N212: Health Differences Across the Life Span 2

Health Differences Across the Lifespan 2 Study Guide present and future. The therapist tries to help the patient see they are free, and to see the possibilities for their future. They will challenge the patient to recognize that they themselves were responsible for the events in their life. This type of therapy helps the patient make good choices. Gestalt Therapy Gestalt therapy integrates the body and mind factors by stressing awareness and integration. Integration of behavior, feelings, and thinking is the main goal in Gestalt therapy. Patients are viewed as having the ability to recognize how earlier life situations may have influenced their current life. The patient is made aware of personal responsibility, how to avoid problems, how to finish unfinished matters, how to experience things in a positive light, and how to live in the awareness of now. It is up to the therapist to help lead the patient to how to live life moment by moment. The therapist also challenges the patient to accept the responsibility of taking care of themselves rather than excepting others to do it. The therapist may use confrontation, dream analysis, dialogue with polarities, or role playing to reach their goals. This may include treatment of crisis intervention, marital and family therapy, problems in children's behavior, psychosomatic disorders, or the training of mental health professionals. Person-Centered Therapy Person-centered therapy gives more responsibility to the patient in their own treatment, and views humans in a positive manner. It was founded by Carl Rogers in the 1940's. Rogers had great faith that we could and would work out our own problems. The therapist moves the patient towards self- awareness, helping the patient to experience previously denied feelings. They teach the patient to trust in themselves and to use this trust to find their direction in life. The person-centered therapist makes the patient aware of their problems and then guilds them to a means of resolve them. The therapist and patient must have faith that the patient can, and will, find self-direction. The therapist will focus on the here and how. They motivate the patient in experiencing and expressing feelings. The person-centered therapist believes that good mental health is a balance between the ideal self and real self. Occupational/Recreational/Speech Therapy With any illness or injury, the goal of occupational and recreational therapy is to return the patient to as high a level of functioning as possible. Occupational therapy addresses the needs and problems that interfere with a person’s normal activities of daily living and focuses on fine motor function (lacing shoes, buttoning shirts). Physical therapy enhances occupational therapy by focusing on the gross motor function (walking, sitting, and standing). Together these therapies can be valuable to patients with early and mid-stage Dementias and Parkinson’s disease since they help with fine and gross motor abilities, lower the risk for falls, and help the patient to engage in self-care activities for as long as possible. Recreational therapy focuses on the pleasurable activities that enhance a patient’s well-being. Here activities are planned to help patient’s focus their excess energy and express their fears, hopes, and dreams through drawing, painting, and other creative avenues. Other forms of recreational therapy are creative art therapy and movement therapy based on exercise and dance. These therapies may help schizophrenic patients who need to re-channel anxiety and agitation that can lead to delusions and hallucinations. Speech therapy involves more than working on language skills. It also focuses on problems of dysphagia and swallowing abilities. The speech ©2017 Achieve Test Prep Page 34 of 140