Journal rubric
In 450–500 words, address the following:
Learning From Experiences.
- Revisit the goals and objectives (See below) from your Practicum Experience Plan. Explain the degree to which you achieved each during the practicum experience.
- Reflect on the three most challenging patients you encountered during the practicum experience. What was most challenging about each? Focus on psychotherapy only, no medication.
- What did you learn from this experience?
- What resources were available?
- What evidence-based practice did you use for the patients?
- What would you do differently?
- How are you managing patient flow and volume?
Objective 1: By the end of this semester, I will be able to implement the screening instrument effectively and efficiently with patient.
Objective 2: By the end of 5th week, I will be able to know the appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques for individual, family and/or group.
Objective 3: I will be able to independently perform and interpret a mental statues examination by the end of this semester.
Journal Entry
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Journal Entry
In my practicum plan, I had outlined three objectives, which I had hoped to achieve by the end of the semester. The first objective was to be able to implement the screening instrument effectively with the patient. The second objective was to be able to identify the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques for individuals or families by the 5th week. The third objective was to be able to perform and interpret mental status examinations independently by the end of the semester. I was able to achieve the first objective by being able to effectively use diverse screening instruments with patients and getting reliable results to be used in support of diagnosis. I was able to make differential diagnoses and choose the most appropriate diagnosis. By the 5th week, I was able to achieve the second objective by being able to choose the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques for different types of patients. Thirdly, I was able to achieve the third objective by successfully conducting and interpreting mental examinations among patients to support an accurate diagnosis.
During my practicum experience, I experienced three challenging patients, the first one who presented to the clinic with emotional and verbal outbursts, the second one who presented with bipolar symptoms, and the third one who had narcissistic behaviours. The most challenging issue about the first patient was keeping her calm and cooperative during the session. She barely listened or even incorporated the measures suggested. With the second patient, it was hard to handle the patient due to the mood shifts and interpersonal conflicts. The challenges that I experienced with the third patient entailed the patient’s inability to be considerate of other people’s feelings and interests. The person had a lot of self-admiration, which made it easy to change his thought patterns and attitude.
My practicum experience enlightened me on the challenges that psychotherapists experience while dealing with patients suffering from mental health issues. It however enabled me to understand and research more on ways that therapists can adopt to ensure that the therapy sessions are successful. For example, I learned the importance for using relaxation techniques such as deep and regulated breathing to calm down the patients to improve their concentration span and ability to cooperate during the sessions.
The resources which were available for me to use during this practicum experience included psychotherapists, nurse managers, and at the same time online resources such as guidelines from American Psychiatric Association, as well as peer-reviewed publications. I used guidelines that have been rigorously researched, proven, and recommended as evidence-based practice such as cognitive behavioural therapy. The use of cognitive behavioural therapy has been seen to improve psychosocial functioning among patients, especially in improving mania, depression, and even aggression. More so, I applied the use of deep and regulated breathing as a relaxation technique.
Based on my practicum experience, what I would do differently would maybe to have a co-therapist when dealing with the patients. I believe that having a co-therapist would provide many opportunities for both the therapist and the patients to improve interactions and enhance the therapeutic relationship. I am managing patient flow and volume through proper time management, increasing communication with the other healthcare practitioners, and the utilization of data analytics to facilitate effective decision-making.