Assignment 1: Practicum – Week 5 Journal Entry on a family therapy session
* The Assignment related to this Learning Objective is introduced this week and submitted in Week 7.
Select two clients you observed or counseled this week during a family therapy session. Note: The two clients you select must have attended the same family session. Do not select the same family you selected for Week 2.
Then, address in your Practicum Journal the following:
- Using the Group Therapy Progress Note in this week’s Learning Resources, document the family session.
- Describe each client (without violating HIPAA regulations) and identify any pertinent history or medical information, including prescribed medications.
- Using the DSM-5, explain and justify your diagnosis for each client.
- Explain whether solution-focused or cognitive behavioral therapy would be more effective with this family. Include expected outcomes based on these therapeutic approaches.
- Explain any legal and/or ethical implications related to counseling for each client.
- Support your approach with evidence-based literature.
Required Readings
Wheeler, K. (Ed.). (2014). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse: A how-to guide for evidence-based practice. New York, NY: Springer.
- Chapter 12, “Family Therapy” (Review pp. 429–468.)
Nichols, M. (2014). The essentials of family therapy (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Chapter 10, “Cognitive-Behavior Family Therapy” (pp. 166–189)
- Chapter 12, “Solution-Focused Therapy” (pp. 225–242)
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Bond, C., Woods, K., Humphrey, N., Symes, W., & Green, L. (2013). Practitioner review: The effectiveness of solution focused brief therapy with children and families: A systematic and critical evaluation of the literature from 1990–2010. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 54(7), 707–723. doi:10.1111/jcpp.1205
Conoley, C., Graham, J., Neu, T., Craig, M., O’Pry, A., Cardin, S., & … Parker, R. (2003). Solution-focused family therapy with three aggressive and oppositional-acting children: An N=1 empirical study. Family Process, 42(3), 361–374. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2003.00361.
de Castro, S., & Guterman, J. (2008). Solution-focused therapy for families coping with suicide. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 34(1), 93–106. doi:10.111/j.1752-0606.2008.00055.x
Patterson, T. (2014). A cognitive behavioral systems approach to family therapy. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 25(2), 132–144. doi:10.1080/08975353.2014.910023
Perry, A. (2014). Cognitive behavioral therapy with couples and families. Sexual & Relationship Therapy, 29(3), 366–367. doi:10.1080/14681994.2014.909024
Ramisch, J., McVicker, M., & Sahin, Z. (2009). Helping low-conflict divorced parents establish appropriate boundaries using a variation of the miracle question: An integration of solution-focused therapy and structural family therapy. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 50(7), 481–495. doi:10.1080/10502550902970587
Washington, K. T., Wittenberg-Lyles, E., Oliver, D. P., Baldwin, P. K., Tappana, J., Wright, J. H., & Demiris, G. (2014). Rethinking family caregiving: Tailoring cognitive-behavioral therapies to the hospice experience. Health & Social Work, 39(4), 244–250. doi:10.1093/hsw/hlu031
Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2013c). Johnson family session 3 [Video file]. Author: Baltimore, MD.
