Families with a member suffering from any illness may be stressful enough but families with members diagnosed with schizophrenia are often faced with additional challenges such as the “external stressors of social stigma, isolation, and emotional frustration”. Many times, family conflicts arise as members attempt to provide care on an everyday basis (Chien, 2010, pg. xi). “A Beautiful Mind” is a brilliant motion picture directed by Ron Howard that chronicles the life of one John Nash, a prominent mathematician and the challenges he endures throughout his adult life afflicted with a chronic mental illness. “A Beautiful Mind” allows us to gain insight into the stressors that many families undergo when faced with living with a person with schizophrenia. This paper will explore the impact of schizophrenia on the lives of the Nash family as depicted in the aforementioned movie. Exploring the impact of the disease on the Nash family’s life will be followed with a discussion regarding an assessment conducted of the family, through the use of the Calgary Family Assessment model. Conducting the assessment allowed us to determine two nursing priorities, and nursing interventions in relation to them through the use of the Calgary intervention model. Essentially it becomes evident that the challenges faced by the Nash family are in the functional domain. The families inability to effectively communicate and problem solve becomes evident, which is negatively impacting the families ability to function effectively. Our nursing interventions guided by the Calgary Nursing Intervention Model will focus on providing the Nash family with the support needed to bring about change in the affective domain in foster effective communication with the famil... ... middle of paper ... ...y’s ability to communicate effectively, problem solve and successfully complete activities of daily living as a family. References Addington, J., Piskulic, D., & Marshall, C. (n.d). Psychosocial Treatments for Schizophrenia. Current Directions In Psychological Science, 19(4), 260-263. Chien, W. (2010). Stress of Family Members in Caring for a Relative with Schizophrenia. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Grazer, B., & Howard, R. (2001). A Beautiful Mind [Motion picture]. United States: Universal Pictures Mattila, E., Leino, K., Paavilainen, E., & Åstedt-Kurki, P. (2009). Nursing intervention studies on patients and family members: a systematic literature review. Scandinavian Journal Of Caring Sciences, 23(3), 611-622 Wright, L. M., & Leahey, M. (2013). Nurses and families: A guide to family assessment and intervention (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis
From reading and reflecting her personal experience and journey with her sister, Pamela, I acquired a personal outlook of the deteriorating effects of mental illness as a whole, discovering how one individual’s symptoms could significantly impact others such as family and friends. From this new perspective mental health counseling provides a dominate field within not only individuals who may suffer mental illness such as Pamela, but also serve as a breaking point for family and friends who also travel through the illness, such as Carolyn.
Family Psychoeducation for Schizophrenia has previously been supported in treatment recommendations and guidelines for best practise in hospitals. In their review of 15 new studies in the area, Lisa Dixon M.D (University of Maryland), Curtis Adams M.D (University of Maryland) and Alicia Luckstead M.D (University of Maryland) reinforce support for family psychoeducation for schizophrenia.
To me, Schizophrenia is by far the most frightening disorders in the DSM. Snyder’s account of how he truly believed his delusions, specifically those surrounding the debilitating fear for his life, are hard to image. This presents a challenge for me as a counselor in empathizing with clients who are experiencing this. In reflecting on this dilemma, I came to realize that while I may not be able to understand the fear of my life being in danger, I can relate to the emotion of fear; this can be the connecting point for me to the client. Expressing sympathy is also another tool I have when I am unable to empathize with a client’s thoughts and emotions. Furthermore, Snyder’s narrative reinforced my notion of how insidious Schizophrenia can be. That is to say, that while in many cases this disorder may live traces of itself in childhood and adolescents, in some cases it occurs unexpectedly. Snyder details his normal childhood, including supportive parents, with little to no evidence of any sort of trauma or odd behavior; and yet he was still blindsided with the disease. I began to reflect particularly on how difficult this would be for clients experiencing these same circumstances. It will be essential for me as a counselor to recognize that
The purpose of this report is to compare and contrast two different nursing research articles. The report will critique and evaluate two qualitative studies, one being an original research report and the second being a review paper. The scope of comparison and contrast will include research design, theories or conceptual models, how the research was conducted, analysis and reporting of research data, usefulness of the research, and a conclusion.
Although medical social workers have always played a role in helping loved ones adjust to significant illness in a family member and in securing needed resources to pay for medical care (Furstenberg & Olson, 1984), a new role for mental health professionals in the care of those afflicted with disease has emerged. D...
The Importance of Family and Friends in Helping People with Schizophrenia Maintain a Normal Life
Nursing interventions should encourage family members to participate as well as be the ones who care about their child most. Special attention is needed to pay for children who attend day-care facilities and follow-up care is necessary. Word count: 1674.
Jiji, T. S. (2007). Family care giving to psychiatric patients: its impact on care givers.
This psychotic disorder primarily affects a human’s brain. A person living with this mental illness experiences several symptoms as well as signs. Therefore an individual relies on a relative or someone he/she is comfortable with in order to watch him/her. People who are suffering from Schizophrenia are usually referred to as Schizophrenics. Many individuals have a difficult time accepting that either he or she has been diagnosed with Schizophrenia. This mental disorder mainly affects a human’s state of mind as well as his/her personality. Schizophrenia affects both men and woman of all ages and race. But young men in their early teens are more affected with this psychotic illness than young women. An individual’s brain functions differently than a normal human’s mind.
The stigma that is associated with mental illness can cause harm to the parent, and tends to work against each family. The family type, such as a single parent home or a nuclear family, will have different pulls with a parent that has an illness. A nuclear family tends to have the back up of a partner or a spouse, while the single parent does not have the support of a spouse (Lauritzen, 2015). The world view of mental illness ties in with the religious views of mental illness. The paper will explore the stigma and religious aspects of mental illness. The last selection of the paper will talk about the policies that can either help or harm a parent with a mental
Schizophrenia’s as a mental illness is very demanding and it can be especially difficult for parents with children who have schizophrenia, while uncommon not isolates. Case studies about children with schizophrenia can be observed by their impact of the disorder on the child and family and the
Kaakinen, J. R., Gedaly-Duff, V., Coehlo, D. P., & Harmon Hanson, S. M. (2010). Family Health Care Nursing: Theory, Practice and Research. (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis .
Mental health conditions (MHC) affect people across the world without discrimination. As individuals are affected by a MHC, it will also affect family members as well. Along with a MHC come stigmas and biases. As a family nurse caring for a person with a MHC, it is important to integrate the whole family in care. This will help not only the patient with a MHC, but also the family as well to produce a constructive outcome. In this discussion, the benefits and barriers to incorporating the family into the care of the mental health patient will be examined.
The movie "A Beautiful Mind" tells the story of Nobel Prize winner John Nash's struggle with schizophrenia. It follows his journey from the point where he is not even aware he has schizophrenia, to the point where Nash and his wife find a way to manage his condition. The movie provides a lot of information and insight into the psychological condition of schizophrenia, including information on the symptoms, the treatment and cures, the life for the individual and for the individual's family. The movie is effective at demonstrating various concepts related to schizophrenia, and provides an insight into the disease of schizophrenia.
I am a volunteer teacher of the signature program “Family-to-Family”. Each of my class members brings unique life experiences with them that have shaped their views on mental illness. By teaching coping and problem-solving skills, I have sought to empower the people closest to an individual living with a mental health condition. Teaching this course has improved my abilities to communicate with and empathize with a diverse population, including family members of individuals suffering from mental illness.