Developmental Psychology

Developmental Psychology

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Case I

The best course of action for the client is to accept the life-saving treatments. The client wrote a will that was last updated over 20 years ago when he was in the right state of mind. Therefore the client should not make rush decisions when he is not of sound mind.

Different themes have different potential effects on the recommendation. For example, there are certain cultures or ethnicities that believe that no human being has the power to take life of another person no matter the circumstances. There are themes that advocate for certain recommendations while others are against.

Each development stage of the client has its own crises, these crises are psychosocial in nature since they involve the needs of the society conflicting with the psychological needs of the client. According to human development theory, acquisition of fundamental virtues and a healthy personality is as a result of successful completion of each development stage.

Roger’s body is paralyzed from the neck down, this physical state will affect the recommendation made because it is one of the factors to be considered. If roger’s physical state was not as serious as it is, then an entirely different recommendation would have been given. Roger is not the right state of mind. His decision should not be applied to come up with recommendations. Psychological state of the client also affects the recommendations made because his physiological needs conflict with those of the society.

When presenting the recommendations to the family members and the patient, the first thing to do is to address the client by explaining to him the reasons why certain courses of action have been recommended. Thereafter, I will address the family on the same points.

Considerations that would affect the manner in which the recommendations are presented are: ability of both the patient and family members to understand why certain courses of action are being taken, and usage of complex terminologies in the recommendation. A consideration that cannot be discussed at this time due to lack of information is the mental state of the patient.

Ethical consideration is the way a person is affected by other people’s conduct. Informing the family members that the patient’s life would be cut short could be personally harmful to them. APA’s Ethical Principle of Psychologists and Code of Conduct contains ethical standards and principles that guide psychologists to achieve the highest ideals of psychology.

Case II
Best course of action for Geri to take is to continue working full-time and spend time with her son when she is off-duty. By working full-time, she will be able to take care of her son’s expenses. She can spend quality time with her son when she is not at work. That way she will be in a position to address two issues at once. On the issue of her son’ custody, she should send Gabe to live with an aunt. Gabe will still be living with family members who are capable of taking care of him.

In this case, different themes have varying potential effects on the recommendations. Some themes will have positive potential effect whereas some will have negative potential effects. Each development stage has its own difficulties. Different stages will require particular decisions to be made. Therefore when coming up with the courses of action to be taken, the development stage of the client should be considered.

Geri’s physical, cognitive and psychological states have an impact on the recommendations because they must be factored in when coming up with the courses of action. The recommendation will be presented in way that will address the concerns of both Geri and her son. In the presentation, they will be informed on the reasons why certain courses of action were chosen.
Considerations that would affect the way the recommendations are presented are: ability of Gabe to understand the situation, and ability of Geri to understand the reasons as to why certain courses of action recommended are the most suitable. There are no other considerations that cannot be processed due to lack of information.

It can be personally harmful for Gabe to be informed that his mother has only eight months to live. The risk of harm becomes an ethical consideration in determining the information to be disclosed and how it should be disclosed. APA’s Ethical Principle of Psychologists and Code of Conduct contains ethical standards and principles that guide psychologists to achieve the highest ideals of psychology.

References

Association, A. P. (2010). Ethical Principles of Psychologyists and Code of Conduct. Washington, DC.

Association, A. P. (2014). End-of-Life Care Fact Sheet. American Psychological Association.

Jung Kwak, M. a. (n.d.). Current Research Findings on End-of-Life Decision Making Among Racially or Ethnically Diverse Groups. Oxford journals, 45(5), 634-641.

McLeod, S. A. (2012). Developmental Psychology. simplypsychology.

Upton, P. (2011). Developmental Psychology: Critical Thinking in Psychology. Exeter: Learning Matters.