Erickson's Psychosocial Theory, Depressive Disorder and Family Therapy Paper Example

Explain, in your own words, the strengths and weaknesses of the psychosocial theory.

Erickson's psychosocial theory argues that human development is shaped by three interacting factors including biological maturity, interaction with members of the society and personal efforts to shape one's psychological growth. People grow through stages and each stage is characterized by various psychosocial crises. The stages include: infancy (Under 2 years), Toddlerhood (2-4 years), Early childhood ( 5-8 years), Middle Childhood (9-12 years), Adolescence (13-19 years), Early adulthood (20-39 years), Middle Adulthood (40-59 years), and Late Adulthood (60 and above) (Erickson, 1984).

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Strengths

• The theory provides a broad integrated framework which can be used to study lifespan
• The theory can also be instrumental in providing insight into the crisis in age stage of life and can be used to understand the direction that healthy lifespan should take
• The concept provided on the psychological crisis and its poles can be used to understand the individual differences in the developmental framework

Weaknesses

• It is not clear how the mechanism of crisis resolution as one move from one state to another can be achieved. More clarification and research needs to be conducted
• The number of stages that an individual undergoes in a lifetime is still under debate. Therefore, the theory can only be used with caution
• The theory does not clearly explain how culture can encourage or inhibit individual development.

Explore how it may apply to individuals you will work within your specialization

Working with drug addicts and troubled youths I will employ Ericson's theory of psychosocial development based on my understanding of the stage-crisis profiles. Each stage of development is characterized by specific risks and crisis (Erickson, 1984). Therefore, when working with an individual in different age groups, the intervention measures or approaches are taken would be defined by the stage of development or age of the individual. For example, by knowing the age, I will be in a supposition to know the psychosocial crisis the individual is undergoing, the people with whom they have a significant relationship as well as an existential crisis question the individual may be having

What depressive disorder diagnosis would you consider assigning to Christina?

The depressive disorder diagnosis I would consider assigning to Christina is anxious distress

Describe the process you used for making this decision.

I used the differential diagnosis trees from DSM-V. Her diagnosis was based on the following five constructs. She felt keyed up, and was also feeling unusually restless, she had problems concentration because she was worried about her family and the fact that she was in new places always from family. She feared for the life of her mother who was sick. She feels that she might lose control of herself based on her statement that" she is heading nowhere" and says that lately, she has felt extremely hopeless.

Describe how the Beck Depression Inventory-II would aid in making a diagnosis for this client.

Becks depression inventory *(BDI-II ) consists of 4 items that are rated on the four-point scale ranging between 0 and 3 and depending on the severity of each construct scored. Based on my scoring of Christina's condition on the Beck Depression Inventory-II, I found that Christina's total scores were 25 which indicate that her depression was moderate depression. Each of the constructs that were not mentioned by Christine during diagnosis is eliminated.

V-Codes I would you consider for Christina?

V62.29 (Z56.9)-Other Problem Related to Employment

V62.89 (Z60.0) Phase of Life Problem

V60.3 (Z60.2)Problem Related to Living Alone

V62.4 (Z60.3)Acculturation Difficulty

V62.4 (Z60.4)Social Exclusion or Rejection

Z codes I would consider for Christina?

Z63.6Dependent relative needing care at home

Z63.7Other stressful life events affecting family and household and Anxiety (normal) about a sick person in the family (Walsh, 2015).

How would including these systemic considerations help you understand Christina's presenting symptoms and consider your treatment approach?

I would combine the treatment approaches for both the v codes and codes to determine the most promising treatment approach. I would consider helping her secure permission from work to attends to family health issues and allow her time to adjust to the new environment.

How would you describe the family from a multicultural perspective? Considering these issues, what is important to note in understanding this family?

Based on the family system theory, the family is still undergoing the crisis phase where both parties still prescribe to their individual family tradition, cultural values and belief. They have to overcome all forms of discrimination based on race, gender, age, religion, ability or sexual orientation. Therefore instead of focus on the individual partners, they should focus on how to understand each one's background that has an impact on their upbringing. Instead of focusing on the partners in isolation, they should try to understand each other as part of their family which is an emotional unit (Ingoldsby & Smith, 1995)

Where is the family in its life-cycle development? What are the current challenges it faces?

The family is in the second stage of life cycle development known as coupling. They have just moved from an independent lifestyle and are forced to develop trust, moral, initiative, and identity. They are trying to the couple as they enter into marriage. They have to adapt, build a relationship and remain committed to each other (Kazak, Segal-Andrews, & Johnson, 1995). But the challenges they are facing as they adjust to the new union will cover areas such as finances, Lifestyle, Recreational activities or hobbies, Relationships with in-laws, Sexuality or sexual compatibility as well as friendship. The two have to realign their relationship with each other and with their family of origin.

References

Erickson, R. (1984). Psychosocial Assessment on a Short-Stay Inpatient Psychiatric Unit. Psychological Reports, 55(1), pp.43-47.

Ingoldsby, B., & Smith, S. (1995). Perspectives on marriage and the family. Families inmulticultural perspective. New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.

Kazak, E., Segal-Andrews, M., & Johnson, K. (1995). Pediatric psychology research and practice: A family/systems approach. In M. C. Roberts (Ed.), Handbook of pediatricpsychology (pp. 84-104). New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.

Walsh, J. (2015). The utility of theDSM-5Z-codes for clinical social work diagnosis. Journal Of Human Behavior In The Social Environment, 26(2), 149-153. doi: 10.1080/10911359.2015.1052913