Treatment Plan and Contemporary Issue the Case of Felix

¶ … Treatment Plan: The Case of Felix Latino male approximately 30-year-old. Felix is bilingual in Spanish and English and his heritage is very important to him. He has a divorced mother who might not support his gay relationship His mother is diagnosed with a problem of bipolar His mother does not comply with therapy and medication's recommendations His father had been remarried, Felix did not accept the relationship His father will have difficulty accepting his gay relationship.

His mother has been remarried The stepfather is an alcoholic, and usually abuse his mother. The family lived in a perceived dangerous inner city environment Felix was encouraged not to move out of the house Relationship with his gay partner Felix has a long-term committed gay relationship with another man He met the man in college and they own a home together iii. They have not yet legalized their relationship under the state law Felix is too constricted and worried in public v.

Felix experiences high level of stress with regards to the relationships making him to hide his relationship vi. Felix is unable to disclose his relationship in the public despite that his partner has exposed the relationships in the public vii. he was hypervigilant when in public with reference to verbal and non-verbal communication with his gay partner viii. Hiding his sexual orientation has created tension in the relationship with his life partner 2. Exploring "The Case of Felix: An Example of Gay-Affirmative, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy" (Glassgold, 2009 p 1). a.

Felix is suffering from sexual orientation stigma or sexual stigma. i. The phenomena of sexual stigma occurs when "some lesbian, gay, bisexual individuals are negatively affected by prejudice and discrimination resulting in minority stress, so that some individuals may be prone to symptoms of anxiety and depression." ( Glassgold, 2009 p 6). 1. Felix is satisfied with his gay relationship 2. However, he fears of disclosing his relationship to family member 3. He is not proud of the relationships and fear of disclosing the relationships in the public 4.

The problem has made Felix to develop an increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and shallow 5. He also had palpitations feeling he could not get enough air 6. Felix showed no signs of a mood or thought disorder 7. Felix reported he experienced a great deal of stress with regards to his interpersonal relationships by hiding his sexual orientation 8. Moreover, he experiences dizziness, light-headedness, discomfort and chest pain 9. Felix goals are to reduce his anxiety and panic attacks. ii.

"I hypothesized that the panic attacks and general anxiety were tied to issues with managing a stigmatized identity, specifically to his current coping styles', ( Glassgold, 2009 p 10). 1. Hiding and avoidance cannot successfully address his fear of stigmatization, and his fear of family rejection, close friends and his employer 2. Felix was unable to tell his sister about the relationships 3. Felix fears of entering into a legal relationship for fear of being becoming public record. 4. Felix feared the consequence of negative impacts of disclosing his sexual orientation 5.

Felix's symptoms are consistent with the concealable stigma and minority stress 6. "He was vulnerable to stress due to personal characteristics and did not have active coping skills and strategies that could mitigate this stress (e.g., developing comfort with his gay identity and seeking out a community support system)." (Glassgold, 2009 p 10). 3. Treatment Goals and Plan i. Treatment goal is to reduce panic symptoms and attacks of generalized anxiety ii. Reduce anxiety associated to minority stress iii. Reduce anxiety associated to self-disclosure iv.

"Active coping" strategies are the effective plan to assist Felix coping with his sexual prejudice v. Active coping healing strategies are to use behavioral, cognitive, and emotional response to change Felix's thought about his sexual prejudice vi. Active coping is more superior to other treatment efforts because it uses both the emotional and cognitive strategies to address the stressful events vii. Felix could overcome his anxiety through self-disclosure viii. Development of social support and active coping will help Felix to overcome his problem, and mitigate minority stress ix.

Self-disclosure to his immediate family is recommended to prevent future problems, and increase resilience 4. Course of Therapy i. Admitting to his sister and family that he was a gay will assist him.