Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Read the following case study and focus on it.
Scenario 1
Crystal is a 48-year-old woman from a large city. She lives in a resource-constrained area with marked levels of continuous gang violence and inadequate social services, such as insufficient policing. At the time of treatment, she is married with two school-age children. Crystal was referred for treatment after witnessing a gang-related killing of a 23-year-old male in front of her house. Crystal reported that she knew the young man who was shot, as he lived in the same neighborhood as Crystal. Since the event, Crystal has been feeling scared and does not want to leave her house. She has also felt anger and shame for not having the courage to prevent the shooting. She avoided talking about the event and could not walk past or look at the location of the killing, which was near her front gate. She has had trouble concentrating and sleeping, so she took an over-the-counter sleep aid to help her fall asleep at night. In addition, Crystal described that she struggled to understand why people could be so cruel to each other and reported distress related to her marriage. On assessment, Crystal reported only verbal and emotional abuse, but it later became apparent that she had also experienced physical abuse in her marriage. Crystal is also going through an intake after being arrested for drug possession.
Primary Diagnosis:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Relationship Distress with Spouse or Intimate Partner
Assume you are a human services professional working at a psychological treatment center in a local correctional facility.
Your team meets weekly to review the clients and share perspectives to ensure appropriate care is being given. Since this will be your first meeting, your supervisor has asked you to prepare a summary of the client in the selected case, including theoretical perspectives and research regarding the client’s disorder. You will share this summary with your teammates in the meeting.
Write a 700-word summary of the symptomology presented by the client in which you:
Explain the behavioral symptoms presented by the client.
Explain how the behavioral symptoms exhibited by the client are either typical or atypical with the provided diagnosis, based on your research.
Describe the client’s diagnosis through the lens of 2 theoretical perspectives. Include details to explain how the theoretical perspectives provide a deeper understanding of the behavioral symptoms and possible causes.
Sample Solution
Case Summary: Crystal, a Survivor of Trauma and Abuse
Introduction:
This summary focuses on Crystal, a 48-year-old woman residing in a resource-constrained area with significant gang violence and inadequate social services. Crystal seeks treatment following a traumatic event: witnessing a gang-related killing near her home. This summary explores her symptomatology through the lenses of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), considering the context of her environment and personal experiences.
Behavioral Symptoms:
Crystal exhibits several behavioral symptoms consistent with PTSD and GAD:
- Avoidance: Crystal avoids the location of the shooting, demonstrating classic trauma-related avoidance behavior. This attempt to escape reminders of the traumatic event is a characteristic symptom of PTSD.
- Hypervigilance and Startle Response: Crystal reports feeling scared and unwilling to leave her house, suggesting hypervigilance and a heightened startle response. These are common reactions to potential threats in individuals with PTSD and GAD.
- Intrusive Memories and Flashbacks: Crystal mentions difficulty concentrating and sleeping, with the possibility of nightmares about the event, indicating potential intrusive memories and flashbacks, further supporting a PTSD diagnosis.
- Negative Cognitions: Crystal expresses feelings of shame, anger, and confusion about the perpetrator's cruelty, reflecting negative cognitions related to the trauma and self-blame, which are typical in PTSD.
- Somatic Symptoms: Crystal's sleep difficulties and reliance on over-the-counter sleep aids point towards possible insomnia and sleep disturbances, prevalent in both PTSD and GAD.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT):
- Trauma-Focused Therapy (TFT):