Summary of Case
JGH is a 71-year old who is a Native American and also a member of the southwestern tribe. He has multiple complaints of non-localized pain occurring in his chest, abdomen, knees, and all of his body. According to Butcher, Hooley, & Mineka, (2013) he explains the pain in his native language as “whole body sickness” (p.10). It has been reported by JGH granddaughter that he has not been himself. He has not been attending traditional clan gathering that he normally goes to for the past 3 to 4 months. JGH is reluctant to express his feelings along with the difference in behavior. When interviewed he expresses that he has difficulty falling asleep, periodically sleeping through the night, and wakes up at dawn. JGH has not eaten in months, in denial about weight loss, remembering, and trouble concentrating. He also expresses that “His sheep haven’t been doing well lately; their coats are ragged; they’re thinner; they wonder aimlessly; even the ewes don’t seem to care about the little ones” (Butcher et al., 2013, p.10).
Construction of Diagnosis
The client is expressing that he has numerous of symptoms and depression seems to be one of them. He has Severe Major Depressive Disorder
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In JGH interview, he mentioned about “his sheep not doing well and ewes not caring about the little ones” (Butcher et al., 2013, P.10). In the Indian culture, a ewe is a female sheep. I would continue to ask more questions about the sheep to have the client elaborate more on the meaning of this phrase. It is important to understand the terminology that is used by a client who practices a culture that you are not familiar with. As a counselor, you must be culturally competent when treating a client from another culture. This will assist a counselor in making the correct diagnosis as it relates to the client’s