Levy Family Case Study
Walden University
NRNP-6640
Levy Family Case Study
Introduction
Mr. and Mrs. Levy’s family is experiencing difficulty due to the drinking habit of the husband. The wife believes the drinking habit is a problem that can cause issues in the family. Mr. Levy does not accept the drinking habit is a problem and that it is a solution to his problems. The alcohol issue calls for further evaluation of the problem to determine the solution. Evidence-based practice shows that deep breathing improves mental, emotional, psychological, and physical health. Exposure therapy is crucial in ensuring that Mr. Levy can confront the issues he fears. The purpose of the paper is to examine the Levy family case study and suggest solutions and treatment approaches.
Episode One
Mr. Levy’s perception of the problem is that he does not realize his drinking behavior is a problem. He sees the drinking habit as a solution to his problems. For instance, when the wife asks him to go back to the bedroom, he is confrontational. He does not realize he has a problem. He is confrontational that the wife does not understand he has post-war issues.
Mrs. Levy’s perception of the problem is that his husband’s drinking problem is a problem for the entire family. She perceives that marriage will experience a challenge due to the drinking problem. She worries that the husband will taint his image as a father before the children.
The implication of the problem on the family is separation or divorce. The family is at risk of experiencing a hostile environment risky for children and parents. Children are at risk of developing substance and alcohol abuse problems as they get older.
Episode Two
Mr. Levy has good intentions while making the suggestions, but it is not effective to begin treatment without evaluating a client. The ideas would work if the client were only dealing with stress issues. The alcohol issue calls for further evaluation of the problem to determine the solution. Veterans Affairs requires clients to partake in counseling sessions using cognitive behavior therapy (Flanagan et al., 2018). It is the responsibility of a social worker to utilize the approaches to realize quality outcomes.
The supervisor was effective in asking various questions about therapy. The questions were effective in evaluating if the suggested treatments were based on evidence-based practice. All the questions were beneficial to the client to ensure they realize quality outcomes.
Episode Three
Mr. Levy’s therapist was effective in allowing the client to express themselves freely. The breathing mechanism to relieve stress was a professional approach to the issue (Shiban et al., 2017). The mechanism of breathing was important in showing Mr. Levy the importance of breathing properly. The therapist did a quality job of ensuring a professional approach in the session.
Evidence-based practice shows that deep breathing improves mental, emotional, psychological, and physical health. It involves deep breathing, contraction of the diaphragmatic muscles, and maximizes oxygen in the blood. Deep breathing is an important approach in psychotherapy (Shiban et al., 2017). The approach is beneficial to the clients due to reducing anxiety levels, improvement in cognition, emotion, and stress responses.
Bhattarai et al. (2020) state that when people experience frightening situations, they tend to avoid similar future events. Exposure therapy is crucial in ensuring that Mr. Levy can confront the issues he fears. Exposure therapy is a gold standard of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (Shiban et al., 2017). Evidence-based practice shows that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder benefit from exposure therapy.
Episode Four
I would respond in a loving, considerate, and welcoming manner. The approach would guarantee client safety and confidentiality. It would be important to assure the client that they will not experience any harm if they continue sharing their experience with the platoon officer. It would be essential to praise or encourage the client to share or continue sharing the event since it is a step towards healing and inner peace.
Episode Five
The best approach is to listen to the concerns and understand the main issues affecting the therapist. Listening actively to the concerns is essential since the therapist had to listen to a traumatic story. I would advise the therapist to take the feelings she felt for the client and apply the issues to the therapeutic strategy. The approach would help the therapist to avoid personal attachments to the client. It would help the therapist to embrace countertransference in the future (Brown et al., 2018). As a supervisor, I would be ready to offer support to the therapist in subsequent sessions.
Conclusion
Levy’s family is experiencing constraints due to the alcoholic behavior of the husband. The wife appreciates that drinking can cause family problems, but the husband does not realize the danger of his behavior. Therapists embrace deep breathing to improve mental, emotional, psychological, and physical health. Mr. Levy requires exposure therapy to confront his fears. Supervisors should respond in a considerate manner to therapists to support them and improve client outcomes.
References
Shiban, Y., Diemer, J., Müller, J., Brütting-Schick, J., Pauli, P., & Mühlberger, A. (2017). Diaphragmatic breathing during virtual reality exposure therapy for aviophobia: functional coping strategy or avoidance behavior? A pilot study. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), 29.
Bhattarai, J., Oehlert, M. E., & Weber, D. K. (2020). Psychometric properties of the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder based on veterans’ period of service. Psychological Services, 17(1), 75.
Flanagan, J. C., Sippel, L. M., Wahlquist, A., Moran-Santa Maria, M. M., & Back, S. E. (2018). Augmenting prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD with intranasal oxytocin: a randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 98, 64-69.
Brown, W. J., Dewey, D., Bunnell, B. E., Boyd, S. J., Wilkerson, A. K., Mitchell, M. A., & Bruce, S. E. (2018). A critical review of negative affect and the application of CBT for PTSD. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 19(2), 176-194.
