Case Study #1
PS 206- Abnormal Psychology
Case Study #1
Instructions:
Read the following case study of a “friend”. After you have read the case study, develop your own working model of the causes of mental illness based on the paradigms we studied in Chapter 2 (biological, psychodynamic, cognitive, etc.)
Case:
A friend comes to you depressed and talks about how “lousy” a person she is. Your friend has a very negative view of herself. You have noticed that for the last several weeks she hasn’t exercised which she usually does, and hasn’t gone out with friends. Your friend describes difficulty sleeping and studying and generally feels unwell. You also know that she has had a great deal of difficulty with her family and you suspect she may have been emotionally abused in the past. Your friend tells you she is going nowhere, and she can’t do anything, that she has no future, and that no one will ever love her.
Of the following list of issues, select three that you feel are most important.
- How your friend thinks about herself and her future
- What she does and doesn’t do
- She might have a neurochemical imbalance or physical disorder of the brain
- Her problem might stem from her past and perhaps she isn’t aware of it
- She should realize what a good person she is and that she has the potential to be anything
- She may be living in a dysfunctional family and for various reasons may not be able to move out on her own
Based on the perspectives you have selected, attempt to explain your friend’s behavior from each theoretical model. Then, develop a plan that reflects strategies your friend could implement to alleviate some of the issues she is facing.
Papers should be typed, double-spaced, reflect college-level writing, and observe APA format.