PMHNP Reflection on the Case of Del and Sarah

Reflection Questions
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
June 4, 2022
Creating an effective treatment for couples requires a careful understanding and appreciation of their circumstances and differences. Since a couple’s treatment involves more than just a single person, the problems that every couple faces must be addressed considering both the individual preferences and personalities of each partner and the dynamics of their relationship. In this article, I would like to discuss some of the problems that the couple Del and Sarah faced in their relationship, as shown in the short dialogue during their treatment between them.
Dialogue and Treatment
Mutually Acceptable Goals
The dialogue between the couple shows that Sarah has viewed Del’s problem as the main reason for their difficulties. This was her starting statement when she was asked about their problem as a couple. Accordingly, Sarah believes that this made it more difficult for them to communicate with one another, with their interactions and arguments characterized by blaming and getting angry at each other. Thus, it made it harder for them to communicate and fix their relationships among themselves.
Finally, she also highlighted that this problem had caused a more profound problem, including the rift among their friends and a negative effect on their children. Nonetheless, Sarah’s message and delivery suggest that she merely wants their relationship fixed, although she is already at her limit.
In contrast, Del was very apprehensive about the treatment and therapy session. He manifested his view that the treatment was a mere waste of time and firmly believed he was not at fault. Accordingly, Del also shows a more defensive and aggressive stance by interjecting that Sarah implies that it was all his fault. Finally, compared to Sarah, who is hopeful that they can still fix their relationship, Del’s response is just to let his partner go.
Based on this statement, it is clear that one of the main problems between Del and Sarah is a lack of open communication. This is apparent from their opposite views about the importance of communication and their constant argumentation between themselves. However, although making the partners talk to one another should be the priority for this kind of treatment, I realized that addressing Del’s apprehension towards the treatment should be prioritized. Otherwise, he would not be open and truthful during the interaction, which would significantly reduce the effectiveness of the therapy CITATION Fou18 \l 1033 (Foulkes & Anthony, 2018).
In line with this, what I can do is elicit focused questions, be specific, and even agree on how we can communicate at first. These techniques could allow me to probe and encourage Del to be more honest and open about his feelings, the...