Forum pyschology

Question

A 15-year-old young teenager had been diagnosed with several disorders. A psychologist who saw him four times said that he had four different personalities equaling the same number of mood states observed during his session. Treatment consisted of psychotherapy and counselling. His mother stopped seeing the psychologist because his condition did not improve.

He sadly recounted various depressive symptoms, including weight gain, nightmares, palm seating, persistently sadness etc. He did not want to go to school and his interpersonal relationships were unstable with his mother. Sometimes, he would indulge in such uncharacteristic behavior as exotic dancing.

He reported that her stepfather (his biological dad already divorced with her mother when he was 9 years old) had physically and sexually abused him. He also reported that he had been sexually abused by his stepfather (oral sex) since last two years. After finishing primary school, he used to run away from home to fulfill his ambition of dancing in the dance studio.

He became more anti-social and always stay in his room. He did not want to see a psychiatrist nor counselor anymore.

How would you solve his problem? Give him a solution. (10 marks)

Is my solution okay? :

To solve this problem, the patient first needs to feel understood and believed in for him to become a willing partner in the treatment process. Thus, his mother plays an important role. Even though his interpersonal relationship with his mother is unstable, they need to fix their relationship in order to begin the treatment process. His mother needs to obtain his trust and faith. This can be done by gently talking and reassuring him that nothing bad will happen while he is in the treatment. By doing this, they can also rebuild the bond between a parent and a child. However, his mother needs to understand that for his condition to improve, the treatment can be very lengthy and take years. Once he felt understood and believed, he should become more willing to see a psychiatrist or a counsellor.

If he's willing to see a psychiatrist, the treatment process can begin. To avoid the patient fleeing therapy because of the dissociation of past trauma, the therapist would be obliged to do the sharing process in a way where he or she must always be gentle and on schedule. The treatment process is to establish communication with all four different personalities in order to learn their names, origins, functions, and problems. He can learn how to cope with his depressive symptoms and the traumatic experiences he went through from being sexually abused. Furthermore, the traumatic experiences he went through should be explored and worked through with all of the personalities.

Other than that, his mother needs to do the best for her son and tackle the root cause of his problem. That would mean she would divorce the stepfather and file a case against him for sexually abusing her son. For him to recover, he needs to be in an environment where he feels comfortable and not with his abuser. Subsequently, his mother can help him with depressive symptoms by constantly monitoring his food intake, consoling him whenever he has nightmares, and spending time outdoors with him to encourage positive moods. His mother should listen, comfort him, offer her support, and show him her unconditional love in order to let her child know that she is there to help him through a hard time.

Answer 1

Phenomenal Answer from my POV! Dealing with the familial level, knowing a safe place must be available outside of the doctors office where the vast majority of treatment and improvement is really happening! 10/10 if I was grading you :)