case studies psychopathology

Joshua is a 6 year old who was referred to for an evaluation with a school psychologist. The teacher says he has trouble following direction is distractible, barges in on conversations, doesn't like to wait in line, talks excessively, and is constantly in motion.

ADHD, hyperactivity

Jane has been restricting her food for the past 7 months. Her body weight has dropped below expected for her developmental age. She has an intense fear of gaining weight and had been admitted to the hospital for electrolyte disturbance due to her low body weight. In the last 3 months, she has had binging behavior and compensates by purging. What is the specifier?

BMI is 16

Jill comes in for an evaluation. She is giving away all of her possessions and says she's planning on moving to seattle so she can "save the world" hasn't been sleeping for 10 days but is very energetic. She speaks rapidly and cant get her quiet to ask questions. She is agitated and sitting still

Bipolar 1 disorder

Maria is 21 and was referred to by a colleague. She has a history of aggression and hypomania. Her most likely diagnosis is what?

Bipolar 2

Jacob is a 22 year old college student who lives at home with his parents. His family noticed he was curled up in a ball watching blues clues. When she asked him why he was watching that, he replied with a child's voice and said "i love blues clues and barney too". He has been acting like a toddler on occasion but occasionally reverting back to his 22 year old self. He has no recollection of acting like a toddler when asked.

DID

Eleanor is preoccupied with developing cancer. She has a high evel of anxiety about becoming ill and dying of cancer. She frequently checks her lymph nodes to see if they are enlarged and often seeks out medical attention in order to obtain medical/blood tests. What is her specifier?

Falsification of physical or psychological signs

Jeremy is 15 and has been courted after he broke into his neighbor's house and stole their playstation. He has a history of truancy since the ages of 11 and has been suspended for punching the principal. His parents report worry and concern as jeremy has been cruel to their pet cat and has physically attacked his younger sister. He does not feel remorse for his behavior nor does he have any concern of the consequences of his actions. Hes failing out of high school and is not concerned. What is his specifier?

Lack of remorse, lack of empathy, unconcerned of his performance

Bert is 40 and works on an assembly line in a brush factory. Afraid of being contaminated by germs. He avoids hand shakes with others and obsesses over washing his hands. Spends about 2 hours a day washing his hands.

OCD

James is 36 and him and his young son were driving through an intersection when another car ran through a traffic light and struck them. The two were trapped in the car until the fire department came to rescue them. The patient was bruised but not seriously hurt. His son had a broken leg. The first few days after the accident, the patient was preoccupied with arranging care for his son and getting the car repaired. A few days later he began having recurrent images of the accident. He became more irritabile, and avoided talking about the accident. He avoided driving down that street and symptoms have occurred for 7 months.

PTSD

Leila is 55 and was in a major car accident 20 years ago during a cross country trip. Ever since, she hasnt been able to drive on major highways. She does drive, but goes great lengths to avoid highways and travel scenic routes. She does not mind taking the longer route. What is her diagnosis?

PTSD

An infant is diagnosed with a biological disorder. As she ages, her physical and mental conditions deteriorate steadily so that she loses vision and motor control, and at the age of 3, she dies. Most likely, she was suffering from:

Tay-Sachs disease.

The National Institute of Mental Health study known as TADS (Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study) about treatment for adolescent depression, produced three major surprises. Which of the following is NOT true about the study's findings?

The danger to adolescents from antidepressants has been overemphasized and is not that significant.

A woman is in a facility for those with intellectual developmental disorder. She has her own apartment, dresses herself, and goes to the dining room, where she orders breakfast off a menu. She then goes to work in a sheltered workshop. At the end of the day, she goes home to her apartment and gets ready for dinner. This arrangement is part of:

a normalization program.

A child has autism spectrum disorder and does not like much variation in his life. He puts his toys on a shelf in a particular order and throws a tantrum if his mother moves any of them. Any one of several trivial changes in his daily routine can set him off. This is an example of:

a perseveration of sameness.

Leslie is 28 and was shopping at a local store whe she all of a sudden felt anxious. She started to choke and sense that the people around her were not real. She left and didn't tell her husband what had happened. A week later she had a similar attack walking down the street. She got to her house and the attack ended. Between attacks she was very worried she would have another attack. She was scared to leave her house or use public transportation

agoraphobia

The specific symptoms associated with dyslexia include:

an impairment of the ability to recognize words and to comprehend what is being read.

Jane has been restricting her food for the past 7 months. Her body weight has dropped below expected for her developmental age. She has an intense fear of gaining weight and had been admitted to the hospital for electrolyte disturbance due to her low body weight. In the last 3 months, she has had binging behavior and compensates by purging. What is the diagnosis?

binge eating and purging

Thomas is 27 and has intense fear of needles. He tries to rationalize his fear explaining that he's just being cautious and protecting himself from acquired immune deficiency disease syndrome (AIDS). He has fainted twice when getting blood drawn. He becomes extremely nervous at the sight of a needle and worries days before his appointment. What is his diagnosis?

blood injection injury

Julia was referred to you from a plastic surgeon. Since she was young she had a recessed chin. The plastic surgeon performed 2 operations and was successful. She still compulsively checks the mirror and insists she needs another operation.

body dysmorphic disorder

Holly has made several recurrent suicidal attempts when her boyfriend tried to break up with her. She says she has extreme fear of abandonment and has bad thoughts of her boyfriend and has times she hates her boyfriend. She has feelings of anger. Under stress, she dissociates and self injures. She seeks treatment because she says she feels hollow and empty and doesn't feel she knows who she is.

borderline personality disorder

Childhood patterns of behavior that are diagnosed as bipolar disorder differ from adult patterns in that:

children display rage and aggression rather than mania.

Jeremy is 15 and has been courted after he broke into his neighbor's house and stole their playstation. He has a history of truancy since the ages of 11 and has been suspended for punching the principal. His parents report worry and concern as jeremy has been cruel to their pet cat and has physically attacked his younger sister. He does not feel remorse for his behavior nor does he have any concern of the consequences of his actions. Hes failing out of high school and is not concerned. What is his diagnosis?

conduct disorder

A child sneaks out of the home every now and then, and goes through the neighborhood breaking lawn decorations and scratching car paint. These behaviors MOST closely fit which pattern of conduct disorder?

covert-destructive

Critics believe that bipolar disorder has become a catch-all diagnosis for children who display uncontrolled rage. DSM-5 addressed this concern by:

creating a new disorder called disruptive mood dysregulation.

Andrea is a successful attorney. She came to you with major depressive disorder. You have been treating her for 6 months now. She has seemed to improve but seems more irritable now. She has been edgy with others for 4 days now. She also reports she has not been all sad and is "kicking ass and taking names" at work due to her inability to sleep much in the past 4 days. She finished her case that was set to go to trial. When she talks about the case she claims she will "make history" and it will "put her on the map" as the best litigator this century has seen. She is pacing and edgy and hasn't sat down for the hour she had been there.

criteria A hypomanic episode

Hannah is 9 years old and her parents have brought her in. She has had raging outbursts and have been occurring for 2 years. She is destructive on properties. When in rage she is irritable and agitated. Her teachers say she has this behavior also at school. Her former psychiatrist said she has conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. What is her diagnosis?

disruptive mood dysregulation disorder

Leila is 55 and was in a major car accident 20 years ago during a cross country trip. Ever since, she hasn't been able to drive on major highways. She does drive, but goes great lengths to avoid highways and travel scenic routes. She doesn't mind taking the longer route. What is her specifier?

exposure to actual or threatened death

Eleanor is preoccupied with developing cancer. She has a high evel of anxiety about becoming ill and dying of cancer. She frequently checks her lymph nodes to see if they are enlarged and often seeks out medical attention in order to obtain medical/blood tests. What is her diagnosis?

factitious disorder

You're a physician at the ICU unit. You notice after every visit that your 5 year old patient with her mother experiences extreme gastrointestinal upset. You see on film her mother is blowing into the child's tube to upset her stomach.The mother most likely has what disorder?

factitious disorder imposed on another

Joanne is 32 and is involved w the first man in her life. They have become more intimate and she has noticed some unusual behavior. He asked her to leave all of her clothes on but her pants while they had sex. Now it's moving to having her only have her shoes on.

fetishtic disorder

Amy is 38, has restlessness, fatigue, irritability, and can't concentrate. She has tension in her body and says she has been worried about her children and their safety. She fears something will happen to them when she isn't with them. They always have to call her so she knows they're okay. She worries her husband will be laid off even though there's no reason he would be laid off.

generalized anxiety disorder

"Relational aggression" is a term used to describe a pattern of aggression MOST common among:

girls diagnosed with conduct disorder.

Morris is referred to psychotherapy following a suicide attempt. Hes teary when you interview him and looks at the ground as he speaks. He can't sleep and hasn't had an appetite, losing 15 pounds. Can't concentrate and is anhedonic. Does Not see himself improving so he wants to kill himself. His marriage ended one month ago

major depressive disorder

A married couple have 2 children. They have come into treatment because they have different approaches on how they want to raise their kids. The wife wants them to be free and explore. This meaning allowing them to play with playdough and have legos in the living room. The husband disagrees and believes they should have discipline and structure. He says he makes lists every morning so he knows what he needs to do the next day. She says he makes list but won't let anyone delegate them because they won't do it right. He won't spend money and insists they reuse sandwich bags and aluminum foil.

obsessive compulsive personality disorder

"That kid is pleasant enough, but will lie about practically anything, even things that don't seem to matter much." This behavior MOST closely fits which pattern of conduct disorder?

overt-nondestructive

Dave is 35 and a clothing salesman. He was showing a particularly fussy customer a suit 2 months ago and suddenly began to sweat profusely. His heart started to pound, he felt dizzy, and became fearful he was gonna die. The customer didn't notice his condition and continued to question him. The patients speech became slurred and he slumped into the chair in the store. He worried he was having a stroke and the manager called the EMS. 10 minutes late, his symptoms seemed to go away and his physician found no evidence of medical problems. Two weeks later, he had a similar attack. Since then he has become worried he's going to have another attack. They have seen he is not as spontaneous as he used to be

panic disorder

Jack graduated from high school and at a job working in a video store. After 6 months, he started to hear voices that told him he was no good. He also started to believe his boss was planting small cameras to catch him making mistakes. He became agitated and began to talk strangely to customers when busy. For example, he told a customer he couldn't get a tape for him because their were cameras on him put there by the CIA. After a year, he quit his job and yelled at his boss that he couldn't take the abuse of being watched in the store and at his own home.

paranoid schizophrenia

Elise is an architect (35 yr old). Her spouse has been urging her to come in for treatment for years. 7 years she has struggled with low self esteem and hopelessness about her future and life. She never thought of suicide but she has fatigue, does not sleep. It affects her relationship.

persistent depressive disorder

A child whos therapist asks him to draw pictures about his life and then introduces games and stories to help the child work through his conflicts and change his conditions and behavior is MOST likely receiving:

play therapy

When a child with autism spectrum disorder says "You want a drink" when he really means that he wants a drink, he is displaying

pronominal reversal.

Mary is 28 and is a rising junior executive in her investment company. Her interesting duties require her to make periodic formal presentations to the senior management of the company. however , she becomes intensely anxious at the thought of speaking in public. She thinks the people in the room will judge her. She gets very anxious the days she knows she has to present and it increases as the time gets closer to present. What is the specifier for the diagnosis?

public speaking/ performing

A child does almost everything with her mother and seems extremely anxious at school, getting frequent stomach aches and wanting to go home. If the child has anxiety disorder, itis MOST likely:

seperation anxiety disorder

Mary is 28 and is a rising junior executive in her investment company. Her interesting duties require her to make periodic formal presentations to the senior managment of the company. however , she becomes intensely anxious at the thought of speaking in public. She thinks the people in the room will judge her. She gets very anxious the days she knows she has to present and it increases as the time gets closer to present. What is her diagnosis?

social anxiety disorder

Thomas is 27 and has intense fear of needles. He tries to rationalize his fear explaining that he's just being cautious and protecting himself from acquired immune deficiency disease syndrome (AIDS). He has fainted twice when getting blood drawn. He becomes extremely nervous at the sight of a needle and worries days before his appointment. What is his diagnosis?

specific phobia

The LEAP program for treating children with autism spectrum disorder is unique because it involves the use of:

typical children as models and "teachers."