From the readings of the case study presented involving Joshua, it is clear that a psychiatric evaluation is needed. Developmental history is usually essential in any psychiatric assessment of patients across all the ages. Therefore, for Joshua’s case study, getting the developmental history from his parents is necessary. Included in the developmental history of Joshua is the prenatal stage, which usually influences the infancy and childhood stages of life to a significant extent. In addition to the developmental history, there is a need to include the family psychiatric history in the assessment data for this child.
Therefore, there are many additional questions that would result in obtaining comprehensive information about the mental health of this client. One of the leading questions is if the mother had any episodes or experience of psychiatric illness during the antenatal or the prenatal period. This question would be followed by inquiry of any psychiatric evaluation and treatment-experienced by the mother while pregnant for Joshua. Information obtained from these two questions will play essential roles in the understanding of the developmental process of Joshua. Fetal developmental in the uterus is subject to maternal emotional and psychological stresses. Treatment modalities to psychological disorders such as the use of antidepressants have significant negative impacts on how the fetus develops (Carlat, 2016). As a result, having the perinatal history and experiences of the mother is essential in determining the definitive cause and the status of the currently observed condition in Joshua.
Another important aspect of evaluating this child is asking the mother to provide a comprehensive past medical report of the child since he was born. The history will involve the onset of the illness, how it progressed and the types of treatment that the child received during the illness period. Having such information is essentials since some psychiatric illness occurs due to complications of some medical conditions and or adverse reactions of some medications (Carlat, 2016). The previous history of psychological assessment and the outcomes will also be asked to determine if there is any connection between previous mental disorders and the currently observed. Sally is a 7-year-old female child. At this age, she is expected to have developed both physical and social aspects. One of the physical aspects at this age is the falling out of the baby teach and the growth of permanent teeth to replace the lost ones. Social aspects range from language to learning skills. At the age of seven, Sally is expected to have developed better language skills and can communicate clearly. Learning skills such as spelling of words correctly and backwards is also expected. The child, at this age, also knows time and days. Identity of playing groups is expected as girls and girls play together, which is a similar case to the boys.
Bowen Family System Theory use during a family interview
Bowen’s Family System Theory is one of the psychoanalytic theory that tries to explain or describe a family as a unit joined together by emotions that form the basis of relationships. All members of the family have that emotional bond that acts to form both internal and external relationship. It is believed that emotional behaviour and actions of the individual usually influences the entire family according to this theory (Cepeda & Gotanco, 2016). Using this theory to evaluate the case of Joshua is, therefore, appropriate. The first approach would be to determine the extent or level of the impact on Joshua’s sickness on the general emotional aspect of the family. Questions would, therefore, focus on the state of family relationship both before and after Joshua become mentally sick.
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Any cultural consideration to apply when working with the Jones family
Cultural aspects usually influence how members of the family relationship and also seek healthcare assistance. It is, therefore, necessary to take into consideration the cultural practices of this family. Child-parent attachment is usually influenced by culture. How children develop is also influenced by their relationship with their parents (Cepeda & Gotanco, 2016). Another consideration to consider in this case is communication and conflict -resolution. Different cultures have different communication process and conflict resolution strategies. It is, therefore, important to pay attention to these cultural factors and how they affected the developmental of Joshua.
