It is evident from the first case study that John is suffering from depression. There are quite a number of symptoms in this case that lead to a conclusion that John is actually depressed. To begin with, John feels hopeless and helpless and is no longer excited by anything that used to excite him. John has lost interest in his daily activities such as attending to his goddaughters. The other depression symptom exhibited by John is loss of appetite because he eats less food and claims that it has no taste. The other symptom is insomnia where John is not able sleep at night because of his worries. John has evidently lost energy and motivation to fulfill his responsibilities as an employee and a godfather. Despite the fear that John has about the side-effects of medication, he still needs psychopharmacological intervention to cure him from this depression.
The antidepressant medication is the most appropriate for treating depression symptoms. This treatment should only be administered by a mental health professional qualified to advice the patient appropriately (Beck, 2009). Antidepressants are supposed to bring the serotonin levels in the brain back to the normal levels. The theory behind antidepressant is that low levels of a brain chemical known as serotonin causes depression and therefore the antidepressant medication is supposed to bring the chemical back to normal levels (Beck, 2009). There are chances that the antidepressant treatment can come with side-effects but the treatment has been proven to be effective in the treatment of depression symptoms. It is important to note that the antidepressant medication may not cure all the symptoms of depression because some of them may require lifestyle changes and therapy to completely heal (Greden, 2008).
Counselors have a critical role to play in sensitizing depression patients on depression medication and the possible side-effects (Greden, 2008). Counselors should ensure that depression patients are completely informed about the antidepressant medication and are psychologically prepared to deal with its possible side-effects (Greden, 2008). A counselor should explain to the patient all the possible side-effects of antidepressants for them to make informed decisions. It is the role of a counselor to advice the patient on how to deal with some of the expected side-effects of the antidepressant medication. Despite the role played by a counselor in preparing a patient psychologically for the depression medication, a psychiatrist is the one who is allowed to make recommendations on the type of treatment that the patient needs (Beck, 2009). The role of a counselor is to give some emotional insights to patients that can help them to respond positively to medication. Counselors provide therapy treatment to depressed patients in a case where the psychiatrist does not recommend the antidepressant medication (Beck, 2009).
The initial challenges of psychopharmacological intervention can be dealt with if the counselors play their role effectively (Beck, 2009). The most common challenge is the fear and anxiety expressed by depression patients as a result of the likely side-effects. A counselor can help address this challenge through psychological preparation of patients before they begin their treatment (Greden, 2008). The other challenge in the initial stages of psychopharmacological intervention is in finding the right drug and dosage for a particular patient. It can take up to six weeks for a particular antidepressant medication to have some effect on the patient and this can be a big challenge in a case where the depressed person in not patient (Greden, 2008). Counselors need to inform the patients on the likelihood of some treatments to take long before they begin having any therapeutic effect on the patient (Beck, 2009).
References
Beck, A. (2009). Depression: Causes and treatment. New York, NY: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Greden, J. (2008). Treatment of recurrent depression. New York, NY: American Psychiatric Pub.