Assignment 2: Applying Behavioral and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies

Codrina is a 40-year-old, divorced, white female seeking counseling at a community mental health center.  She is seeking counseling because she has been depressed, unable to sleep well and has lost her appetite since the sudden ending of her marriage one month ago.  Before leaving, her husband told her that he did not love her any longer and doubted whether he ever did. He told Codrina that he had felt lonely and distant from her for the entire three years of their short marriage. He now questions whether she is even capable of feeling love for another person.

Codrina was raised in an orphanage and her childhood years were characterized by isolation, hunger and scarcity. She describes spending many days just staring at the wall and rocking back and forth. After she left the orphanage at 16 years of age she worked in odd jobs and was in and out of abusive relationships with men for a few years until she met her husband about four years ago. She lived with him for six months before they got married. Even from the start she had a difficult time trusting him or any man for that matter. She showed little interest in sex, never cried, rarely laughed and had a very subdued mood most of the time. In the second year of her marriage, Codrina discovered that her husband was having an affair with a woman he worked with. Instead of being upset, she was almost relieved because it seemed to take the pressure off of her to engage in sexual intercourse with her husband.  Out of guilt, he finally told her about the affair. Upon hearing his confession, Condrina showed no emotion and didn’t even ask him to end the affair. From that point forward her husband spent few nights at home and one month ago announced he was filing for divorce. Now, in addition to her insomnia and poor appetite she is neglecting her self-care to the point that she is being shunned by others who come in contact with her, which deepens her sense of isolation. She’s coming to therapy to see if you can help her before she loses all hope that she can regain control of her life.  

Assume that you are a cognitive behavioral therapist and have agreed to work with Codrina. Using principles and techniques from Beck’s Cognitive Therapy (CT), respond to the following questions:

• From a cognitive behavioral perspective, state at least three assumptions that you would make about the origin of Codrina’s behavioral problems? Be specific and detailed in your response.
• Describe at least two goals that you, as a cognitive behavioral therapist, would have for Codrina in therapy. Give a thorough rationale for each goal bringing in terms and concepts from CT.
• How might your goals differ from those that Codrina might have coming into therapy?
• Identify at least two cognitive distortions that Codrina might be experiencing. State each one and provide evidence from the information given about her life that would support each cognitive distortion you have mentioned.
• What CT techniques or methods would you use to achieve the goals mentioned in question 2?
• As a CT therapist, what would be your desired outcome for Codrina be as a result of your work with her?  

Submit your response to the M4: Assignment 2 Dropbox by Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Your paper should be at least 1000 words. Your paper should be double-spaced and in 12 point, Times New Roman font with normal one-inch margins, and should follow APA style for attributing sources. It should include a title page with a running head and a reference page. 

Health services managers use various “tools” every day to fulfill their roles and responsibilities in their organizations. It is important to understand what these tools are and how they are used by health services managers. This project introduces several tools used by health services managers, and also gives you the opportunity to develop “real,” workable examples of your own for a set scenario. If in the future you accept a position working as a health services manager, you will then be equipped with the knowledge and skills to create and use managerial tools to effectively perform your role.

Goal of the Project

In this project, you will prepare tools that a health services manager would use in a set scenario. You will be asked to expand the scenario and prepare the necessary tools for management.

Due Date

In Week 10, you will present all of these tools to your manager (instructor) in the form of a portfolio. You should consider the comments that your instructor has provided when making revisions for you final submittal.

Time Line

In your position as the Clinic Manager, you are asked to prepare the following tools as part of your job duties:

Requirements

For this course you will be asked to prepare a portfolio of tools for a Health Service Manager. The final portfolio must contain:

1. Mission, Vision, and Values
2. Policy/Procedure
3. Organization Chart
4. Summary

This will be built at various stages throughout the course (as noted on the time line). It is recommended that you conduct research for examples of the required tools (health care specific will be the most helpful). If you work in the health care field already, you might have examples at work that you can look at. Or, if you visit a health care facility, they may be willing to share some examples with you. Keep in mind that you cannot submit these examples as your project; you must create your own tools.

The tools you create will be based on the scenario below. You will need to be creative, as the scenario presented is purposely left to be very broad.

Evaluation

You will be graded on the professionalism of your portfolio and tools. Make your tools as “real” and workable as possible. Each part of the project will include a short lecture about the tool or tools that you will be preparing that week. These notes and instructions must be taken into consideration as you prepare your tools. Points will also be deducted for errors in spelling and/or grammar.