Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families. Much of the work you will do as a couple and family professional will involve clients experiencing life transition and developmental issues. Occasionally, however, you may encounter a couple or family in which one or more members are experiencing pervasive mental illness or health concerns (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, or major depression).

This may happen more often if you work in a traditional mental health service setting that focuses on pervasive mental illness. Being prepared to tailor the use of your couple/family counseling theory to work with such opportunities is vital.

This week, you shift further along the continuum of care beyond life transition and developmental issues to pervasive mental illness and health concerns that may have a relational component to either their development or treatment.

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families

Students will:

• Analyze couple/family sessions requiring assessment and intervention
• Analyze challenges related to couples/families requiring individualized treatment
• Design treatment plans for couples/families experiencing pervasive mental illness or health concerns
• Analyze evidence-based interventions

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families.

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families.

Gurman, A. S., Lebow, J. L., Snyder, D. K. (2015). Clinical handbook of couple therapy. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

• Chapter 14, “Couple Therapy for Partner Aggression”
• Chapter 22, “Couple Therapy and Depression”
• Chapter 23, “Couple Therapy and Medical Issues”

Document: Treatment Plan Template (Word document)

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families

Optional Resources

Use the link below to access the MSW home page, which provides resources for your social work program.

MSW home page

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families

Discussion: Assessment for and Challenges Related to Pervasive Mental Illness and Health Concerns

In the 1950s, a radical shift in counseling occurred. Numerous key figures in the fields of family counseling and therapy proposed the view that pervasive mental health problems were not individual problems, as was previously thought, but originated with and were perpetuated by family dynamics. The shift from working with individuals with pervasive or severe mental illness or health concern via individual psychotherapy to working with the identified “patient” and their families in the 1950s provided the context for the birth and growth of family counseling/therapy.

Since that time, mental health professionals working with families with a member experiencing pervasive mental illness or a health concern have moved away from the controversial stance above, to acknowledge that both genes and biology influence behavior and that relationships can maintain or exacerbate symptomology, as well as assist in alleviating it via various coping mechanisms.

Tertiary intervention is the formal term for working with clients experiencing pervasive mental illness or health concerns, but it may also be referred to as remedial or rehabilitative counseling. When you encounter a couple or family for which tertiary intervention may be appropriate, your assessment focus should shift. First, you should be aware of any symptoms or cues that may substantiate your concerns, and assess whether couple and family therapy is indeed the best form of service to provide. It may be that one or more persons would benefit from individual services, whether simultaneously with or before any couple or family counseling.

For this Discussion, you will examine couple/family sessions requiring assessment and intervention, as well as exploring the challenges couple/family sessions might include.

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families.

By Day 4

Post a brief description of three symptoms/cues observed in a couple/family session that may require assessment and intervention beyond the scope of a couple/family session and explain why. Then, explain how you, as a helping professional, might take the next steps with the individual who requires additional assessment and intervention. Finally, explain any challenges of continuing working with the couple/family once an individual requires concurrent treatment.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families.

By Day 6

Respond to two of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question.
• Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
• Offer and support an opinion.
• Make a suggestion.
• Expand on your colleague’s posting.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

Submission and Grading Information

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 9 Discussion Rubric

Week 9: Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families.

Post by Day 4 and Respond by Day 6

To participate in this Discussion:

Week 9 Discussion

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families

Assignment: Treatment Planning for Couples and Families Experiencing Pervasive Mental Illness or Health Issues

As you explored in this week’s Discussion, assessment becomes more complex if a couple or family member shows signs of pervasive mental illness or a significant health concern. Using theory-based interventions may help you navigate this challenging terrain.

For this Assignment, consider a couple/family where one member has a severe and persistent mental illness. (Note: This may be a fictitious case or a case from your professional experience). Think about how you would conceptualize the couple’s/family’s problems using the lens of your chosen theoretical orientation. Using the Walden Library, locate two evidence-based journal articles that support interventions for the present issue.

Week 9: Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families.

The Assignment (2–3 pages)

• Identify the pervasive mental illness or health concern present in the couple/family.
• Conceptualize the couple’s/family’s problem through your chosen theoretical orientation.
• Design a treatment plan including short- and long-term goals.
• Explain two evidence-based interventions you would use to address the couple’s/family’s issues and how you would use them. (Note: The interventions may not emerge from your chosen theoretical orientation.)
• Justify the intervention you selected with two evidence-based research articles.

Support your Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list for all resources, including those in the resources for this course.

By Day 7

Submit your Assignment.

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK9Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click the Week 9 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click the Week 9 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK9Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 9 Assignment Rubric

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families.

Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity

To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:

Submit your Week 9 Assignment draft and review the originality report.

Week 9: Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families. Submit Your Assignment by Day 7

To submit your Assignment:

Week 9 Assignment

Week 9:Pervasive Mental Illness in Couples and Families

Week in Review

In this week, you shifted further along the continuum of care beyond life transition and developmental issues to pervasive mental illness and health concerns that may have a relational component to either their development or treatment.

In the next week, you will explore why couple and family helping professionals should be familiar with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and the advantages and disadvantages of such knowledge

To go to the next week:

Week 10