The primary goal of the paper is to evaluate the manualized treatment software (Eliza) by using my friend as a potential patient. Another aim is to define and evaluate the manualized therapy, determine its benefits and drawbacks, and assess its influence on the ethical principles by utilizing various psychological texts as the main sources of information. I asked my friend to participate in the experiment by having a conversation with Eliza.
As for my client, she felt uncomfortable during the communication process with Eliza, as it seemed that the software could not develop the topic any further. In this instance, it asked similar questions to clarify the information. However, the software constantly asks to elaborate and develop the matters. In this case, my friend was afraid of death and felt anxious about it, and the software kept on asking to elaborate the matter.
My friend developed the topic as profound as she could. However, it was uneasy to keep up the conversation, my friend stated. It remains evident that software lacked the personal touch and individual approach to the patient, as it has been constantly saying ‘I see’ and ‘Tell me more’. It remains evident that this therapeutic approach will contribute to the development of the right diagnosis as many questions are asked to develop the topic. Nonetheless, my friend was not able to experience a flow of the conversation, but she acquired the profound knowledge of his health issue.
The next step is to lay the diagnosis for my friend’s problem, as it will contribute to the understanding of the nature of her disease and determine her future treatment. In this instance, it was already mentioned that my friend is constantly thinking about death. It could be said that she is scared of it and feels vulnerable in various situations on the regular basis. Additionally, she cannot control her fear and anxiety about the problem.
Furthermore, my friend has sleeping problems and experiences this condition for several months. Moreover, my friend is constantly irritated, cannot control his/her emotions and experiences tiredness. It remains evident that theses aspects correspond to the primary symptoms including fatigue, muscle tension, insomnia, and has difficulties while being in control of the situation (Pomerantz 56). In the end, it remains evident that the patient has a general anxiety disorder since all the symptoms comply with the principles of the chosen disease.
It could be said that it is essential to determine the potential ways of treating the patient. Firstly, it remains evident that generalized anxiety is a widely spread disorder (Rygh and Sanderson 56). Additionally, high attention has been addressed towards the development of treatment and minimization of the effects of the symptoms (Heimberg, Turk, & Mennin 56). Nonetheless, one of the ways to treat this disorder is cognitive-behavioral treatment, as it provides the complex overview of the issues by direct interactions with the patient (Dugas and Robichaud 85).
Nevertheless, firstly, the diagnosis has to be conducted to determine whether the person has some issues related to the generalized anxiety disorder (Portman 19). Regular conversations and keeping the diary will be the suitable approaches to treating the disorder, as they imply having conversations and interactions with the patient. It remains evident that these techniques help understand the reasons for the existence of the issue and gain control over the panic attacks.
Keeping the diary will assist in developing the understanding and controlling emotions (Witfield and Davidson 103). Nonetheless, the diary will be used as a supplemental treatment to the regular meetings with the doctor. Furthermore, the manualized therapy has to be defined to determine the right treatment approaches. Manualized therapy implies that the process consists of several identified stages for the particular disorders (Pomerantz 102).
In this instance, the manualized therapy determines the sufficient flow of steps. It is evident that this approach simplifies the treatment and increases its availability. Furthermore, it minimizes the risks and mistakes, which might take place during the treatment. Establishing the manual contributes to the avoidance of the mistreatment of the clients, and it remains one of the reasons for its introduction.
Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of the manualized therapy have to be evaluated and established. One of the potential benefits of the manual therapy is providing the manual to minimize the variability of the diagnosis and treatment of the patients (Pomerantz 102). Another benefit is the presence of the strong scientific base, as the manuals are carefully evaluated before the implementation into practice.
Furthermore, it remains evident that the manualized therapy contributes to the avoidance of the bias since all steps are carefully described (Pomerantz 102). It is apparent that these aspects contribute to the coherent creation of the understanding of the particular aspects of the flow of stages while introducing the treatment. Nonetheless, the manualized therapy has some disadvantages.
One of them is the fact that it might damage the therapeutic relationships, as the success of the treatment is highly dependent on the quality of interactions (Pomerantz 104). Additionally, some complications and misunderstandings while having a diagnosis might be present due to the lack of flexibility of the manuals. It remains evident that the manuals only propose the definite steps and stages of the treatment. Lastly, the manualized therapy implements the significant restrictions on the actions and role of the therapist, as it identifies the clear set of actions and stages, which have to be actively employed. In the end, it is still unclear whether the principles of the manualized therapy have to be implemented, as both advantages and drawbacks have a tendency to be present.
Lastly, the two ethical issues, which might affect the manualized therapy, have to be described, as this type of treatment might not correspond to the primary ethical principles. One of the aspects is cultural sensitivity, as sometimes the psychologists might damage the perceptions of their patients (Pomerantz 125). In this instance, it is essential to utilize relevant ethical principles while conducting the diagnosis, as some words might sound offensive in some cultures.
It could be said that it is one of the primary ethical issues, which often occurs in the psychological practice of the therapy. Furthermore, it could be said that technological development increased the number of psychological issues due to the introduction of various tools including online assessment (Pomerantz 125). In this instance, the online assessment increases the prejudice among the doctors due to the lack of the interaction, which is vital in patient-doctor communication. Additionally, the online assessment might ask questions, which might be considered as unethical in some cultures due to the differences in perceptions about various principles.
Works Cited
Dugas, Michel, and Melissa Robichaud. Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print.
Heimberg, Richard, Cynthia Turk, Douglas Mennin. Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Advances in Research and Practice. New York: The Guilford Press, 2004. Print.
Pomerantz, Andrew. Clinical Psychology: Science, Practice, and Culture. Thousands Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2013. Print.
Portman, Michael. Generalized Anxiety Disorder across the Lifespan: An Integrative Approach. Cleveland: Springer, 2009. Print.
Rygh, Jayne, and William Sanderson. Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Evidence-based Practices, Tools, and Techniques. New York: The Guilford Books, 2004. Print.
Witfield, Graeve, and Alan Davidson. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Explained. Radcliff Publishing Ltd, 2007. Print.