3 pages. Due in 24 hours
Read the Emotional Disorders Case Studies document on the bottom of the assignment. Be sure to focus on the symptoms listed in each case study. Then, respond to the following:
1. Select two cases and identify which emotional disorder is the most likely the diagnosis (i.e., major depressive disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress, separation anxiety disorder, or panic disorder).
o List the symptoms that led you to decide on each of the diagnoses you choose.
o Describe each diagnosis you choose by listing the symptoms and criteria required for the diagnosis and possible causes of the diagnosis. Explain how the case illustrates the criteria and provide a possible explanation for why that individual has developed that disorder.
o Support your decisions with information from at least two academic sources. Recommended sources include your textbook, the website of BehaveNet and the website of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
2. Provide your position on a controversy related to Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (i.e., “Bipolar Disorder for children”).
In the mid-1990s, the description of BP given in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was changed to allow providers to diagnose the disorder in children. Since that time, the diagnosis of BP in children has risen dramatically. Some of those who research the increased frequency of diagnosis of BP in children argue that childhood BP is increasing because it is now being better recognized and identified in children (Biederman et al., 2003). Others argued that the increased frequency of diagnosis is because providers are diagnosing BP too often in children and misdiagnosing it in most cases (Parens & Johnston, 2010). With the DSM-V, the category of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder was added specifically for children under the age of 18 who have bipolar-type symptoms but have not experienced the manic episodes.
Which argument do you support? Provide at least two reasons to support your argument and cite academic sources to justify your position.
References:
Biederman, J., Mick, E., Faraone, S. V., Spencer, T., Wilens, T. E., & Wozniak, J.
(2003). Current concepts in the validity, diagnosis and treatment of paediatric
bipolar disorder. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 6(3),
293–300.
Parens, E., & Johnston, J. (2010). Controversies concerning the diagnosis and
treatment of bipolar disorder in children. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
& Mental Health, 4(9), 1–14. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.
com/content/pdf/1753-2000-4-9.pdf
Emotional Disorders—Case Studies
Case A: Charlie is a four-year-old Caucasian boy. His mother had hoped to enroll him in a preschool this year. However, when she attempted to leave him at the school for the morning classes, he panicked and threw tantrums. He clung to her, screaming until she was able to comfort him by taking him out of the school building, with her. Until this time, Charlie has spent a brief period of time under others’ care while his mother ran errands or visited her friends. He tended to become upset as she left the home on those occasions, as well. He does not usually throw tantrums; the tantrums seem to occur only when he anticipates being left by his mother at school.
Case B: Nyah is an eleven-year-old African American girl beginning middle school. In August, just before the school began, she started having difficulty sleeping at night. She reported to her parents that she was worrying about school and anticipating difficulty in middle school with making friends and being assigned more homework. In addition, she has been biting her fingernails. Her parents describe Nyah as an intelligent, hard-working, conscientious, and “prone-to-worry” girl. Apparently, she has always had more worries than other children. When her parents argue, she worries they will divorce. When her friends don’t answer her calls, she worries that they are rejecting her. Throughout the elementary school, she often feared that she would fail her spelling tests or math exams, despite regularly receiving strong grades.
Case C: Sindhu is a sixteen-year-old Indian American girl. Her parents and friends describe her as quite serious most of the time and often sad. She is extremely talented in arts; she paints and draws so well that she has been recommended to participate in the countywide gifted and talented art class every year since elementary school. She seems to express deep, intense emotions in her artwork. Her mother became quite concerned recently when she heard Sindhu tell a friend that “life is too hard,” and that she “can’t imagine how she will make it in college.” Her best friend admits that Sindhu seems more sad lately, more tearful, and that Sindhu seemed preoccupied with dark subjects of conversation, such as tragedy, war, and death. When Sindhu’s grades began to decline and she seemed increasingly sad, unmotivated, and lethargic, her parents sought help for her.
Case D: Asia is an eight-year-old Korean American girl who has been having difficulty falling asleep. Once she falls asleep, she often wakes up screaming from nightmares. At times, Asia seems quite distracted. When she is distracted, she seems fearful. Her mother reports that Asia describes fearful daydreams and memories related to a recent car accident the family experienced. The accident had been serious; a passenger in the other car was killed. Although Asia did not witness the death, she is haunted by the impact and events after the accident. The themes in her play are related to fear, accidents, sirens, and hospitals. Her parents report that Asia has had impaired sleep, fearfulness, and distraction since the accident; she did not have those symptoms prior to the accident.
