Reference no: EM133623109

Elita is a 34-year-old, married woman. After trying for three years unsuccessfully to conceive on their own, she and her husband Ron underwent fertility treatments. After their second IVF procedure, Elita and Ron became pregnant. Their daughter, Carrie, was delivered vaginally after a difficult labour in which Elita felt she was not listened to when she complained of terrible pain. Mom and baby were discharged home within twelve hours of the delivery.

In the six weeks since Carrie's birth, Ron has noticed that Elita has become increasingly moody: crying easily and appearing insecure and unsure of herself. At first Ron attributed Elita's moodiness to hormone fluctuations and sleeplessness. However, for the past two weeks, Elita has refused to let Ron change Carrie's diapers and has become increasingly insistent that only she should do that. Ron also described feeling as though Elita was "watching him all the time with the baby."

Finally, two days ago, Ron confronted Elita about her behaviour, and after much emotional interaction, Elita revealed that she had been sexually abused as a child by a distant relative. Elita shared that while she believed she had put all of this behind her years ago, the difficult childbirth experience and attempting to adjust to caregiving responsibilities for her daughter have caused old memories to re-emerge and she is feeling confused and anguished.

As a community health nurse caring for Elita, Carrie, and Ron, describe how you can apply either Story Theory or Reed's Theory of Self-Transcendence as a means by which to begin therapeutic engagement with this family. Elements to include are:

1. How does this scenario fit with the focus of your selected middle-range theory?

2. How would you describe this theory to the family you are working with?

3. What are the steps you would take to implement this theory in the care of this family?

4. Consistent with the theory you have chosen, how would you evaluate if your care is effective?