Concept Paper Assignment
In a 2018 study, Levy, Scherer, Zikmund-Fisher, Larkin, Barnes, & Fagerlin concluded that approximately 81.1% of people withheld medically relevant information from their health-care providers. 45.7% of adults avoided telling their providers that they disagreed with their care recommendations, and 81.8% of adults withheld information because they didn't want to be lectured or judged.
Levy, A. G., Scherer, A. M., Zikmund-Fisher, B. J., Larkin, K., Barnes, G. D., Fagerlin, A. (2018). Prevalence of and factors associated with patient nondisclosure of medically relevant information to clinicians. JAMA Network Open, 1(7):e185293. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.5293
From this perspective, we can appreciate how many clients who see therapists as well as prescribers may not fully share information with them. This could happen in several ways- either not sharing information, omitting information, or blatantly lying. Some deceit may be harmless- other types of deceit can be deadly- especially when a client is taking medications for mental health conditions.
Many clients may disagree with taking medications for fear of side effects, becoming "dependent" on the medication, having to take the medication for the rest of their life, etc. This has resulted in many clients seeking out "all natural" forms of treatment. When some of these forms of treatment prove ineffective, the client may combine prescription drugs with "natural" treatments. They may not tell their prescriber this, however, out of fear of being "lectured or judged."
Directions:
In this assignment, you are asked to consider one of the classes of antidepressant medications described in the course text. Next, you will prepare a paper in which you describe the following:
1. The class of antidepressants selected for review.
2. Description of the purported mechanism of action.
3. Potential "home remedies" or "natural supplements" that people may use in an attempt to treat the condition.
4. Explore possible drug/supplement interactions which could be problematic when combined.
5. Consider what you would do if the client tells you that he or she is using supplemental treatments to address their depression.
6. Consider "safer" alternatives that the client can use to work with their medication.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.