People diagnosed with bipolar disorders often act in very impulsive ways when they are in a manic episode, and may also be very distant and lash out at others when they are in a depressive episode. These behaviors can deeply affect their family and close friends. Their family and friends often do not understand why their loved one is acting the way that they are. In an additional article that Nemade and Dombeck (1995-2016b) wrote, they recommend family focused therapy as a treatment option for bipolar disorders. Family focused therapy also receives additional support in treatment of individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorders by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in an article published on their website called “Psychotherapies.”
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The system comprises of the family members, and the family members often unknowingly encourage or make the client’s symptoms worse from the way they interact with the client. Family focused therapy is a mix of psychoeducation and group therapy to help educate the members of the family system so that they can see how they are affecting each other. (Nemade & Dombeck, 119-2016b)
This form of therapy will be helpful for Lexa because she has been having a hard time with her family. Her father is very closed minded, judgmental, and not at all educated about what living with a mental health diagnosis can be like. Family focused therapy will be a good fit to use to work towards the goal Lexa has of trying to get along and relate to her father better. If Lexa was my client, I would be using psychoeducation as a tool to help educate her father specifically, but all other family members as well. I would also recommend family therapy sessions in addition to Lexa’s individual …show more content…
I believe that automatic negative thoughts are a major contributor to depression and that addressing and changing those is a very important step to take in the therapeutic process. Cognitive behavior therapy and family focused family both also use homework as techniques in the counseling process, which I also agree with. I think that the more invested and involved the client becomes in their recovery, the better the outcome will be. In addition to this, family focused therapy has a large emphasis on psychoeducation which I believe is very important. There is such a stigma around mental health that many families do not ever discuss it with each other, it becomes an elephant in the room, or family members may interact overly positively/negatively with the client as a result of lack of knowledge. I think that psychoeducation can work wonders in allowing families to be able to understand, communicate, and care for each other more
The system comprises of the family members, and the family members often unknowingly encourage or make the client’s symptoms worse from the way they interact with the client. Family focused therapy is a mix of psychoeducation and group therapy to help educate the members of the family system so that they can see how they are affecting each other. (Nemade & Dombeck, 119-2016b)
This form of therapy will be helpful for Lexa because she has been having a hard time with her family. Her father is very closed minded, judgmental, and not at all educated about what living with a mental health diagnosis can be like. Family focused therapy will be a good fit to use to work towards the goal Lexa has of trying to get along and relate to her father better. If Lexa was my client, I would be using psychoeducation as a tool to help educate her father specifically, but all other family members as well. I would also recommend family therapy sessions in addition to Lexa’s individual …show more content…
I believe that automatic negative thoughts are a major contributor to depression and that addressing and changing those is a very important step to take in the therapeutic process. Cognitive behavior therapy and family focused family both also use homework as techniques in the counseling process, which I also agree with. I think that the more invested and involved the client becomes in their recovery, the better the outcome will be. In addition to this, family focused therapy has a large emphasis on psychoeducation which I believe is very important. There is such a stigma around mental health that many families do not ever discuss it with each other, it becomes an elephant in the room, or family members may interact overly positively/negatively with the client as a result of lack of knowledge. I think that psychoeducation can work wonders in allowing families to be able to understand, communicate, and care for each other more