Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Counseling - Essay Example This is because the process of being sick includes other aspects of health which is not an individual event alone but also concerns the family and social relationship. When one member of the family is ill, it is normal for the other members to be likewise affected more so, when the illness entails long term care. Thus, becoming ill and recover from it is a challenge. Being sick may lead to many adverse reactions which may further contribute to the process of the illness and recovery. It creates a change in the environment of the patient affecting her behavior. How the patient behaves during the duration of illness is a strong contributory factor in coping with the illness. With this situation, counseling the patient is deemed empirical. However, before counseling commence, case analysis of the patient should be carried out. Analysis of the patient’s experience of illness includes examining the progress of the illness and the process of recovery identifying the patient’s own psychosocial characteristics that may influence the illness and recovery while intervention suggests psychosocial counseling with the application of behavioral cognitive theory (CBT). The Nature of the Case Melinda is a married 50 year old female with six children who is sick of cervical cancer. She claims she did not have any hospitalization for several months prior to her illness. This is her first consultation with her physician. According to her, she is not supposed to have her consultation if not for a fall from the staircase of their house causing her some bruised at her back and arms. However, the bruises according to her doctors are just but minor health problems as compared to the result indicated in her health history taken from her. Her health history reveals that she is showing warning signs and symptoms of cervical cancer. Accordingly, she had been having vaginal bleedings for several months after her menopausal period. However, she never had any consultations nor alarmed because she believes her menstrual cycle had resumed. In May of 2010, she was diagnosed of first stage cervical cancer. Like any individual who is diagnosed with such illness, she was shocked to hear the r esult of her laboratory examination as revealed by her physician and is immediately under a circumstance where she had no prior experience (Clarke, et al. 2005) thus, her reaction to the information is devastating. Shock is followed with denial as evident in her statement, â€Å"I never had any health problems in the past. Why would I be sick of such disease†? Melinda had married three times one after the other and had been sexually active. From the time of her diagnosis, she lost her appetite, has not been sleeping well and been irritable. She also does not want to sleep with her husband anymore. She defends she is more comfortable to sleep alone in a room. This made a gap in their relationship. Most often, Melinda does not respond when her husband tries to communicate with her. Observation also reveals that she rejects foods and drinks offered by her children. However, her family is regarded to be caring and tried their best to adjust to the behavior change of Melinda. Meli nda does not also like to see neighbors and even friends as she shuns away from them whenever they pay visit. When ask if other members of the family had been stricken or have died of the same illness in the past, she answered, â€Å"Does it matter† that shows that she is not interested to know her family health history. Her mother died of breast cancer many years ago and a distant relative recently passed away with lung cancer. Now, she is under the care of an oncologist and several other