Northcentral Technical College Cognitive Processing Therapy Case Study
Case Vignette
A Caucasian male OEF, OIF veteran (30) presents with his wife (27) and young son (7) for counseling. Both the veteran (“Vet”) and his wife complain about feeling disconnected from one another, and Vet complains about feeling no emotion toward his son. Upon inquiry, Vet described a traumatic event during his second deployment. Vet reported that during a routine search and clearance, a young Afghan boy was standing in the middle of the road. Vet described his attempts to get the young boy to move; however, his attempts failed. When the young boy did finally move on his own, it was clear that he had an explosive. It was then up to Vet to make the decision to shoot the young boy. Vet described nightmares and frequent flashbacks about this event.
Vet’s wife reported that she no longer knows her husband. She reported that he fights in his sleep, and they have not had sex in more than 10 months. Wife stated that she is unhappy in the marriage and is disappointed with how her husband treats their son. She described her husband as a monster, and stated that she is fearful, but not physically afraid for the family. She reported that there are weapons in the house and Vet’s temper is easily triggered. She hopes that Vet can open up to her more regarding his experience because this was the first time she’s heard about his trauma.
Vet’s son presented as quiet and solemn. He made little eye contact and looked to his mom when questioned about his father. His grades are starting to slip in school, and teachers are concerned about his emotional well-being. Teachers reported that Son tends to hold his head down and takes correction more harshly than before. Son suggested to friends that he does not want to be at home. He received several bullying attacks but refused to provide administrators with their names.
There are times that the family enjoyed being with one another. They reported playing video games and paintball together. They are of Catholic faith but do not attend regularly. They live close to the wife’s family and frequently attend family functions. There are no financial issues. Wife and Son have no known health or medical issues. Vet is not on any medication and has not sought therapy in the past. The family’s goal is to be closer and happy.
Assignment
Read the vignette and discuss what method of therapy would be most useful for this case and why. Please include five interventions associated with your chosen model and describe implementation of these interventions to the issues presented in the vignette. Be sure to include a treatment plan. To support your model choice and proposed interventions, provide at least five references from the NCU library in addition to the materials covered in this course.