The Role of Health Psychologists (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

The Role of Health Psychologists Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Author Note The Role of Health Psychologists Part A: Critically reflect on how all the skills you have learnt about as a health psychologist (communication, ethics, reflection and professional boundaries) would be useful in working with an older lady from a BME background. Nita is 60 years old; she is obese and suffers from diabetes. Her sedentary lifestyle in like manner is a significant factor that increases the risks of her conditions. Therapy might help Nita manage her conditions. Different therapeutic interventions can be used, but the suitable therapeutic intervention should push Nita to change from her destructive lifestyle and adopt a healthy one. The therapeutic intervention, in this case, should target her behaviours. Therefore, behavioural therapy would be effective in this case. Behavioural therapy, according to Hedman et al. (2012), is a type of therapy that helps treat mental health disorders. It is a critical therapy that seeks to identify and helps in changing potentially self-destructive unhealthy behaviours. Nita claims that she is afraid of going out alone. She also finds it challenging to follow the diet recommended to her by her doctor as the food she was asked not to eat is the one she enjoys with her family. Helping Nita move past these fears would require well established behavioural therapy techniques. One particular behavioural technique that would help Nita slowly overcome her fear of going out alone is exposure. In most cases, this technique is used to confront fears and phobias (Kaczkurkin & Foa, 2015). To be effective in using this technique, I should encourage Nita to encounter new experiences. Also, I should slowly expose her to things that provoke fear and anxiety while guiding her on how to deal with fear at every stage. The exposure technique would help Nita feel less vulnerable and more confident in her coping abilities. Nevertheless, there are certain skills that I, as a health psychologist, should have to attain adequate results in treating Nita. Health therapists require different skills. Perhaps one of the most critical is good communication skills (Maloney & Griffith, 2013). As a health therapist, I should be able to listen effectively, giving full attention to Nita. Letting Nita explain her fears to me would allow relieving her pain. Listening and paying attention to the worries in her voice would allow me to establish strategies and psychological techniques that would address her problem (Maloney & Griffith, 2013). I should also pay close attention to body language and other non-verbal communication. In most cases, clients, including Nita, would often communicate using non-verbal cues. Understanding these cues would allow us to relate, engage and establish meaningful interactions throughout the treatment period (Gattino et al., 2011). A stronger understanding of this type of communication may allow me to develop a stronger and expressive relationship with the client. Therefore, listening and identifying these cues is an important area of skill. Therapists must also adhere to ethics when dealing with patients. Ethics, according to Marcus et al. (2014), are a set of moral principles or the rules of conduct for an individual or group. Ethics are critical as they determine the choices made. In therapy, ethics reinforce the course of actions taken by therapists. As a health therapist, I should act in the client’s best interest by promoting her goals, and protecting her rights. All these should be done while maximizing good and minimizing harm. For instance, to help Nita develop healthy eating patterns, I should allow her to guide the process. In other words, I should allow the complete autonomy of her treatment. Nita should have freedom of choice and action. Rather than forcing her to follow the recommended diet, I should allow her to understand the consequences and then make the right decision. Also, before initiating treatment or any other therapeutic intervention, I should inform her and let her offer her consent (Marcus et al., 2014). Asking for consent shows respect and allows collaborative decision making. Collecting patients’ consent is ethical and a legal obligation for all health care providers. The ability to establish healthy boundaries is another critical therapists’ skill (Jones, 2013). Providing suitable parameters within which I work with Nita is foundational to therapeutic success. This skill would allow professionalism in Nita’s treatment process. The first part of setting healthy boundaries is examining the boundaries that are already established (Jones, 2013). For instance, Nita states that her family is very important to her. Nita’s relationship with her family would allow her to decide what types of boundaries she wants to set with others, including her therapist. Also, I should be able to say “no” simply but firmly to things I do not want to do. Saying “no” or agreeing to different aspects of therapy would allow us to set the treatment mood. Setting boundaries is a challenging task that needs to be learned but understanding my limits, and being assertive would help us set meaningful boundaries. All in all, behavioural therapy would help Nita overcome her fear of going out alone. It would also help her adapt to a healthy dietary lifestyle, therefore minimizing the risks of her conditions. Moreover, communication skills, ethics, and having the ability to set healthy boundaries would allow me to attain effective results. Effective communication skills such as paying attention to Nita’s body language would help me relate, engage and establish meaningful interactions throughout the treatment period. Setting boundaries by saying no or agreeing to different aspects of therapy would help us set the treatment mood. PART B: Critically reflect on the limitations and broader issues that you might face as a health psychologist when working with an older lady from a BME background. Behavioural therapy would help Nita manage her diabetes. By the end of the treatment, Nita should be able to go out of her house and even interact with people in her neighbourhood. However, certain issues may limit the effectiveness of the therapy. One of the most significant issues may arise from communication (Hall & Sandberg, 2012). Nita's first language is Urda, and she struggles with understanding and speaking English. The fact that I do not understand Urda and Nita does not speak good English would limit the process's effectiveness. She might struggle to explain her fears, and I, on the other hand, might experience struggles understanding her emotions. Language is a significant barrier to therapy. It may lead to misinformation, misdiagnosis, and misinterpretation. The lack of cultural awareness is the other issue that may affect the therapy's effectiveness (Håkonsen et al., 2014). As a health therapy, I should identify and understand Nita's background, ethnicity, and belief system. In most cases, therapists with a heightened sense of culture acknowledge and recognize when they have biased views and stereotypical beliefs about their clients. If therapists do not identify or understand their biased views and stereotypical beliefs towards clients, they may likely provide ineffective treatment. I am not of Pakistani descent, and I am less knowledgeable of things concerning the Muslim religion. I am afraid that these aspects would discourage meaningful progress. Forming a therapeutic alliance may likewise be challenging because of aspects, including the age difference (Sharf et al., 2010). The patients may also find it hard to agree to set therapeutic rules. Agreement regarding the importance of establishing a strong therapeutic alliance is one of the greatest therapeutic convergence among different psychotherapy schools (Sharf et al., 2010). The therapeutic alliance is a twofold concept. On the one ha...