The present problem, mental health/substance abuse history, and medical history
This assignment is being submitted on, 2014 for Ian Provo HS295 Human Service Capstone course
Tom Scott is a lanky thirty-three-year old man from Fargo, North Dakota. He walked into my office one hot Saturday afternoon looking tired and disheveled. He was reeking of alcohol and cigarette smoke. When I showed him a seat in front of my desk, he hesitated at first and then began to cry. I gently guided him to the seat and let him cry until he was dry of tears. He then proceeded to open up his heart. He told me that he wanted to be honest and open-minded because he realized that he had a problem. He said that since childhood, he has always felt that everyone in the world was up against him. He feels nobody loves him. He lacks confidence and self-esteem. It has made him to be introverted, locking himself up in his room all day long. He has no friends and at thirty-three years of age, he has no girlfriend. These combinations of factors have driven him into alcoholism because he thinks it will help him forget his miseries. He believes that he can get support from me having been recommended by his neighbor.
He informed me about the guiding and counseled sessions he went through while in high school and the two or three occasions he has been confined to a mental facility and rehabilitation center for drug abuse. He is currently not on any medication, but the frailty of his body and tanning of his teeth suggests heavy use of alcohol and cigarettes. His parents divorced when he was only two years old, and he has been living with his mother who apparently is an alcoholic. As a child, his mother, when in a drunken stupor would insult, beat and lock him up in his room for up to two days. Due to old age and ill-health, the mother has toned down on her alcoholism though the insults persist.
Surprisingly, despite all these challenges, Scott managed to school up to university and has a degree in Computer Engineering. He got a job immediately after university but was sacked six months later because of alcoholism. He has been in and out of eight jobs and presently was unemployed. On a number of occasions for driving under the influence of alcohol and involving himself in bar brawls he has been arrested. He has an uncle who occasionally visits him and has been a source of support both financially and emotionally.
Psychological and Social Stressors
There are two things, due to which Scott is facing both psychological and social stressors in his life. He is unemployed and thus, finds difficulty to earn his livelihood. There are cases, wherein people have lost jobs and were finding difficulty in living their lives. Scott is facing a similar issue of psychological stressors. Despite being an expert in the field of Computer Engineering, he is unable to sustain his job.
He feels that in his life, he is hated by everyone. There is no one in his life that could take care of him. He did not get the love from his parents, since they got divorced when Scott was just two years old. Further, during his childhood, even his mother did not support him in all of his life activities. She did not teach him the basic principles of life, and how one should fight different challenges in his life. Instead, she used to lock him up or used to beat him, which increased the hatred for Scott toward his mother. Today, he is all alone, and there is no one who could assist him in his life. His uncle might be supporting him, but the gap of a family will still remain under such a scenario.
Consequences of a Negative Mindset
Scott will be facing the situation of “An ideal mind is the devil’s workshop.” He has not been working anywhere and is also doing any other routine activities. As a result, his mind has become totally blank, and he has no idea on how to proceed in his life. It is important to focus upon the issues of mental illness at this stage or else the situation will even get worse. He is already having the thoughts of suicide, many a times, and it would not be a surprise, if he commits suicide. However, it is thereby, important to focus upon the medications, the counseling sessions, and the overall treatment so that he gets cured soon.
Scott needs a lesson on life, and should thereby learn to fight different challenges in his life. Scott prefers to drink on several occasions, and he has also turned alcoholic like his mother. He should be made aware about the negative consequences of drinking. Further, he needs to be trained in such a way that, his mindset will change, and he will start thinking on a positive note (Edwards, 2006).
Recommendations
Scott needs to learn various lessons on positive thinking, creative thinking, and how to live a life in a better way. It will encourage him, which in further will increase his motivation to live a life. He needs to find out options and search for an objective to live his life in a better way. He can think of getting married, or at least starting up a new business venture. He needs to build a social circle, which would comprise of business entities, his friends, his childhood pals, and his relatives. It will not make him lonely, and this is how, he will get motivated to live in his life.
The psychological and social stressors have been created because, he is unemployed, and he is not having any motivation to live his life. As a result, he is not focusing upon improving his health, or taking precautionary measures to sustain good health. Under such conditions, he might be impacted with mood disorder as well. Hence, he needs to be provided with medications followed by a set of psychological counseling sessions. The medical practitioners can work upon providing necessary medical treatment.
Focusing upon improving the Health Hygiene
Such stressors can not only destroy the human brain cells, but also make an individual feel like, life is a burden, and one should end it. Scott might be undergoing through similar conditions, and there is no one who can help him in this situation. The counselors can teach him lessons on improving the health hygiene. He needs to be made aware on body odor so that he can improve his daily refreshing activities. Secondly, he needs to cut his long nails, and need to keep himself clean so that he will at least get rid of bad odor, dirt, and negative thoughts associated with it. He needs to change his mind by doing such things, which will further make him positive in his life.
Avoid Alcoholism
He should avoid drinking alcohol. He believes that, drinking will help him forget his miseries, and he can enjoy those moments. But, at this juncture, he needs to be realized that, alcohol can affect his health through several ways. In addition, it will increase the negativity thoughts and feeling inside his mind, which he should avoid it. On the contrary, he should be provided with options of improving his present life conditions, by first of all taking a job at any organization.
Improve his Nature
He needs to improve his nature, and turn it into more supportive and cooperative with his peer workers and managers. He will realize that all such people are helping him through many ways. He thus will get motivated to work in such a supportive environment. Further, he needs to either get married or have a companion in his life that will help him in solving his miseries. It is important to have a companion who can understand you and guide you in the problems faced by that individual. Such companions also teach important lessons on how to live life in a beautiful and a cheering way. Scott thereby needs to find out such a companion that can help him in the current stage of his life.
He further needs to adapt to the solutions that will substitute alcohol. Consider an example, wherein a medical practitioner has provided him with fruit juice or any other energetic drink. It will not only improve his physical health but will also eradicate his habit of drinking alcohol. He needs to attend the psychological counseling sessions on a regular basis so that he can improve upon his moods and try to eliminate the negative feelings within his psychological mind.
Current Medication plans and Counseling sessions
The current medications should focus upon improving his mental illness. He should also be taught during the psychological sessions to avoid drinking while driving. In addition, he should be told that he should regularly go outside and try something new in his life. He should increase the daily routine activities so that his mind can start functioning in a normal state. His confidence and self-esteem values need to be boosted so as make him live once again in his life (Ferdowsi, Marashian, & Marashian, 2010). He should be motivated from several perspectives. He should be insisted on getting either married or find a suitable companion or at least start a joint business venture that will improve his present life conditions. He needs to improve his mental health and plan goals in his life. By providing him with current medications, and make him trained on a positive mindset, he will overcome all the mental issues. It will further help to eliminate all the stressors from his life.
References
Edwards, S. (2006). Physical exercise and psychological well-being. South African Journal of Psychology, 36(2), 357-373.
Ferdowsi, M. H., Marashian, F., & Marashian, S. H. (2010). The effects of 12-week aerobic exercises on rate of mental health in male students of Ahvaz Payam Noor University. Human Movement, 11(2), 167.
