85-Year-Old Jeremiah Smith: A Tale of Love, Loss, and Family.

An 85-years-old Jeremiah smith was my patient; his origin was from India as well as German. Jeremiah was heterosexual and he lost his wife 25 years ago by the time I met him. Smith had two daughters, Mary and Susan. The parents of Smith are said to have died after being ill for quite some time. However, Smith had a brother who was of sound health even though he was 90 years old. During his time smith who was raised in Washington State schooled for only 8 years and thereafter got into casual work. He aged from casual jobs and later joined local hardware.

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Reason for Referral

The reason why he was referred to was due to numerous connected referral foundations. He was supposed to be given proper psychological guidance to improve his health and wellness. The main problem that smith was facing was getting back to normal and take over financial management from his daughter (Abraham, Conner, Jones and O'Connor, 2016). Susan who happens to be the daughter of Smith embezzled the funds of smith and this is the main reason why I also decided to review the reasons for smith's psychological referral.

The main reason for referral is that Smith had shown some signs of anxiety which later made him develop an obsessive-compulsive disorder. The repetitive images that patients often show to be experiencing. The impulses that make the patients see the images always are caused by impulses, which need psychological assessment. However, the clinical assessment of the patient's brain was undertaken. Some things that were associated with the disorder were also assessed like, personality, IQ, as well as behavioral assessment. All the assessment was done through a cognitive-behavioural assessment.

Another reason why Smith was referred to is the domestic problems. The difficulties that were facing the household had to be assessed properly to find the main signs that were to be evaluated. In discovering the family issues, personality and the behavioral method was found to be the best method (Awad, Patall, Rackley and Reilly, 2016). The family therapy sessions were used to get rid of the family problems before they could be too much and later affect the client. These days most of the health issues need psychological counselling and that is why most of the patients get it as a referral. Research has shown that healthy psychology is helping in treating fatal diseases that are killing people today. Studies have also indicated that psychological counselling has also helped people to cope with lifestyle diseases like hypertension, diabetes and others. Other interventions that are made, which do not involve taking drugs are also very useful in preventing the health problems that are facing most of the individuals today. The sessions that are ensuring that the patients get well and healthy, help in solving the health problems that the patients are facing. Therapy sessions that can also help the elderly patients to know how they can manage the lifestyle diseases and hence live long lives. Psychological sessions are equally helpful and they can help the manner in which the patient receives the therapy sessions and how they can help the patient as well. However, the quality of the recommendations that, the patient will obtain will largely depend on how open, the patient will be during the sessions. Therefore, for the client to obtain more quality recommendations he or she ought to be more open and transparent on the problems.

Present Indications and Presenting Alarms

He was suffering from OCD. He was often affected by repetitive images of a fantasy spirit who was rambling in the household and trying to help him improve from the health problems he was going through (Gacono, 2015). However, the psychological assessment that he was taken through it was discovered that the OCD was because of the religious beliefs that were cultured to him by the Indian religion since he was a youth. The only method that was going to get Smith out of the condition he was s in by the time was the cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT).

Family issues were once again another source of referral. The conflict amid him and Susan required mental help. He was not amused with the life he was experiencing when he was living with his daughter Susan. Smith pointed out the experiences of being treated like a kid by his own daughter, he says the daughter never gave him a chance of governing aspects pertaining to his life. This is in addition to the fact that Susan was misusing her father's funds since he became sick.

On the other hand, the health issues that, Smith was going through also needed, a psychological assessment (Kaslow and Egan, 2017). The syncopal incident he had gone through in the previous year needed a consistent medical valuation to ensure that, there is none left with such health condition. Efficient non-drug interventions were enough to manage hypertension issues and finally reduce high blood pressure. Psychological interventions were also to perform a vital role in boosting the health of Mr Smith. The aim of the psychological assessment was to assess the spiritual issues that Smith had because of believing in his Indian religion cult, this was to help him get well. This was crucial for the psychotherapist as it ensured that, Smith was open enough and provided all the information that was required. The openness was crucial as it could ensure that, the recommendations made were quality and it could boost the wellbeing of Smith.

Psychosocial History

Learning History

Smith received 8 years only of official schooling and thereafter went to assist his parents in their farmstead work.

Occupation History

He retired from his chance work. He operated in numerous local institutions.

Medical History

Smith is currently diagnosed with hypertension, osteoporosis as well as hypercholesterolemia. A year ago, he was diagnosed with dementia. He was attacked by a syncopal episode, which made him unconscious for a long period (Mihura, Roy and Graceffo, 2017). However, he is managing the health conditions with the help of medication. In treating dementia, he is taking 4mg of donepezil per day. In treating and managing osteoporosis, he takes 20mg of alendronate per day. In managing hypercholesterolemia, he takes 70mg of Lipitor dosage. Smith left smoking five decades ago and he does not take any form of alcohol. He does not have any history of abuse and the use of entertaining medications.

Psychiatric History

The syncopal incident that Smith encountered should be perceived keenly to guarantee that there is no any mind issue. As per this assessment, the psychiatrist says that there are no relevant developmental issues. Smith was born normal just like any other kid and developed without experiencing any developmental challenge. The family history records that the father of Smith died out of a stroke and the mother died out of heart problems.

Social History

Assessments conducted on social issues show positive features. He is a sound individual who his time conscious. He did not show any sign of anger or being moody. Whenever he talked about family issues, he showed joy and happiness.

Recommendations

Smith should take the dosages already stated above in treating the respective disease. However, drugs alone cannot help him much; therefore, they should be incorporated with non-drug therapies which will also boost his health conditions. The psychiatrist should use all means to ensure that, Smith his open enough so that, he can provide the right recommendations. Susan who his Smiths daughter should also be told to allow Smith to manage some things, which involve his life so he cannot feel as if he is treated like a kid. She should also try to account for every coin that she uses so that Smith cannot feel like she is misappropriating his money. Susan or any other person, who will be staying with Smith, should ensure that he takes the medication as prescribed by the physician at the right time. He or she should also ensure that Smith eats well and takes enough water. The psychiatrist should also talk to smith and try to convince him that, the condition he is in, is a normal condition and he will be well very soon. This will make him happy and help him deal with the diseases.

References

Abraham, C., Conner, M., Jones, F., & O'Connor, D. (2016). Health psychology. Routledge.

Awad, G. H., Patall, E. A., Rackley, K. R., & Reilly, E. D. (2016). Recommendations for culturally sensitive research methods. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 26(3), 283-303.

Gacono, C. B. (2015). The clinical and forensic assessment of psychopathy: A practitioner's guide. Routledge.

Kaslow, N. J., & Egan, G. J. (2017). A competency-focused commentary on the special section on Teaching, Training, and Supervision in Personality and Psychological Assessment. Journal of personality assessment, 99(2), 189-191.

Mihura, J. L., Roy, M., & Graceffo, R. A. (2017). Psychological assessment training in clinical psychology doctoral programs. Journal of Personality Assessment, 99(2), 153-164.