CASE B
Sharon is a 56 year old woman with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, which she has managed for most of her adult life. She is originally from Canada, but moved to the UK when she was in her early 20s to pursue her career as an artist. Shortly after arriving she met her husband. After 30 years of marriage Sharon’s husband died last year after a battle with cancer. She now lives alone, with her family in Canada having all passed away. Sharon does have an adult son, although he travels often for work and does not live in the same city.
Sharon has had mixed success in her career as a painter and relies on the money received from selling her paintings to get by. However, since the death of her husband Sharon has experienced a lack of inspiration and low motivation to paint, causing her to come into financial difficulties. With the support of her husband Sharon was previously able to manage both of their finances, but since he has gone she has not been coping. Over the past four months she has gone into arrears on her rent, and she has received several letters from her landlord, the most recent of which states that they are seeking a notice of eviction. As a result of her money problems, Sharon has had to rely on accessing her local food bank, which she has visited twice in the last month. The food bank signposted Sharon to her local Citizens Advice bureau, who supported her to make an application for employment and support allowance. Currently, she is awaiting the outcome of this application.
Following her husband’s death Sharon has become increasingly withdrawn and isolated. Although she has lived in the same apartment building for over ten years, Sharon reports that the other residents are often quite rude to her, which she believes is due to their knowledge of her mental health problems. Sharon is in good physical health and likes to go for regular walks, as she enjoys being outdoors and likes making small talk with people she meets in the park.
Sharon suffers from erotomanic delusions and has recently become enthralled with a local newsreader. Initially this took the form of sending this man fan mail, however the letters have become increasingly bizarre in nature, although not explicitly threatening. Recently Sharon has begun showing up in front of the man’s house at night and leaving gifts for him. The recipient of these letters has become increasingly concerned, as he has a wife and young children who are very fearful of Sharon, although she has no criminal record.
CASE SUMMARY
Which case did you choose? What is the diagnosis? Summarise in your own words.
This section should be relatively brief (recommended ~150-200 words).
ANALYSIS OF MAIN ISSUES
What are the main issues that the client is facing? Why are these such challenges for this client in particular? Include issues related to mental health, physical health, family support, social inclusion, finances, occupation, housing, gender and class, etc. Cite the literature here to back up your points.
This section should be detailed with literature used throughout to support the issues you have raised (recommended ~1,000 words).
RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS ASSESSMENT
Which of the issues identified above could increase the risk of violence to the client themselves or others in the future? Can you also identify protective factors? What type of risk do you expect? What evidence do you have to support this?
This section will again be relatively brief (recommended ~150-200 words).
INTERVENTIONS / ACTION PLAN
How would you address the points in the previous two sections to ensure that the client has the best possible outcome in the future? What treatment would you recommend for their mental health needs? And what about the other needs you have identified as well? You should include both your recommendations for future interventions / treatment, but also your rationale behind your decision.
This section should offer your recommendations for your client and so again will be heavily reliant on the literature. You may use the first person here if you would like (recommended ~1,000 words).
REFERENCES
Cite all of your sources in Harvard style.