Preview

Comprehensive Understanding of Individual Treatment in the Group Process: Ptsd in Focus

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1200 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comprehensive Understanding of Individual Treatment in the Group Process: Ptsd in Focus
Comprehensive Understanding of Individual Treatment in the Group Process:
PTSD in Focus

Lorenzo E. Aranda

CNSL/561

University of Phoenix

Lorenzo Aranda
CNSL/561

In understanding an individual’s treatment plan, as it pertains to a group counseling atmosphere, you must first realize that it is a multifaceted process. This process ensures the appropriateness and effectiveness of group counseling in the client’s treatment. And, as the individual’s progress may shift, the applicability of a group counseling plan may shift as well.
In order to illustrate the process a hypothetical client, Joe, will be used. He is a soldier with the U.S. Army and was recently deployed to Afghanistan for 12 months. During his deployment he and his unit were exposed to direct and indirect fire by enemy forces. On one such occasion a fellow soldier, and close friend, was killed by an improvised explosive device 20ft from his location during a routine patrol.
Upon his return to the states three months later Joe underwent a debriefing and post-deployment program. This program included a standardized psychological screening. This screening has been modified in recent years in an effort to mitigate the overwhelming increase in cases of PTSD and soldier suicides (Shalev, Rogel, Ursano). After a brief series of questions it was determined that he showed some indications of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Joe was then referred to a Behavioral Health Specialist for an official evaluation and verification of the initial assessment. Diagnosing PTSD in an office visit can be challenging. The diagnosis is frequently missed because patients do not typically volunteer information about the traumatic event or the stereotypic PTSD symptoms. Careful attention must be paid to subtle cues in words used in responses and body language in order to probe for symptoms.
Through self-report it was revealed that he had been exposed to a traumatic event in which he experienced and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Speech

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages

    c. NBC reported on a soldier Named Daniel Hibbard who was diagnosed twice with PTSD but then something unexpected happened Hibbard received a letter reversing his PTSD diagnosis. His new diagnosis, which was assigned without an in-person examination or assessment, is personality disorder.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In order for a person to be diagnosed with PTSD the person must be exposed to a traumatic event. The event must be re-experienced in recurrent thoughts, dreams,…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ptsd in Soldiers

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD causes its victims to feel frightened, worried and stressed in normal situations in which an unaffected person would feel comfortable. It is a mental disorder caused by the occurrence of a traumatic event, either to the victim or to the victim’s loved one (NIMH, n.d.). War veterans are only one type of victim of this disorder but they have been the cause of much study on this matter. Throughout the past century, awareness and acceptance of PTSD has risen in militaries around the world. The disorder has evolved from being called at its earliest discovery the Swiss disease, then the railway spine, in the 19th century; traumatic hysteria and traumatic neurasthenia, later on; shell shock, and during and post-WWII, combat fatigue. Not until the Vietnam War, was the term PTSD globally accepted and treated as a legitimate mental disorder. Today’s efforts in detection and early treatment of the disorder have come at the cost of much skepticism inflicted on many victims in the past.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A Soldiers Nightmare: Ptsd

    • 1778 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The diagnosis of PTSD originally came from the observations of the effects of combat on soldiers. Dr. John Fortunato with Beaumont Army Medical Center explains that combat can cause physical changes to…

    • 1778 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the only psychiatric condition in the DSM-IV that requires a specific event to have occurred as a criterion for the diagnosis (Saskia, S.L. et al., 2005). Symptoms of PTSD can include but are not limited to flashbacks, or reliving the traumatic event for minutes or even days at a time, shame or guilt, upsetting dreams about the traumatic event, trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event, feeling emotionally numb, irritability or anger, poor relationships, self-destructive behavior, hopelessness about the future, trouble sleeping, memory problems, trouble concentrating, not enjoying activities you once enjoyed, and hearing or seeing things that aren 't there. (Kolk, McFarlane, Waisaeth 26-45).…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Military Needs Assessment

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Two quantitative surveys are given to military personnel before, after, and following the treatment process, which are the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and the PTSD Checklist (PCL). The CAPS is given to guide researchers in making a current diagnosis of PTSD, examine a lifetime diagnosis for PTSD, and assessing PTSD symptoms over the past week (Weathers, 2013). The PCL is given to monitor military personnel symptom change before and after treatment and an overall screening for PTSD (Weathers, 2013). The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) is given through a set of semi-structured questions designed to confirm the PTSD diagnosis and assess mental health (First, Spitzer, Gibbon, & Williams, 1996). A focus group is conducted, where military personnel become educated on PTSD, create goals for treatment, acquire breathing and relaxation techniques, and manage future planning (Astramovich,…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a widespread disorder that affects certain individuals psychologically, behaviorally, and emotionally following the experience of a traumatic event (Lee et al., 2005, p. 135). However, because of inconsistencies regarding the percentage of individuals who experience PTSD and the percentage of individuals who subsequently develop PTSD, researchers hypothesize that both biological and environmental factors contribute to the development of PTSD (Wolf et al. 2010, p. 328). In order gain a better understanding of this disorder and to discover contributing and predicative factors which contribute to the development of PTSD, this paper analyses the historical context and prevalence of PTSD, the biological and environmental contributing factors, and types of intervention used to mediate the effects of PTSD. In conclusion, the paper advocates the interrelated nature of environmental and biological influences on the development of PTSD and suggests future areas of research which may increase an interventionists ability to assist an individual suffering from PTSD.…

    • 6727 Words
    • 27 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Veterans and Ptsd

    • 2934 Words
    • 12 Pages

    According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR; APA, 2000) the diagnostic criteria for PTSD include a history of exposure to a traumatic event meeting two criteria and symptoms from each of three symptom clusters: intrusive recollections, avoidant/numbing symptoms, and hyper-arousal symptoms (Appendix 2).…

    • 2934 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Another area that has more recently been studied and can help with treatment is looking at diagnostic problems that may arise through other disorders being present, which has brought up the question of subtypes of PTSD (Humphreys, et al., 2010). This also brings up the question of cultural bias in testing as a current issue and relevant when looking at how to treat PTSD differently by culture by looking at how the disorder is perceived socio-culturally and how the treatment can be culturally appropriate (Poortinga, Y., 1995).…

    • 2766 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how did it get diagnosed? Before the Vietnam War, PTSD had been called many different things. Following World War II, veterans that developed PTSD was known as battle fatigue or gross stress reaction. For World War I veterans who developed PTSD, it was known as combat fatigue or shell shock. Then there were the Civil War soldiers that developed PTSD, which was known at the time as soldier’s heart (The History of PTSD, par 5). There are two types of PTSD, acute and chronic. The acute type can happen after a trauma and the chronic happens over a period of time. The sad part about PTSD it was recognized as an emotional disorder, there were those who thought of it as simply a cowardice or personal weakness (Wellness Directory of Minnesota, par 4).…

    • 2500 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has captured the minds and imagination of the American public especially during this time of war. With the increased violence due to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, many Soldiers are affected by the violence and the trauma associated with conflict. Post-traumatic stress disorder is defined in the dictionary as a mental disorder, as battle fatigue, occurring after a traumatic event outside the range of usual human experience, and characterized by symptoms such as reliving the event, reduced involvement with others, and manifestations of autonomic arousal such as hyper-alertness and exaggerated startle response ("Posttraumatic stress disorder." Random House Unabridged Dictionary.) Soldiers throughout history have had to deal with the mental, physical and emotional stress associated with combat. Many of the returning Soldiers from the Iraq War have…

    • 1742 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    ”Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was first recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a diagnosable condition in 1980” (Souza & Spates, 2008). The National Institute of Mental Health states that “PTSD develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2014). One common misconception that society has is that PTSD only affects those who have been in war. Though war veterans make up a big part of the individuals who have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, there are others who are affected as well. The National Institute of Mental Health explains that PTSD “can result from a variety of traumatic incidents, such as mugging, rape, torture, being…

    • 3937 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dr Frank Ochberg Summary

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dr. Ochberg, M.D. identified many important aspects for the counselor to consider when treating those with PTSD. Specifically, I gained insight on the importance of refraining from probing the client too early to discuss the traumatic event and the importance of knowing when it is the right time to encourage the client to do…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to a traumatic event. The EPA is a great resource for employees experiencing PTSD but not all employee recognizes the symptoms or are willing to reach out for help. The following are the three key strategies when addressing assistance to employees with PTSD:…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ptsd Paper

    • 1681 Words
    • 7 Pages

    be misdiagnosed. There are many reasons an individual may have PTSD, its finding the trauma…

    • 1681 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays