After reading Ellen Waters case study I realized that she had multiple symptoms that leads to the diagnosis of Major Depression/Mood Disorder. Ellen was a 37-year-old who was very unhappy most of her life, tried to comment suicide at the age 14, her parents were verbally and emotionally abusive, she had low-depression which have become worst over the years, issues sleeping at night, panic attacks, weight issues tend to overeat, and if her boyfriend or friends do not return her calls, she becomes upset, feels rejected to the extreme that she can’t work, stays in the house and avoids people. All of these symptoms according to the National Institute of Mental Health, (2016), have lead me to the conclusion that Ellen is suffering from severe depression which I diagnosed her with Major Depression due to the severity of her behavior and emotional state. If you complete an assessment with this client, what Biological, family and Cultural considerations of their background would you need to see to justify the diagnosis? The biological information that I would need to gather to help with an accurate diagnosis for Ellen would be her medical/mental health history and her family’s medical/mental health history to see …show more content…
The counselor should learn about their client’s culture to avoid ignorance, disrespect, prejudice, biases, and stereotyping comments. Also, cultural considerations may be influenced by ones cultural norms or beliefs and also be a factor in the client’s behavior. Cultural diversity can be very difficult when counseling the client may be incompetent, have a language barrier or culture may not believe in therapy or treating illness with medication but, despite their challenges they have a right to make decisions concerning their treatment. So it is vital to understand and be mindful of your client’s cultural traits, values, and norm to provide the right treatment that will meet their