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Mark: Psychotherapy with a Developmental Disabled Adult
Author(s) -
Godschalx Susan M.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
image: the journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 0743-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1547-5069.1983.tb01347.x
Subject(s) - psychology , psychotherapist , task (project management) , developmental stage theories , clinical practice , adult development , focus (optics) , developmental psychology , medicine , nursing , management , economics , physics , optics
Psychotherapy is a valuable means of promoting wellness in adults suffering with developmental disabilities. The current literature, however, focuses almost exclusively on work with children. Further, the few articles dealing with adults focus primarily on management issues, not psychotherapy. This paper will (a) present a brief overview of developmental disabilities, (b) identify treatment goals, and (c) analyze four tasks that are particularly important during the initial and early working stages of psychotherapy. Each task discussion includes pertinent theory and clinical illustrations from therapy with Mark, a 21 ‐year‐old developmentally disabled adult. Finally, implications are discussed for nursing practice, research, and theory development.