Reference no: EM133423262

Mary Ellen is a 35-year-old woman with unexplained neurological symptoms. She is a relatively new client to the clinic where you work. However, your clinic has seen her several times over the last 3 months.

Initially, her diagnosis was "probable multiple sclerosis."

However, that diagnosis has been ruled out. Mary Ellen's clinical symptoms include double vision (at times), transient numbness and tingling down the right side of her body, and general weakness and fatigue. Although she has been employed full-time as a staff associate at the municipality assessor's office, she has been forced to go on short-term disability. In her phone call to the office this morning she is frustrated. She states, "I feel like no one believes me. You people think that I am making this up. I will lose my job if you can't figure this out. I'm not a psych case."

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How do you make sense of this client's illness behaviour?

2. What strategies might you use to deal with this client.

3. How could you apply the frameworks for practice mentioned in this chapter to this client's situation?