Homework: Medication Selection and Ethical Issues
Instructions
This exercise will help you develop skills to communicate about psychopharmacology as applied to clinical cases. There are two parts to this homework.
Part A:
1. Identify the components of the form letter that you consider essential for referral.
• Justify your response.
2. Identify the elements of the letter that you suspect may not be in compliance with the ethical guidelines.
• Justify your response.
Part B:
You have determined that a client has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and believe that this person would benefit from one of the benzodiazepine drugs. Complete the following:
1. Choose any of the benzodiazepine drugs listed in Chapters 6, 9, and 18 of the Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists text.
2. Create a profile for a hypothetical client who would benefit from this type of medication, based on its effect on neurotransmission and the hormonal system.
• The profile should contain enough information about the client's GAD that you could perform a diagnosis to determine the disorder. You do not need to address any treatment issues; however, do include any significant demographic or background factors that may inform clinical decision making related to the medication choice.
3. Write a brief letter to a primary care physician that explains your rationale for the use of this medication with this client. Assume the physician does not know you and include properly cited references to support your assertion so he or she is convinced to accept your referral.
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
• The answer must be using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, typed, with one-inch margins on all sides.
• The response also includes a cover page containing the student's name, the title of the homework, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
• Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.