Reference no: EM133604993

Homework: Focus On Developing Empathy for Clients- Suffering and Challenges of Psychiatric Conditions

You will focus on developing empathy for clients' suffering and challenges posed by psychiatric conditions. Health care clinician empathy is repeatedly linked to improved patient and client health outcomes, adherence to treatment recommendations, and satisfaction with care. As clinicians, it is easy to underestimate the daily struggles of clients and their families. It is also easy to become overwhelmed by these struggles, particularly when working with clients struggling with severe and persistent psychiatric conditions such as psychotic disorders. Significant symptoms such as auditory and visual hallucinations, paranoid ideation, and manic behaviors can make it very difficult to communicate with clients, and attending to self as therapist issues is a lifelong responsibility.

Unfortunately, a significant stigma surrounds psychiatric issues and there continues to be a lack of understanding of the genetic and biologic bases of these conditions. A very important role in your work as a health care provider to use best current evidence to reduce stigma, increase understanding of symptoms and to acknowledge the suffering these conditions cause both clients and their family members. Clients and families look to health care providers for understanding, information, and support. Recognizing the challenges clients face on a daily basis is a very important aspect of your work as a health care provider.

You will participate in an empathy exercise and examine how this experience can inform your interactions with clients struggling with severe psychiatric symptoms.

Carefully review the resources. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your homework.
For this homework, you will complete both of the following:

A. Listen to one of your favorite songs while simultaneously listening to the Auditory Hallucinations - An Audio Representation, found in the Books and Resources.

B. Find a family member or friend with whom you will have a conversation while simultaneously listening to the Auditory Hallucinations - An Audio Representation, found in the Books and Resources.

After listening to the auditory hallucination simulation, write a discussion post (maximum of 500 words) to describe your experience and identify ways you will apply this experience in your clinical care of clients suffering from psychiatric conditions.

In your discussion post answer the following questions and include information from a minimum of two scholarly references:

C. What was the most challenging aspect of the exercises? (one to two paragraphs)

D. How could you use your learnings from this experience in clinical encounters with clients struggling with psychotic symptoms? (3 points)

i. How might you acknowledge the hallucinations the client is experiencing? (one to two paragraphs)

ii. How could you attend to a client's comfort while interviewing them? (one to two paragraphs)

E. How could you genuinely communicate your empathy to a client experiencing auditory hallucinations? (one to two paragraphs)