questions need to be answered according to the case studies in the assiignment
Student Name: Student ID: Assessment number: 32550/02 Short Answer Questions E1142 Certificate IV in Mental Health Module 7: Recovery and self-advocacy This is assessment 2 of 2. 1. Background/Overview Workers in the mental health sector need to have a range of skills at their disposal in order to help their clients to achieve positive outcomes in the recovery process. In this module we have explored a range of tools and approaches to aid recovery. The assessments for this module will test your knowledge and understanding of motivational interviewing, strengths based, solution focused practices and acceptance-commitment therapies. In addition, you will need to understand the concepts and practices of empowering clients using self-advocacy and the principles of social justice and human rights. As this module also covered the domains of well-being as best practice, we will be testing your knowledge and understanding in these areas too. 2. Brief For this assessment, we will be exploring your knowledge and demonstrating your understanding of recovery and self-advocacy using a series of scenarios and related short answer questions. Deliverables Please submit this assessment in Word doc format. To do list: 1. Write your name and student ID at the top of this page. 2. Read the background/ overview, brief and rubric sections of this document. 3. There are 10 questions, some with multiple parts. Read all questions and complete all parts. 4. Collate your written answers into one Word document. 5. Save the Word document using the naming convention: your student number_assessment number.doc. For example: “12345678_31135_01.doc.” 6. Upload your document in Open Space using the relevant Assessment Upload link in this Module. 3. Questions Scenario 1 Meet Kathleen: Kathleen is a woman in her late-20s. She has come to see you at CareShore following a referral from the Acute Mental Health Team. Kathleen recently had an episode where she felt suicidal and attempted to kill herself by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. Kathleen lives with her parents who are now quite elderly. Kathleen is the youngest of 5 siblings and she has never moved out from her parent’s home. She was born 18 years after her youngest brother, 2 years after Kathleen’s only sister died in an accident which left the family heart-broken. Kathleen grew up like an ‘only child’ because all her siblings had already left home. Kathleen’s struggles with mental illness began when she was a teenager. Until then she was a ‘model child’, very well behaved and who loved nothing more than helping her mother clean and tidy the house. She was also talented at playing the piano which she has kept-up and describes as one of the few things in life that give her joy. Kathleen says that everything changed when she was 14. She tried pot (cannabis) at a party and immediately loved the feelings it gave her. As she remembers it, “it allowed me to relax for the first time ever”. Kathleen explains that she was always very anxious as a child and thinking back, she already had some of the behaviours that form part of her diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In her case this results in compulsive cleaning. Kathleen partly blames her parents for her situation, especially her mother, as she always encouraged and praised Kathleen for excessive cleanliness, further ‘feeding into’ her anxiety. For Kathleen, smoking cannabis was like ‘flicking a switch’, it allowed her to experience what it was like to be free from anxiety for the first time. Kathleen started smoking cannabis heavily soon after her very first experience and this has continued until the present day. Her performance at school dropped soon after she started smoking cannabis and she left school straight after completing her leaving certificate, much to the dismay of her parents. Kathleen’s plan was to start an apprenticeship as a hairdresser, and she was able to get employment at a local salon where she spent 2 years as an apprentice. Back then her life revolved around her work and smoking cannabis as soon as she got home. Kathleen never found it easy to make friends in school so she’s always been quite isolated. When Kathleen was 18, her father was diagnosed with cancer and this increased Kathleen’s anxiety to what she calls ‘unbearable levels’. She tried to manage her anxiety by smoking even more cannabis but this lead to her having an episode where she believed that she could ‘see cancer cells that would kill her and her parents if she stopped in her strict cleaning routines’. Kathleen was unable to leave the house at this time because she had to clean constantly. As a result, she lost her job as a hairdresser. It was around this time that Kathleen was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with ‘schizo-affective disorder, anxiety and depression’. Kathleen’s father eventually recovered from his cancer but Kathleen says that ever since then she has been in a ‘downward spiral’, spending most of her time inside her parents’ home, battling her anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Even though her admission to hospital was a ‘one-off thing’, Kathleen has been on anti-psychotic medications ever since it occurred. She says that the medications she takes make her feel very tired and often depressed. Kathleen wants to stop or change her medications but she says that her psychiatrist would definitely think this was a very bad idea. Kathleen still smokes cannabis every day but is currently limiting her use to once each day. She says that she cannot imagine herself living without cannabis at this point in her life. Scenario 1 (continued) Kathleen’s parents blame her cannabis use for her mental illness. This upsets Kathleen as she feels that they ignore how anxious she was even as a child and that there are other factors which impact on her mental health and well-being. At the same time, Kathleen says that she understands her parents are very disappointed in her because, amongst other things, she is the only one of her siblings who is not successful in life. This makes her feel like ‘a failure’. Kathleen also tells you that her parents have told her Mental Health Case Manager about her cannabis use and recently this worker threatened to report her to the police if she continued to smoke cannabis because it is illegal. Kathleen would love to move out from her parent’s home and into a place of her own. She feels this would improve her mental health. Her parents, her psychiatrist and her Case Manager at the other support service are all strongly against this. They all say that it is not safe for Kathleen to leave home as she would not be able to manage her life independently. Kathleen says that she feels trapped and cannot see a positive outcome for her future. She has no job, no friends and her life is dominated by her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and her medications. This makes her feel helpless and hopeless and it is these feelings that Kathleen gives as the reasons for her recent suicide attempt. The only positive thing Kathleen can name in her life right now is her involvement with an animal shelter where she helps look after rescued animals. Kathleen says she is willing to work with you and is very agreeable to everything you suggest. However, she also says that she does not believe that you will be able to help her as the mental health condition she has been diagnosed with is ‘incurable’. She believes that her life is and will always be controlled by her parents and the mental health services, especially her psychiatrist. Question 1 Part A Explain how do you think the current diagnosis and treatment of Kathleen’s mental illness is impacting on her overall wellbeing. (150-200 words) Part B Identify two (2) instances in which Kathleen’s rights are potentially being disregarded and/or her treatment is not in line with recovery-orientation. 1. 2. Part C What two (2) questions could you ask Kathleen in order to clarify issues where advocacy could be appropriate? 1. 2. Part D What information could you give to Kathleen relating to self-advocacy? Name at least 2 pieces of information and one source where you might be able to find out more about Kathleen’s rights? 1. 2. Source: Part E If you believe Kathleen’s rights are being infringed upon or not being met, explain why you think this is the case. If you believe her rights are not being infringed upon, explain why you think this is the case. Part F How could you assist Kathleen to identify exactly how her rights are/are not being infringed upon? Describe at least 2 strategies. 1. 2. Part G Write a brief file note, documenting advocacy options for Kathleen and name at least one policy you would have to consider when documenting your work (150-200 words). Scenario 2 After seeing you at CareShore for some weeks, Kathleen stops coming to the service and does not answer any phone calls. You think about closing the case when to your surprise, a few weeks later Kathleen comes to an appointment. She seems upset but also determined and tells you that she has spoken to her psychiatrist about her medications, explaining to him that they make her feel nauseous and exhausted all the time. She says that she asked her psychiatrist to change her medications but was told that what she was taking was the best option for her. The psychiatrist also explained that her parents had confirmed that her behaviour had improved drastically since she started on the medications she takes. Kathleen says that she became very angry when the psychiatrist told her this and that she swore at him and his staff. Kathleen shows you one of the brochures on consumer rights you gave her some weeks ago. She says that she has read them all and now understands that she is entitled to have a say in her treatment. She feels that she has rights that are being ignored and she would like you to help her advocate for her rights and needs. Question 2 Part A Name two (2) barriers you can see that Kathleen will need to deal with in her process of self-advocacy. Provide 2 strategies for overcoming each barrier. Barrier 1 Strategy 1 Strategy 2 Barrier 2 Strategy 1 Strategy 2 Part B How could you provide follow-up about the self-advocacy process and outcomes? (40 – 80 words) Part C You offer to organise a meeting with her parents but Kathleen declines. How do you respond to this? (50 words maximum) Scenario 3 Kathleen is ‘on board’ with the work you are undertaking together and she says that she feels much better since starting this process. She agrees to working on a self-advocacy plan together with you and decides that she also wants to see a peer worker to get extra support with her psychiatrist. After another meeting with her psychiatrist, this time with