After reviewing the case below, choose two perspectives (neuroscience, humanistic, cognitive, psychodynamic or behavioral) to create a short dialogue between two psychologists discussing Sara’s behavior. Feel free to be creative in your dialogue! Define your two chosen perspectives and briefly discuss the differences of each approach. What was one missing in your dialogue from the case that the other helped to explain?
Case
Sara is 35 year-old woman currently struggling with increasing pressure at work and a recent divorce among many other things in her life. At the urging of her friends and family, she sought counseling and was diagnosed with Depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Sara has a tendency to worry excessively about her children, money, friends, cat, and just about everything else where other people might not find a reason to worry. At work, she has trouble concentrating and is finding it difficult to perform at her best. Her boss is putting more pressure on her to perform better and meet sales goals for the quarter. In general, Sara feels like she is often on edge, tense, exhausted and is very irritable, which has impacted her everyday life. The amount of stress and anxiety Sara is experiencing in her life is also contributing to her depression. She feels as though she is in a vicious cycle she can’t escape.
When Sara was in middle school, her parents argued a lot and she often heard them talking about divorce. In high school, Sara’s parents finally followed through and divorced, which made Sara feel very alone and not in control of her own life. She said that she still feels that she is not in control, worries often, and can’t control how she feels, despite her attempts.
Be sure to make connections between your ideas and conclusions and the research, concepts, terms, and theory we are discussing this week.