PTSD in their lifetime
Respond to your colleagues by providing one alternative therapeutic approach. Explain why you suggest this alternative and support your suggestion with evidence-based literature and/or your own experiences with clients.
NOTE: I need a positive comment about the post bellow
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PTSD is a debilitating disorder and should always be taken very seriously when a client presents with this disorder. Normally, it develops after experiencing or getting exposed to a traumatic event and it is always managed through both psychotherapies and pharmacotherapies (Lancaster, Teeters, Grs & Back, 2016). About 6.8 to 7.3 percent of Americans are affected by PTSD in their lifetime. Studies however show that African Americans have a higher rate of 8.7% in lifetime prevalence (Nguyen, Chatters, Taylor, Levine & Himle, 2016). This is a very significant statistics for the purpose of this discussion because William the client is an African American with high risk factor of having PTSD because he served in the army and was deployed to Iraq during the war.
In his narration, William seems not to concentrate especially in regard to his surroundings. He also points out that his family, that is him and his wife have been going through a lot. Just recently, he lost his job and he was not able to effectively meet the deadlines for his mortgage. Because of this, he became homeless. He was then taken in by his brother who lives with his wife and children. William denies the fact that his brother is concerned about his condition. It is known that he has a problem with alcohol, and this could be a way of coping with his PTSD from the war. In fact, through an exploratory analysis, it was concluded that drinking with a view of coping with PTSD was common in war veterans. This coupled with the perception that they were stigmatized led to increased severity of PTSD and alcohol abuse as well as associated consequences (Miller, Pedersen & Marshall, 2017). William was directly experiencing traumatic occurrences in the war. There is a very high possibility therefore that he has PTSD leading to his drinking problem as a way of coping. This has affected his life in very different ways including losing his job, house and becoming homeless. William has been having flashbacks about the events in the war. He avoids things that may remind him of such events, and he does not have interest in doing different activities including his hobbies. He has a sense of self-blame and he is reckless as well as experiencing sleep disturbance. All these have been going on for a while. Long enough to cost him his job and house. The DSM-5 requires that these disturbances should not be due to drugs, alcohol or a different medical issue (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). William is going through all these issues because of the traumatic events at war and the alcohol use is just because he thinks this is a way of coping.
