment, treatment symptoms, and goals of the treatment. Breathing retraining helps patients to relax and calm themselves when they become anxious. In vivo exposure allows patients with PTSD to be put in real-life situations that they are not comfortable with due to the trauma they have faced. Lastly, imaginal exposure allows the patients with post-traumatic stress disorder to talk through their traumatic event while it is recorded. After repeatedly talking through their event, the patient then listens to what they have said (Swan 28). Prolonged exposure therapy occurs over eight to fifteen sessions. Each session can range from 60 to 90 minutes depending on the patient and their specific needs (Blankenship 278). This treatment helps patients with post-traumatic stress disorder by allowing them to face their fears associated with the traumatic event and gain control over their emotions (Swan 28). Prolonged exposure therapy is proven to be a very effective therapy and is highly supported for the use of treating PTSD (Blankenship
“Recent data estimate the overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating
Healthy People 2020 set a goal of reducing the number of completed suicides among the adult population by ten percent. This is a reoccurring theme from Healthy People 2010, where the goal was to reduce the number of suicides from 10.5 to 4.8 per 100,000. Unfortunately, from 2003 to 2013, rate of death from suicide has steadily increased to the current rate of 13.0 per 100,000 deaths (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). The goal of Healthy People 2020 is to improve the health of our Nation over the next ten years, from a baseline set of data (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Though suicide is not an illness, it typically is an untreated or undermanaged mental illness that results in a person resorting to
The Healthy People 2020 initiative is a government-sponsored program designed to use science-based, 10-year national objectives to improve the health of all Americans. Healthy People 2020 encourages collaboration across communities, empowers individuals to make informed health decisions, and measures the impact on health of these activities ("2020," 2013). The goals of 2020 related to mental illness are to improve mental health by assuring access to quality mental health services, to reduce the suicide rate, to increase the number of homeless persons who need and also receive mental health services, to reduce the number
According to Tuerk, Yoder, Ruggiero, Gros & Acierno (2010), prolonged exposure therapy is a form of therapy treatment applied in posttraumatic stress disorders. Prolonged exposure treatment based on behavioral and cognitive levels of therapy, is a method used in treatment of trauma where the victim remembers the triggers of trauma rather than letting go, as it has been the case. Trained Social workers, psychologists and psychiatrist offer treatment to these conditions. What causes post traumatic stress disorders is not clearly known, but a mix of one's personality, inherited mental functionality risks, the way the brain releases chemicals in dealing with stress, and one's life experiences can be used to draw some insights (Powers, Halpern, Ferenschak, Gillihan & Foa, 2010).
In psychotherapy there are many different ways that a therapist can decide how to treat a client. In my paper I will discuss how Exposure Therapy and Behavioral Therapy work together with a client. I will focus on the nature of the problem, the process of change, theory in practice, multicultural considerations, and the types of clients and clinical problems.
In this paper the therapies related to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) will be studied in order to determine the applicability thereof for the treatment (and prevention) of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD will be summarised as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders edition 4 with revisions (DSM-IV-TR). The therapy models, their theory and techniques will be discussed. The therapies this paper has in scope are, CBT, Exposure therapy and it’s different related techniques, Stress Inoculation Training (SIT), and Eye Movement Desensitisation
Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder is possible. The current treatment of PTSD encompasses several types of psychotherapy combined with a medication regimen. Cognitive therapy is one type of therapy used to combat PTSD. The goal of cognitive therapy is to allow the patient to slowly experience feelings, thoughts, and events associated with the trauma in a controlled setting. This allows the PTSD sufferer, to categorize the traumatic feelings associated with the event and assign a more positive meaning to them. Thus providing a coping mechanism. Another school of thought places the therapeutic focus on gradually exposing the PTSD sufferer to elements of the trauma. The goal is to desensitize the patient to the traumatic event. This allows the patient to resume a normal life. One other form of therapy used in treatment of PTSD is EMDR. EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a form of exposure therapy that places the emphasis on guided eye movements. The theory is that the movements help retrain how the brain reacts to memories of the traumatic event. Success has
It has been proven to have a better response rate.The Institute of Medicine recognized exposure therapies as the only treatment approach with sufficient empirical data to be deemed effective for PTSD (Institute of Medicine, 2007).While pharmacotherapy with SSRI can reduce symptoms, the most effective treatments involve understanding and overcoming avoidance behaviors (Foa & Rothbaum, 1998) Exposure therapy is a behavioral treatment for PTSD that aims to reduce your fear, anxiety and avoidance behavior by having you fully face, or be exposed to, thoughts, feelings or situations that are feared. During exposure therapy, the patient will face varying stimuli that stimulate the PTSD. This will go on until the intensity of the stimuli is
All of the information on the different types of therapies has helped me to more fully understand psychology. This chapter is dedicated to explaining the current methods of treating people with psychological disorders in order to help them through a rough time in life. This chapter on therapy shows the side of psychology that is the result of the hard work of a multitude of psychologists and doctors.
During the following three decades, numerous innovative treatment and intervention methods and standpoints were presented as opposed to the customary psychodynamic approachs. Of the many approaches to clinical psychology, four are major and consist of the behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, and family classifications. By employing these four major approaches the effectiveness of treatment is heightened (Plante, 2011).