You have learned about mental health disorders featuring emotions as their dominant symptom. In this assessment, you will look at psychotic disorders that feature hallucinations and/or delusions as their most characteristic symptom. Then, you will continue to explore mental health disorders and the medications that treat them with a look at disorders typically diagnosed in childhood.
Overview
For this assessment, you will either listen to the case studies in the Case Studies: Kenisha, Jose, and Pam media piece, or read the case studies below. Then, you will choose one of the case studies to write about in your assessment. Next, you will describe the case study, the disorder you identified in the case study, the medication you chose to treat the disorder, and how the medication treats the disorder.
Case Studies
Listen to the media piece Case Studies: Kenisha, Jose, and Pam. You can read the same case studies below as reference for your assessment.
Kenisha: Kenisha is a 22-year-old woman who recently broke up with her girlfriend. She’s been having trouble sleeping at night, frequently bursts into tears, and has lost interest in spending time with her friends and family. She has been coping by eating brownies and ice cream whenever she feels too down. She went to her family doctor, who started her on medication. The medication has left her feeling drowsy and she sleeps throughout the day. She also feels hungry most of the time and has been gaining weight.
José: José is a 31-year-old male who has spent the past 2 years in his house. He’s terrified of leaving and any attempt to walk out the door leaves him paralyzed. He has sought help via teletherapy and his doctor has put him on medication. He can leave the house but is often too tired to do so.
Pam: Pam is a 56-year-old woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 25 years old. She’s remained on the same medicine for the past 20 years. In the past 2 months, she’s become increasingly paranoid. She is sure the government has bugged her house and that the police are watching her every move. She’s begun to take apart her electronics to search for monitoring devices like hidden cameras and microphones.
Instructions
Choose one of the three case studies, and in your assessment:
Describe the case study briefly.
Describe the medication you chose to treat disorder in the case study, including:
The biological actions and effects of the medication.
The behavioral and psychological effects of the medication.
At least two scholarly sources. In addition, you can use information from the PDR or FDA websites and the Psychopharmacology text.
Describe the disorder you identified from the case study.
Common symptoms of the disorder.
Analyze how the medication treats the disorder.
