DIAGNOSIS EXERCISE ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE READ OVER THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE WORK SHEET IN FRONT OF YOU AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE LET US KNOW. THE FOLLOWING SLIDES ARE GOING TO DISPLAY A CASE STUDY VIGNETTE AND YOU ARE GOING TO PLAY THERAPIST (if you want to come up with a fun doctor name that is up to you) AND DIAGNOSE THE INDIVIDUALS MENTAL ILLNESS. THIS EXERCISE WILL BE COMPLETED INDEPENDENTLY AND WE WILL DISCUSS YOUR CHOICES AT THE END.

CASE 1 Sherry paraded into the party drunk and continued to drink throughout the night. Laughing and giggling, she flirted with many of the men and to two of them expressed her "deep affection." Twice during the evening she disappeared for almost half an hour, each time with a different man. After a violent argument with one of them, because he took "too long" to get her a drink, she locked herself into the bathroom and attempted to swallow a bottle of aspirin. Her friends encouraged her to go home, but she was afraid to be alone in her apartment.

CASE 2 A 40-year-old secretary has been recently fired because of her inability to prepare some work projects in time. According to her, they were not in the right format and she had to revise them six times, which led to the delay. This has happened before but she feels that she is not given enough time. This has led to her being late for her meetings and getting yelled at by her boss.

CASE 3 Donna danced into the party and immediately became the center of attention. With sweeping gestures of her arms and dramatic displays of emotion, she boasted about her career as an actress in a local theater group. During a private conversation, a friend inquired about the rumors that she was having some difficulties in her marriage. In an outburst of anger, she denied any problems and claimed that her marriage was "as wonderful and charming as ever." Shortly thereafter, while drinking her second martini, she fainted and had to be taken home.

CASE 4 A 48-year-old company CEO is rushed to the ER after an automobile accident. He does not let the residents operate on him and requests the Chief of Trauma Surgery because he is "vital to the company." He makes several business phone calls in the ER to stay on "top of his game.” During his phone calls he started to become irate that none of the nurses were catering to his needs.

CASE 5 A 35-year-old man, named Mario, dresses in a space suit every Tuesday and Thursday. He has computers set up in his basement to "detect the precise time of alien invasion." The "negative forces" in the other rooms of his house he finds to be unsettling to his "psychic soul-spot." He has no evidence of auditory or visual hallucinations.

CASE 6 A 30-year-old unemployed male has been accused of killing three senior citizens after robbing them. He is surprisingly charming in the interview. However, when cops asked him how he felt after killing his victims, he barely suppresses an urge to laugh out loud and then denies any responsibility: ”those old folks knew they were going to die soon so what is the big deal I was helping them out.” In his adolescence, he was arrested several times for stealing cars and assaulting other kids.

CASE 7 Before entering, Doreen watched the party for several minutes from outside through the window. Once she went in, she seemed very uncomfortable. When people tried to be nice to her, she looked guarded and distrustful. People quickly became uncomfortable with her habit of finding fault with everything little thing you said or did. She seemed to be picking fights with people. She didn't stay very long at the party.

CASE 8 Harold is never invited to parties. No one really knows him very well because he rarely talks. In fact, he spends most of his time alone at home reading. While at work he isolates himself in the lab for most of the day and has no friends, according to his coworkers. He expresses no desire to make friends and is content with his single life.