experiencing chest pains

For this Check-Up, you are acting as a counselor. You will find in your career that often you will need to provide more than medical advice. Sometimes you have to provide emotional support as well. In this case, you need to counsel your patient about what he suspects he is experiencing.

Henok is a 55-year-old male. He was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but has lived in the American South for the last 30 years. He has had a successful life as an industrial engineer and has made a very lucrative living. Henok got married when he was 45 years old and had twin boys when he was 47. He loves his wife and twin boys, but he is starting to feel restless and anxious and isn’t sure why. He signed up for a skydiving trip with his friends two weeks ago and loved it. Now he wants to buy a motorcycle. He has come to you because he is experiencing chest pains. His EKG is normal, and all his bloodwork is normal. Everything points to him being physically healthy.

You ask a few questions and find out the following information:

• He hasn’t been sleeping well.
• He thinks he is a failure.
• He recently had his black hair bleached blonde.
• He bought a beach house and hasn’t told his wife yet.
• He got the phone number of a female coworker to meet for drinks, but he felt guilty and threw it in the trashcan right away.
• He has found himself missing his late father.

Your job:

1. Tell Henok what you think is going on. (1-2 paragraphs)
2. Tell Henok how you think he can best overcome these feelings. (2-4 paragraphs)
3. Make a referral for Henok. (1 paragraph)
4. Provide some encouragement for Henok. (this is your conclusion)
5. How did you reach these conclusions? What research helped you arrive at the decisions that you did?