HSV 513 Wk 3 BD 3.

DB 3.2 - Case Study: Lee

The video provided for this week's resources shows that Lee is suffering from depression

and has shown various symptoms and risk factors for suicide. Lee is in her denial stage because

she cannot accept her conditions. She seems hopeless with life and has refused to take her

diabetic, hypertensive, and asthma medication “Symptom Media”, 2021). These diseases are

associated with high chances of major depressive episodes, and she also experienced the trauma

of losing a loved one. Although she denies having suicidal thoughts stating that she will wait in

darkness for her time to come, she has lost hope in everything and hence having a high risk of

suicide. These symptoms indicate the need for assisting Lee in the recovery process and helping

her to recognize her inner-self to restore positive thinking and a sense of peace. Wedding and

Corsini (2019) opined that contemplative methods are helpful in making individuals more

optimistic with their lives hence making them more applicable in Lee's situations. The methods

emphasize mindfulness perceived as religious and spiritual that mitigate the negative outlook of

the patients (Wedding & Corsini, 2019).

Therapists adopting contemplative methods would need to assess Lee's risk factors

through the interview sessions and advise her accordingly to restore hope in her inner-self. The

therapists ought to understand that having negative thoughts increases the suicidal risk (Wedding

& Corsini, 2019). Hence, better strategies should be adopted to help Lee in getting through the

challenges she is facing in her life. Lees has also refused to take her medications for diabetes,

hypertension, and asthma and hence the need for the therapist to order for further clinical

assessment to evaluate her conditions. There is also the need for involving health service

providers to explain to her the risks of not taking her medications as required. For instance, the
therapist seeks the intervention of a clinical nurse to assess the extent of her condition and assist

in the treatment process of these diseases, which increases the risk of depression. One of the

applications of mindfulness in Lee's case is her denial for been depressed and failing to take her

medications. This indicates a lack of hope in her life, and it deprives her of well-being. Also,

there is another application of mindfulness associated with her negative thought. She stated that

she is waiting for her time to come in the darkness, showing that she has lost hope in life even

though she denies having suicidal thoughts. Lastly, Lees seems to have lost hope due to her

sister's death, who died from cancer.

References

Wedding, D. & Corsini, R. J. (Eds.). (2019). Current psychotherapies (11th Ed.). Boston, MA:

Cengage.

Symptom Media. (2021). Rerieved https://symptommedia-com.postu.idm.oclc.org/conditions-

study-persistent-complex-bereavement-disorder/