Case Study
Mr. Chatterjee is a new patient at the Hillside Family Clinic. This is his second visit. Mr. Chatterjee is 64 years old. He has hypertension, asthma, and was newly diagnosed, today, with depression. The physician has prescribed four different medications to be taken each day. The physician also told Mr. Chatterjee to start exercising every day, to stop eating fried foods, and to cut back on eating so much rice (carbohydrates) and salt (sodium). Mr. Chatterjee was referred to meet with you to set up an action plan to better manage his chronic health conditions. Mr. Chatterjee tells you he is disappointed in how his appointment with the physician went. He feels that the doctor assumed he didn’t know anything and gave him suggestions that weren’t very helpful. Mr. Chatterjee wants to take care of his health and does a good job of taking his medications. But he is struggling with issues of diet, exercise, and his depression. Mr. Chatterjee came to the US last year, after the death of his wife. He is living with his son and daughter-in-law. They are not aware of his dietary needs and are frustrated by his depression. His daughter-in-law cooks for the household and makes traditional Indian food that is delicious, but often fried and heavily salted. Mr. Chatterjee doesn’t want to offend his daughter-in-law by asking her to cook differently. He doesn’t want to be a burden. Living in America is different than Mr. Chatterjee expected. He feels lost and misses his village in India where he was a teacher for almost 40 years. Mostly, however, Mr. Chatterjee misses his beloved wife of 40 years. She was my wife and my best friend. We did everything together.” Back home, Mr. Chatterjee and his wife used to take long walks every evening. But in America, he doesn’t feel comfortable in the neighborhood and rarely goes outside. He tells you, “In India, the blood pressure wasn’t so high. My wife cooked healthy foods, and we walked every day. And I was never depressed before she got cancer. But then the cancer came and there was nothing, nothing I could do to protect her….”
Case Study Questions:
Based on the information presented in the case study, how would you answer the following questions?
1. What resources and strengths does Mr. Chatterjee have?
2. What are the key challenges that Mr. Chatterjee is facing in terms of managing his health?
3. What will you do to try to create a better connection with Mr. Chatterjee?
4. Provide an example of an affirmation that you might offer to Mr. Chatterjee, and explain why you would offer it
5. Identify two open-ended questions that you would ask Mr. Chatterjee, and explain why you feel these questions would be important to your work.
6. Identify two suggestions you might share with Mr. Chatterjee for actions that could help him better manage his health conditions.
7. Identify two types of referrals you might share with Mr. Chatterjee, and explain why
