Stage of Erikson’s psychosocial stage of development.
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is a theory that describes how a person’s sense of self and identity develop throughout their lifespan. According to Erikson, there are eight stages of psychosocial development, each with its own challenges and opportunities for growth.
Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy, 0-1 year): In this stage, infants learn to trust or mistrust the world based on their experiences with caregivers.
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (Early Childhood, 1-3 years): In this stage, children develop a sense of independence and self-control.
Initiative vs. Guilt (Play Age, 3-5 years): In this stage, children learn to initiate and plan activities, and they may feel guilty if they do something wrong.
Industry vs. Inferiority (School Age, 6-11 years): In this stage, children develop a sense of competence and may feel inferior if they do not meet their own or others’ expectations.
Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence, 12-18 years): In this stage, adolescents explore their identity and may feel confused about their role in the world.
Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood, 19-40 years): In this stage, young adults develop close relationships and may feel isolated if they are unable to form them.
Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood, 40-65 years): In this stage, adults focus on contributing to the next generation and may feel stagnant if they are not able to do so.
Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood, 65+ years): In this stage, older adults reflect on their lives and may feel despair if they feel that they have not fulfilled their potential.
Claudia’s Case Study
Identify which stage of Erikson’s psychosocial stage of development Claudia is in (with rationale for your choice) and describe why she may be behaving in this way.
According to the description of Erikson’s psychosocial stage of development, Claudia is in stage 6. The stage is called intimacy vs. isolation (Dimitrova et al., 2019). The stage involves developing intimate relationships with other people. The outcome is strong relationships, and the failure is isolation and loneliness. The stage involves exploring personal relationships. One of the objectives is to find people who are loving and committed to a relationship. People in this stage strive to find enduring and secure relationships (Gross, 2020). During the formation of relationships, young people are likely to display deep affection (Maree, 2021). Deep affection contributes to the risk of engaging in unprotected sex. Claudia is engaging with a long-term boyfriend and now finds herself pregnant. The pregnancy is unexpected, owing to her commitment to school work.
The reason why Claudia is in this stage is her age. According to Erikson’s psychosocial stage of development, the intimacy vs. isolation stage occurs among people between 18 and 40 years. Claudia is 20 years old and in her second year at the university. Claudia has been exploring her relationship with her boyfriend. Intimacy has led to pregnancy. Another reason why Claudia is in stage six is that she is exploring her relationship with her boyfriend. For instance, she has been intimate with her boyfriend, indicating that the two are exploring their relationship.
Identify one key element of the Spirit of MI and describe how the HCP will use this to elicit Claudia’s reasons for wanting to change
The healthcare practitioner can utilize the element of evocation. The element involves drawing out the ideas rather than imposing them (Gagneur, 2020). For instance, the healthcare practitioner must find out the reasons for quitting or reducing alcohol intake. The approach of the specialists is to allow Claudia to take charge in explaining her motivation (Gillam & Yusuf, 2019). The information will help the healthcare practitioner to determine the appropriate mechanisms to help the client overcome the alcohol problem.
Some of the strategies the healthcare practitioner can utilize to address Claudia is for her to describe the reasons for the desire to quit alcohol or minimize usage. For instance, during this critical moment of her pregnancy, she may indicate that pregnancy is the main cause of the decision. The healthcare practitioner will use the information to ensure Claudia has a long-lasting change. Maintenance is a critical success in the behavior change process (Fifield et al., 2019). Healthcare practitioners should ensure they promote positive behavior among patients.
Evocation is effective since the HCP will use it will elicit the need for change. The patient will identify the reasons why they need to change. It will be effective for the patient to identify the personal reasons why they should quit alcohol. Alcohol addiction is a common disorder that affects millions of people country-wide. To enhance successful change, the client should have personal reasons. For instance, Claudia may be determined to change for the unborn child’s safety. Another reason may be the health of the mother during pregnancy. Additionally, Claudia may be foreseeing the kind of parent she wants to become in the future. Various reasons may impact the decision to change. It is relevant for the HCP to use the opportunity to encourage Claudia to fast-track her desire for change until they realize their new envisioned life.
The HCP should spend sufficient time listening to Claudia to understand her inspiration, thoughts, and plans. The conversation is healthy since it will help the client to listen to themselves speak about the need for change. The arguments will inspire them to implement their resolutions. One of the important roles of HCP is to listen, evoke, and strengthen the motivation for change (Fifield et al., 2019). A HCP should embrace the mindset that the patient is already strong, willing, and capable of change. The role of the HCP will be supportive of actualizing the change.
Describe the Motivational Interviewing techniques the HCP will use to Help and support Claudia to the Action Stage (with reference to her alcohol use) and to work towards the Maintenance Stage.
The motivational interviewing techniques relevant to the case study include asking open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries (Sokalski et al., 2020). Open-ended questions are essential in enhancing the conversation with Claudia. The questions allow the patient to express themselves on the issue of alcohol use. For instance, the HCP can ask a question like, how would you like things to be different? The question will allow Claudia to explain why and how they want things to be different. Another question is, what have you tried before to make a change? The question will help the HCP to know if the patient has tried to quit alcohol use in the past and why past efforts failed.
The second motivational interviewing technique is affirmations. Affirmations are statements that acknowledge a person’s strengths (Fortune et al., 2019). Affirmations are effective in building the confidence to change. For instance, the HCP can affirm that Claudia is caring, sensitive, and thoughtful since she cares about the unborn baby. The thought of minimizing or quitting alcohol use is a strength that can encourage Claudia to start the alcohol use cessation journey confidently. Another affirmation is to laud the patient for seeking help. It is rare for people to seek help, especially on alcohol use. A statement such as, I’m so glad you came into the clinic today. I know it is not always easy to seek help, will encourage the patient to continue coming to the clinic to seek help.
The first motivational interviewing technique is reflective listening. Reflective listening involves listening keenly, analyzing the message, reflecting on the message, and seeking clarification of the message (Passmore, 2022). The HCP needs to listen keenly to Claudia. Listening should involve maintaining eye contact and paying attention to the details. Reflecting on listening will encourage the client to share more information about their struggle with alcohol use.
The HCP can use summaries as a motivational interviewing technique. The objective is to demonstrate that the specialist has been listening. Summaries are essential for linking various issues that emerge in a conversation, transitioning, and reinforcing what the patient has said (Phillips et al., 2018). Summaries give patients the confidence to share information since they know a specialist is keenly listening. It allows a specialist to get more details that will aid in supporting a client in the transformative journey of embracing new behavior. It is vital to use summaries to understand why Claudia intends to reduce alcohol use, the efforts made in the past, the intended actions, and possible challenges.
Outline what new behaviors Claudia would need to engage in to be successful in the Action Stage and to achieve improved health outcomes long term and to reach Maintenance.
The new behavior that Claudia needs to embrace is total abstinence from negative behavior. For instance, she must avoid going to the bar or associating with friends who make her drink. She should change her circle of friends and associate with people who will inspire her to accomplish her goals. She can reduce the number of bottles she drinks by buying from the liquor store and taking the alcohol home. However, total abstinence is the recommended action for behavior change (Pennington, 2021). It is important to find something to do during the weekend when she is most likely to engage in a drinking spree. For instance, she can go swimming, hiking, or visit her rural home. She can take a short course in the evening, enroll in the gym, and book club. Diversionary tactics are needed to alter the old habit of excess consumption of alcohol. In the long-term, Claudia needs to divert her attention to other engaging activities that will prevent her from taking alcohol (Prochaska, 2020). For instance, finding an accountable friend will reduce the risk of consuming alcohol.
Outline how resilience will play a role in Claudia’s quest to reduce her alcohol intake You need to utilize evidenced based literature to support your discussion.
Resilience is an important element in the quest to reduce alcohol intake. One of the roles of resilience is fostering discipline in behavior change. Reducing alcohol intake involves overcoming diverse temptations and hardships (Lyvers et al., 2020). It helps a person to maintain the change despite the stressful period. For instance, Claudia will likely experience withdrawal symptoms when she starts the journey to reduce alcohol intake. She will face ridicule and pressure from her peers to continue her former habits. It will take resilience for the patient to strive toward the desired goal.
Resilience is important during the change process since it will help Claudia bounce back from adversity (Connors et al., 2020). One of the challenges she will face is finding a new circle of friends. Reducing or quitting alcohol consumption attracts loneliness. Claudia will need to find a new activity to avoid the temptation to go on a drinking spree. For instance, as a student, she needs to overcome the risk of free time, which can draw her back into old habits.
Resilience is important since it will help the client keep going despite the setbacks (Kelifa et al., 2020). Quitting or reducing alcohol consumption will involve diverse temptations. If Claudia finds she did not adhere to the alcohol reduction plan, she should bounce back and continue with the transformative journey. Resilience is a critical component since a decision to change a lifestyle will attract opposition (Kelifa et al., 2020). People who are striving for change will face stress and anxiety. For instance, there is anxiety related to the possibility of overcoming the temptations and the stress of a new life without alcohol. If Claudia were taking alcohol with her boyfriend, she would need to overcome the temptation and pursue her dreams.
References
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