NURS 6650 Week 2 Family Assessment and Phases of Family Therapy

NURS 6650 Week 2 Family Assessment and Phases of Family Therapy Essay Assignment

A family’s patterns of behavior influences [sic] the individual and therefore may need to be a part of the treatment plan. In marriage and family therapy, the unit of treatment isn’t just the person – even if only a single person is interviewed – it is the set of relationships in which the person is imbedded.

—American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, “About Marriage and Family Therapists”

When issues arise within a family unit, the family often presents with one member identified as the “problem.” However, you will frequently find that the issue is not necessarily the “problem client,” but rather dysfunctional family patterns and relationships. To better understand such patterns and relationships and develop a family treatment plan, it is essential that the practitioner appropriately assess all family members. This requires you to have a strong foundation in family assessment and therapy.

This week, as you explore family assessment and therapy, you assess client families presenting for psychotherapy. You also develop diagnoses for clients receiving psychotherapy and consider the legal and ethical implications of counseling these clients.

Assignment 1: Hernandez Family Assessment

Assessment is as essential to family therapy as it is to individual therapy. Although families often present with one person identified as the “problem,” the assessment process will help you better understand family roles and determine whether the identified problem client is in fact the root of the family’s issues. As you examine the Hernandez Family: Sessions 1-6 videos in this week’s Learning Resources, consider how you might assess and treat the client family.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Assess client families presenting for psychotherapy

To prepare:

Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide on family assessment.
View the Hernandez Family: Sessions 1-6 videos, and consider how you might assess the family in the case study.

Note: For guidance on writing a comprehensive client assessment, refer to pages 137–142 of Wheeler (2014) in this week’s Learning Resources.

The Assignment

Address in a comprehensive client assessment of the Hernandez family the following:

Demographic information
Presenting problem
History or present illness
Past psychiatric history
Medical history
Substance use history
Developmental history
Family psychiatric history
Psychosocial history
History of abuse and/or trauma
Review of systems
Physical assessment
Mental status exam
Differential diagnosis
Case formulation
Treatment plan

Note: Any item you are unable to address from the video should be marked “needs to be added to” as you would in an actual comprehensive client assessment

By Day 7

Submit your Assignment.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Apply documentation skills to examine family therapy sessions *
Develop diagnoses for clients receiving family psychotherapy *
Analyze legal and ethical implications of counseling clients with psychiatric disorders *

* The Assignment related to this Learning Objective is introduced this week and submitted in Week 3.

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