Introduction and Family Background Information of Malala Yousafzai - Paper Example

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1977, in Mingora, Pakistan, located in the countrys Swat Valley. When growing up, her hometown was a popular tourist spot mostly due to its summer festivals. But things started changing when the Taliban tried to take control. Malalas father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was a teacher and he established the school which Malala attended. From when she was young, Malala was a staunch advocate for the power of education. Her dad was able to teach her English, Pashto, and Urdu. Her father had already seen that Malala was a special girl and he always encouraged her to express herself freely. In 2008, when she was just 11 years old, Malala started speaking about education rights. She was critical of the Taliban group which was against the idea of girls learning.

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In 2008, she started a blog where she focused on the increasing influence of the Taliban and the effect that that was having on the education system. However, on October 9, 2012, a tragic incident happened. Malala was on a bus going back home from school when a certain man boarded the same man and started asking who Malala was. When her friends looked at Malala, the man shot her with the bullet hitting the left side of her head and the bullet traveling down through her neck. Luckily, she did not die but was left in critical condition. She was taken to a hospital in Peshawar then later transferred to Birmingham for further treatment. She underwent several surgeries, including the repair of a facial nerve to fix the left side of her face which had become paralyzed. In March 2013, Malala started attending school in Birmingham. With regards to her personal life and legacy, her family is close-knitted and consists of Malala, her mom and dad together with her two younger brothers. She became the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

The whole incident, especially the shooting incident, left Malala and her family with a trauma; the aftermath affecting herfelf and the members of her family Malala. The family was affected by Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Malala must have been left helpless and victimized because of the incident. PSTD is different from other types of trauma and this is because it results in biological, emotional and hormonal changes which may last for a very long period of time. Since Malala was their only daughter, the parents must have been affected as well and her brothers affected as well. It was, therefore, important to ensure that the family recovered from the trauma and became physically stronger. More so for Malala, especially since she has to be psychologically stronger than she was even prior to the shooting incident.

It is also important to note that Malala faced a lot of harsh back clash in her home country of Pakistan. The book which she wrote detailing everything she had gone through was banned in the country primarily because it was anti-Islam in nature and it was propagated by the west. This, therefore, meant that Malala was faced by rejection even by her own people and they had to go and live in the United Kingdom. Malala, speaking recently in an interview, said that she was lonely. She tries to deal with her loneliness through reaching out to the people who care most about her. She said that she spends at least an hour talking to her childhood friends who are still in Pakistan to know how they are doing and to catch up with the hometown gossip. Through this, she feels less disconnected with her home community. All these factors have to be considered in the post-traumatic stress disorder assessment and treatment plan for Malala and her family.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition that comes up because of the occurring of something stressful. An event that was threatening and catastrophic and the repercussions were high and traumatizing. Such an event is likely to result in pervasive distress to not only the person who experienced it but those who were watching the scene unfolding. The assassination attempt on Malala must have left her highly traumatized and even though she recovered, the incident might have left her depressed and stressed. Her whole family was affected as well. Post-traumatic stress disorder does not affect a particular age of people; it affects everyone, whether they are young or old.

The symptoms of PSTD

There are several symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. This should be noted in the assessment process of Malala. The most characteristic symptoms of this disorder are re-experiencing symptoms. This is a situation where the person remembers what happened in a very clear way and it ends up stressing and distressing the person completely. The person might even end up committing suicide to end all that. These people experience flashbacks and the person feels as if the entire incident is happening all over done. It is also characterized by nightmares and reoccurring distressing intrusive images which are from the original incident.

The second symptom of PSTD is avoiding any reminders of what happened. This is a situation where people suddenly get afraid of seeing certain people, situations or circumstances which are similar to the incident that took place. Most people who suffer from this trauma usually try to push the incident from their minds as far as possible. They do not like talking about what happened, thinking about it or telling anyone about it to even those closest to them. In addition to that, other people resort to ruminating in excess with regards to questions which prevent them from coming to terms about the traumatic incident.

The third symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder is hyperarousal. This is inclusive of hyper vigilance in case of threats, exaggerated startle responses, having problems while sleeping and getting irritated easily. Another symptom is what is referred to as emotional numbing. When the person affected experiences emotional numbing, the person ends up feeling detached from other people, amnesia and lack of having feelings for anyone. Post-traumatic stress disorder develops as soon as the event and the symptoms may be noted at once or later on.

Assessment

Before the treatment process of the post-traumatic stress disorder begins, an in-depth assessment and evaluation of the symptoms has to be performed. This will help in ensuring that the treatment plan that is adopted will suit the needs of the individual.

The assessment will be carried out by a GP. However, in case, more tests and treatment are required, a mental health specialist will have to be used. Some of these specialists include psychologists, psychiatrists, and GP

Treatment Plan

The treatment plan will consist of family systems therapy and the treatment of the PSTD. Family systems therapy is based on Murray Bowens family systems therapy. The theory states that it is impossible to separate people from their network of relationships. The focus of Bowen was in the creation of scientific and objective treatment processes which could be used instead of conventional and general diagnostic frameworks. There are several approaches and techniques in family systems therapy. Almost all the types of family therapy are based on family systems theory. There are three main family systems therapy approaches. These are intergenerational family therapy, structural family therapy, and strategic family therapy.

In structural family therapy analyses the relationships in families, the behavioral patterns of the family members. This information helps in the assessment and evaluation of the structure of the family. Through the use of activities and techniques, for example, role play in a session, it becomes easy to evaluate the subsystems present in the structure of the family. Strategic family therapy aims at analyzing the family processes and functions, this includes communication and problem-solving patterns. The intergenerational family therapy looks at the generational impact on family and the behavior of individual persons. This technique is used in the treatment of people as well as families.

The first treatment plan will focus on Malalas family and how they will help Malala.

Being patient with Malala: It is imperative for Malalas family and friends to realize that Malala may be suffering from trauma and as such, she may experience difficulties and challenges in expressing her emotions. Malala should not be unnecessarily forced to talk about the incidents if she does not want to. Her parents and family have to be understanding and generally open to communication.

Learn more about post-trauma stress disorder: It is important for her parents to learn about PSTD. Through this, they will be able to understand its various signs and symptoms and all the available treatment options for the disorder. In addition to that, this will help the family in understanding what Malala is going through and know how to help her better.

Malala should not be pressured to share her feelings: After going through such a traumatizing incident, it is normal that Malala will not have trouble talking freely about what took place. Therefore, pressuring her to talk about the incident is not good. Malala should be given ample time to heal and be helped to feel comfortable about what happened.

Joining a support group: It is not only Malala who needs support or help, the family members need help as well. It will be better for them to join a support group where they will be able to share and narrate the experiences that they have been going through and how it is affecting them. In support groups, one meets people who have gone through similar experiences although not fully similar. They may help in providing valuable strategies of coping with the event and seeing the whole incident from another perspective.

The recovery process from post-traumatic stress disorder is not a swift process. It is a slow and gradual process and it takes time. It is not something that will happen in one day. Malala and her whole family need to be shown love and full support.

Treatment Intervention Options

Psychotherapy: This treatment intervention is for those whose PSTD needs treatment. When the level of the stress disorder is relatively high, the combination required is that of medication and psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy is one of the family therapies and it is used in the treatment of emotional problems and other severe mental health conditions, for example, hypertension, depression and high anxiety levels. There are several types of psychotherapy which are used in the treatment of people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of these types are discussed below:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): The main focus of this therapy is helping in the management of the individuals problems and helping them change the manner of their thinking and acting. CBT targets to help you deal with the overwhelming problems you experienced in a more positive way through breaking them down into smaller manageable and understandable parts. The victim is shown how to change these negative patterns to improve the way they feel about their traumatic experience.

Unlike other talking treatments, CBT deals with the current problems, instead of focusing on issues from the victims past. It looks for practical ways to improve the victims state of mind on a daily basis.

In CBT, the victim engages in a session with a therapist once a week or once every two weeks. The course of treatment usually lasts between five and 20 sessions, with each session lasting 30-60 minutes.

During the sessions, the victim together with the therapist breaks down the problems into their separate parts; victims thoughts, physical feelings and actions.

The areas are discussed both by the victim and the therapist to evaluate...