Interventions, Techniques, Tools, and Strategies

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College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
School of Counseling
Counseling Masters’ Programs
Coun 6356 – Advanced Theory and Application
ASSESSMENT of FAMILY SYSTEM FORM

Name: Shanice Edmonds

Date: 7/7/21

Identified Client Family Name and Name of Movie: A Beautiful Mind: The client is John Nash

Family Members Involved in Counseling Wife-Alicia.

Summary of Movie

A Beautiful Mind is a movie about Nash and his wife Alicia, who is pregnant when his disorder becomes prevalent in its symptoms. Nash was known for his outstanding services to humanity, although he experienced delusional moments. The protagonist displays the characteristics of man to descends into insanity and ascends to typical functioning in the academic setting. He was a good mathematician diagnosed with schizophrenia. The film’s central theme revolves around mental disorder, recovery, and the pursuit of knowledge. The movie is a biography of a self-proclaimed mathematician, John Nash, diagnosed with schizophrenia disorder, which hampered his career as a mathematician. Nash is the client that I am interested in the family. His role involves his state and the intelligence he holds regarding mathematics, which is why the movie is entitled “A Beautiful Mind.” he developed the disease at the age of 30 in the 1950s—his role in mathematic involved developing game theory.

Theoretical Case Conceptualization Orientation

CBT is a talking therapy it helps the patient recognize their thoughts and how they influence their feelings. It works as part of the group therapy, and it will work for the family if they develop a collaborative relationship with the therapist. It helps the victims to build wellness, enhance positive growth and reduce schizophrenia symptoms.

Background Information

John Nash is known for his outstanding skills in solving mathematics problems, and he is a teacher at Princeton. He has a pregnant wife, Alicia. He is a mathematician and also a person living with schizophrenia. He makes a significant discovery in game theory that has a massive influence on our daily lives. Nash perceived that Russians were sending him coded messages on the front page of New York Times magazine. John Nash developed the symptoms of schizophrenia in the 1950s when he was around 30-years of age. According to the New York Times, he displayed severe paranoia and delusions, which informed his strange behaviors. He was hospitalized several times and used antipsychotic medications.
The cultural consideration in the family involves religious differences, for they have particular beliefs that go contrary to mine. The best thing about the family is that they are familiar with hospice settings since the client has visited the hospitals on numerous occasions. Although their religious beliefs make them think the client can get well without medical interventions. I would describe the family’s culture as involving deep values such as collaboration, honesty, compassion, education, and commitment to each family member(the family comes first). Their language and social class play a huge role in their family. My cultural competence has enabled me to interact with diverse people, and this family involves members of the white race. I understand them better; that is why it is easy to comprehend and respond to their questions more respectfully.

Family Structure

The family consists of John Nash and his pregnant wife, Alicia. Both family members do not use substance abuse, and none of their family members had a history of mental illness or trauma. They are sexually active, and their intimate relationship is admirable by many, and it was evident that they loved each other so much.

Presenting Problem

Alicia, the wife, brought her husband to the healthcare facility for the strange behavior John Nash has been displaying and his refusal to seek professional help. The symptoms began immediately after Nash made a significant contribution to mathematics, where he developed the extension of game theory. He displays strange behaviors, and he also experiences paranoia and delusions. The patient admitted to using antipsychotic medications, although the symptoms of delusions are still prevalent. We agreed to work on the patient’s Bizarre behaviors with the continued use of schizophrenia drugs(Antipsychotic medicines). We also decided on taking Cognitive Behavioral Therapy(CBT), and the integration of the medication will help the patient reduce emerging symptoms such as hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, including abnormal thinking.

Bio-Psycho-Social Evaluation

The couple has no history of smoking or use of substance abuse. None of the couple’s family members have had related issues to mental illness. The patient’s bizarre behavior commenced after making a significant impact on mathematics by developing game theory. It might be possible that he was so overwhelmed that he developed schizophrenia. Their religion and educational levels inform how the family functions and interact with the community well, especially their church members.

Narrative Summary

The observation I made from the family involves a typical family who is going through challenging moments. Alicia is a good wife who strives to ensure her husband gets the necessary treatment for his condition. She is a supportive wife, for she gives Nash both emotional and psychological support to overcome schizophrenia. The problem started after John Nash made the significant accomplishments that he began behaving weirdly instead of his typical behavior. The roles are clear, where Alicia deals with domestic issues and John with other external matters. They share house bills and other related responsibilities. John is the head of the family, and he makes all the decisions, and he is helped by his wife, Alicia. Barriers to their growth involve the present condition of Nash, who has schizophrenia. They own four vehicles, a house, and they have a substantial amount of money in the bank, and they act as external sources of support to the family. I would describe the etiology of the family’s psychological capacity as psychogenic. Behavior holds a key position in the family, for it informs the thoughts and feelings of both Alicia and Nash.

Systemic Diagnosis

Nash suffers from schizophrenia disorder which is one of the common mental diseases. The condition makes their victim view reality abnormally, whereby a person exhibits delusions, hallucinations, or paranoia (Hunt et al., 2018). CBT theory helps schizophrenia patients to work closely with the therapist. The patient will therefore acknowledge how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence each other. The therapist will teach the patient essential coping skills that could be utilized to manage negative thoughts and respond to them differently.

References

Hunt, G. E., Large, M. M., Cleary, M., Lai, H. M. X., & Saunders, J. B. (2018). Prevalence of comorbid substance use in schizophrenia spectrum disorders in the community and clinical settings, 1990–2017: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Drug and alcohol dependence, 191, 234-258.

Rev: 2/25/2015

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