Week 1 discussion response to classmates

I NEED THIS 12/05/2020 BY 1PM

Please no plagiarism and make sure you are able to access all resources on your own before you bid. You need to have scholarly support for any claim of fact or recommendation regarding treatment. Grammar, Writing, and APA Format: I expect you to write professionally, which means APA format, complete sentences, proper paragraphs, and well-organized and well-documented presentation of ideas. Remember to use scholarly research from peer-reviewed articles that is current. Sources such as Wikipedia, Ask.com, PsychCentral, and similar sites are never acceptable. Each classmate’s post is listed so please respond separately.

Read your classmates’ postings. Respond to your classmates’ postings.

• Respond to all colleagues by discussing your thoughts on how you can relate to the peers’ concerns and how you might address these concerns if they were presented to a counselor by a client.

1. Classmate (K. Str)

Personally, I feel medication can be beneficial. I believe people can have a chemical imbalance in their brain, making them need medication, to balance this. I also feel, one can experience anxiety, further enabling them to use medication as needed. Although that is, unless a chemical imbalance occurs, I do not feel medications should be used long term. 

  Professionally, I feel medications can enable one to have a better quality of life. If one needs to be on medication to stabilize them, even long term, they should be on the medication they need. One may not have other coping skills, or be willing to use other coping skills enabling them to need medication. Although that is, if someone is on medications such as, benzodiazepines which have long term effects, such as, memory loss (Alexis, 2019),  one should only be on this medication short term.

   There are pros and cons to medication usage. Some pros include, medications can help one that is a danger to themselves or others, medications can help one who is in a state of mind that is hard to turn around without medication and combining medication with therapy has been proven to be more beneficial than therapy alone. Some cons include, abusing medications (Walden University, 2019), medication  having side effects to include allergic reactions and medications having the potential for dependency (Drugs.com, 2020).

  As a professional, it is important that I monitor the well being of my client. I must look for signs of dependency, and signs one is abusing medications. I also must make sure I’m following ethical guidelines if I am needed to take action involving my client who is abusing their medications (Walden University, 2019).

                                                                           References

Alexis, I. (2019). Memory Loss From Benzodiazepines. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from

          https://www.rehabcenter.net/benzodiazepines/memory/

Drugs.com. (2020). Xanax: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects & Warnings. (n.d.). Retrieved December 03, 2020, from

           https://www.drugs.com/xanax.html

Walden University. (Executive Producer). (2019). The role of the counselor in psychopharmacological

intervention. Baltimore, MD: Author.

2. Classmate (L. Wall)

Throughout my lifespan, I lived with my aunt Debbie who was diagnosed as manic-depressive and schizophrenic many years ago, and then more recently as having schizoaffective disorder.  She was prescribed a list of medications to regulate her mood and thoughts throughout the majority of her adult life.  These types of psychotherapeutics helped her to stop hearing voices and seeing people that were not there.  I saw how my aunt decompensated when she refused or stopped taking her medication.  Without her medications, she was not the same loving, kind, and caring individual.  Dr. Jason Patton noted how there are several diagnoses where medication is necessary and the only way to turn around a debilitating state (Walden University, 2019).  In times when she was experiencing a crisis, she needed medication to help support her immediate stabilization and to allow her to regulate her neurotransmitters and collect herself.

From a professional lens, some clients may benefit from the short and long-term use of psychotherapeutics.  For example, after a mom gives birth, she may experience postpartum depression and may need an anti-depressant for a short amount of time to rescue her from her depressive state.  Critics may think through this type of medication use and may oppose the use of an anti-depressant due to the fact that her breast milk will also contain the anti-depressant thereby passing this anti-depressant on to her newborn.  However, the mom may decide to use a milk supplement in this type situation until she is ready to nurse her baby.  The pros, cons, risks, benefits, and side effects of taking any type of medication should be thoroughly evaluated by the physician and their patient.  Some pros of using medications would be an increase in positive mental health outcomes, greater compliance in treatment and recovery, and reduction in frequency and length of hospitalizations.  Some cons associated with the use of medications would be the lack of communication and collaboration among counselor and medical professionals, and psychiatrists, lack of provider knowledge and understanding, and the non-medical provider belief that mental health issues are primarily behavioral manifestations rather than biological or neurological (Sinacola, Peters-Strickland, and Wyner, 2020).  Therefore, when counselors and physicians communicate and collaborate, they are able to understand and support multiple lines of treatment for the client and help monitor medication compliance, use, and misuse.

As a counselor who will be counseling clients who have been prescribed medication, I believe we must support and respect each client in their decision to take medication and help reduce and eliminate the stigma, guilt, and shame associated with taking prescription medication.  Sinacola, Peters-Stickland, and Wyner (2020) noted how nonmedical therapists may see psychiatrists as “pill pushers” and not spending any therapeutic time with their patients and asserted that therapists and physicians need to work together in the best interests of the patient. For those clients with a mood or thought disorder, the use of medication may allow the client to successfully function on a daily basis and engage in treatment and counseling in a meaningful way and improving long-term outcomes.  For instance, clients with depression may struggle with finding a reason to get out of bed for an extended amount of time, or taking a shower, or answering the phones when family or friends call, along with numerous other impacts on their activities of daily living (ADLs).  Through the use of appropriate medication prescription and management and the collaboration between counselor and physician, clients are likely to receive effective treatment and engage in life in a healthy and meaningful way.

References

Sinacola, R. S., Peters-Strickland, T., & Wyner, J. D. (2020). Basic psychopharmacology for mental health professionals (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson.

Walden University. (Executive Producer). (2019). The role of the counselor in psychopharmacological intervention. Baltimore, MD: Author.

3. Classmate (T. Roberts)

Personal Lens

                From my personal perspective I fully believe medication and therapy go hand in hand. If a person is too depressed to get out of bed, they are not able to function in an aspect that leads to productivity. If one feels better with the use of medication, then they can reengage in normal daily living. Medication is not a permanent fix though. It also requires the client to work on other aspects of their illness. Such as coping skills and ways of thinking to assist in redirecting negative thoughts. Another positive regarding medication some medications are non-habit forming. This helps in preventing a dependency on the medication. Medication can be beneficial if utilized correctly and utilized with other techniques or skills. Sinacola, Peters-Strickland, and Wyner (2020), states “a mental illness often requires a combination of psychotherapy and medication”

Pros and Cons

There are multiple pros of utilizing medication. One would be medication assists in replacing certain chemicals in the brain that are out of balance. Medication also assists a having better follow through with therapy and treatment. Medication can also assist individuals with a substance Use Disorder in preventing substance use.

As with pros there are also multiple cons to utilizing medication. One con is feeling abnormal. I have heard many stories of individuals who stop taking their medication due to the way it makes them feel. The feelings have often been described as feeling like a zombie or making the individual too tired to function during the day. Another con I can see is when people begin to feel better, they stop taking their medications and ultimately regress to their previous state.

My Role

When providing therapy to clients I think it is important to understand what the client wants. Of course, I would encourage the client to take their medication as prescribed and give it an opportunity to begin working. However, there have been time when I have been working with someone and they do not want to take their medication. It is a human right not to take their medication and no one can force them to take it. My role would be to encourage and educate the client on why it would be beneficial to take their medication. However, if they choose not too after discussing then I do not think it is productive to push the issue. This could cause animosity in the counselor client relationship and I suspect no productive therapy would be accomplished.

Sinacola, R. S., Peters-Strickland, T., & Wyner, J. D. (2020). Basic psychopharmacology for mental health professionals (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson.

Required Resources

Sinacola, R. S., Peters-Strickland, T., & Wyner, J. D. (2020). Basic psychopharmacology for mental health professionals (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson.

• Chapter 1, “Why Study Psychopharmacology”

Document: Psychopharmaceutical Reference Guide Template (Word Document)

Required Media

TED. (2017, February). Sangu Delle: There’s no shame in taking care of your mental health [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/sangu_delle_there_s_no_shame_in_taking_care_of_your_mental_health

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 9 minutes.

TED. (2017, December). Jeremy Forbes: How to start a conversation about suicide [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_forbes_how_to_start_a_conversation_about_suicide

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 12 minutes.

TED. (2012, June). Elyn Saks: A tale of mental illness—from the inside [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/elyn_saks_seeing_mental_illness

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 15 minutes.

Walden University. (Executive Producer). (2019). The role of the counselor in psychopharmacological intervention. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note: The approximate length of this video is 3 minutes.

Accessible player  

Optional Resources

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Understanding stigma of mental and substance use disorders. In Ending discrimination against people with mental and substance use disorders: The evidence for stigma change. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK384923/