Review the remaining articles on the biopsychosocial model. Think about how biological, psychological, and social factors affect the health and wellness issues addressed in the articles.

• Select one health issue from the following list:
  • Migraine headaches
  • Postpartum depression
  • Obesity
  • Substance abuse/addiction
  • Eating Disorder (anorexia, bulimia)
• Identify biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to the health issue you selected.

Describe the health issue you selected and identify key contributors or factors, based on the biopsychosocial model, that could contribute to the development of the issue (be sure to include all three aspects of the model). Then describe the role of subjective experience and how it could influence the mitigation/severity of the issue.

 

• Review Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model, located in this week’s learning resources. Focus on the meaning and interrelationships among the microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem from a child’s perspective. Consider how these systems would be generalized to apply to an adult.
• Using Bronfenbrenner’s model, identify two out of three systems (microsystem, exosystem, macrosystem) and their settings (school, work, family gatherings, neighborhood, country, etc.). Think about how demands and expectations in one setting might impact your ability to meet demands and expectations in another setting.

Identify the two systems you chose and describe settings within each system that influence your life and behavior/activity. Then explain how demands and expectations in one setting could impact the ability to meet demands and expectations in another setting. Be specific.

Helping Clients Make Informed Decisions

According to the ACA Code of Ethics, the “primary responsibility of counselors is to respect the dignity and to promote the welfare of clients” (Standard A.1.a). Counselors also should be “aware of—and avoid imposing—their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Counselors respect the diversity of clients, trainees, and research participants and seek training in areas in which they are at risk of imposing their values onto clients, especially when the counselor’s values are inconsistent with the client’s goals or are discriminatory in nature.” (Standard A.4.b). Keeping both points in mind, counselors must sometimes help clients make informed decisions about behavior that is harmful to themselves and, potentially, others. Whether or not to use contraception is one potential area related to sexuality counseling for which counselors may need to inform clients about the potential risks.

Base your responses to this week’s Discussion on the following case study:

You are a counselor working in a college counseling center. You just completed your intake evaluation session with Josiah, a 20-year-old sophomore. Josiah was mandated to attend six counseling sessions after he received a citation from the campus police for underage drinking at a party sponsored by the fraternity to which Josiah belongs.

During the intake session, Josiah was very verbal and willing to share information about his background and current experiences. He shared with you that he frequently drinks six to eight beers or other alcoholic beverages at a time, typically every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday when he “parties with my friends.” He described this as normal behavior among his peer group, saying that this is “just how we unwind from all the stress of school every week.”

When you asked Josiah about his relationships and sexual behaviors, he stated that he has not had a steady partner since high school, saying, “People here just aren’t into long-term relationships.” He admitted that he typically “hooks up” with at least one or two partners each weekend, and when you asked him what he meant by that, he said, “Sex.” You asked if he uses any contraception in these sexual encounters, and he said, “No, I don’t like how they feel, so I won’t have sex if the other person would make me use one.”

You asked Josiah what his goals are for counseling and what he would like to change, and he responded, “Not much really. I like my life and have fun with all the partying we do here. I guess I need to learn to be a little more careful with my drinking since I got that police citation, but otherwise, I feel really happy with my life right now and can’t think of much that I really want to work on in counseling.”

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4

· an explanation of how you, as a counselor, might help this student make healthy, informed sexual decisions. 

· Describe one specific strategy you might use or one example conversation you might have with him (in the form of a short dialogue) to help him change his sexual behavior. 

· Explain why the strategy or conversation you described might be effective.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Required Resources

Readings

· Article: American Counseling Association (ACA). (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/docs/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=4

· Article: Altshuler, A. L., Ojanen-Goldsmith, A., Blumenthal, P. D., & Freedman, L. R. (2017). A good abortion experience: A qualitative exploration of women’s needs and preferences in clinical care. Social Science & Medicine, 191, 109–116. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Article: Coast, E., Norris, A. H., Moore, A. M., & Freeman, E. (2018). Review article: Trajectories of women’s abortion-related care: A conceptual framework. Social Science & Medicine, 200, 199–210. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Article: Edwards, A., & Seck, M. M. (2018). Ethnicity, Values, and Value Conflicts of African American and White Social Service Professionals. Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics, 15(2), 37–47. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Article: Hoggart, L. (2015). Abortion Counselling in Britain: Understanding the Controversy. Sociology Compass, 9(5), 365–378. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.