CASE ANALYSIS
For this project, you are to read a fictional, biographical, or autobiographical account of
an individual (your “client”) with one or more identifiable Axis I or Axis II disorders.
Included in your assignment packet is a bibliography from which you can select your
account. Your paper will be approximately seven to ten pages in length. Once you read
this account, you will write a paper that addresses the following information:
o
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A brief biography. You do not have to fully describe your "client." However,
you should include demographic variables such as age, race, ethnicity, and
religious orientation; family structure and the nature of relationships with family
members; relationship, work, and health status; levels of social support; hobbies,
interests, wishes, and goals; and the nature of crises, trauma, or stressors.
Strengths and weaknesses. While your "client" may not recognize strengths,
you may notice a range of strengths (e.g., intelligent, insightful, and strong
family supports) and weaknesses (e.g., uneven job history, chaotic relationships,
poor coping skills including history of self-mutilation). Identify the client’s
strengths and weaknesses, and discuss how they could potentially enhance or
impede treatment.
Assessment. What symptoms brought your client in for an "intake"? Imagine that
you are in the position of conducting an assessment of this “client.” Present
assessment information that was addressed in the book, such as level of suicidal
ideation and hopelessness, type and severity of symptoms, mental status (recall
the JOIMAT acronym), level of cognitive functioning, substance use patterns,
and history of previous treatment. If described in the book, also describe any
nonverbal behaviors of note, such as eye contact, body movements, tone of voice,
etc. Also note whether any psychological testing was conducted and what the
results were. What else would you want to assess that was not described in your
source?
Diagnosis. A DSM-IV diagnosis or diagnoses (all five axes) should be provided
and defended. Be careful about accepting the diagnosis of the character that is
included in your book. Some books on your lists were written when previous
editions of the DSM were being utilized. Others are simply poorly diagnosed.
Why did you reject other possible diagnoses?
Treatment possibilities. What forms of treatment, if any, were used with your
“client”? Discuss which theoretical orientations were used, and evaluate how
effective you think these treatment approaches were. Based on your assessment
and diagnosis, how would you structure a treatment plan with this client? What
theoretical orientations do you think would be most useful? What options would
you consider, and which ones might you rule out? Be sure to provide a rationale
for your decisions.
A reference section. This section should document those sources where I could
go to learn more about your "client," as well as those you went to in order to
increase your understanding of diagnostic issues. You should have approximately
three to five references. Your course text or other abnormal psychology
textbooks cannot count as one of these, although you can refer to these texts for
information. You should rely on book chapters, peer-reviewed articles,
mainstream articles, or high-quality Internet resources.
Grading Criteria – Case Analysis
NAME: __________________________
Performance Area (150 points possible)
Biographical
information
-Student
provided
extensive and
relevant
biographical
information.
(25 points)
-Student’s
description of
the client’s
strengths and
weaknesses
was superior.
(25 points)
-Student
provided
adequate
biographical
information.
(20 points)
-Student
provided
marginal
biographical
information.
(15 points)
-Student
provided
insufficient
biographical
information.
(10 points)
-Student’s
description of
the client’s
strengths and
weaknesses
was adequate.
(20 points)
-Student’s
description of
the client’s
strengths was
marginal.
(15 points)
Nature of
functioning/
assessment
-Student
provided
extensive
assessment
information
about the
client.
-Student
identified
additional
areas of
inquiry in a
superior
fashion.
(25 points)
-Student
provided
adequate
assessment
information
about the
client.
-Student
identified
additional
areas of
inquiry
adequately.
(20 points)
-Student
provided
marginal
assessment
information
about the
client.
-Student
identified
additional
areas of
inquiry in a
marginal
fashion.
(15 points)
-Student’s
description of
the client’s
strengths and
weaknesses
was
inadequate.
(10 points)
-Student
provided
inadequate
assessment
information
about the
client.
-Student
identified
additional
areas of
inquiry in an
inadequate
fashion.
(10 points)
Diagnosis
-Student
provided a
superior
diagnosis
using all five
axes.
-Student
provided a
superior
rationale for
the diagnosis.
(25 points)
-Student
provided an
adequate
diagnosis
using all five
axes.
-Student
provided an
adequate
rationale for
the diagnosis.
(20 points)
-Student
provided a
marginal
diagnosis
using all five
axes (or failed
to address all
of the axes).
-Student
provided a
marginal
rationale for
the diagnosis.
(15 points)
Strengths and
weaknesses of
client
-Student’s
diagnosis was
inadequate.
-Student
provided an
inadequate
rationale for
the diagnosis.
(10 points)
Treatment
possibilities
Style
-Student
provided a
superior
account and
evaluation of
treatment
efforts.
-Student
identified
potential
treatment
approaches in
a superior
fashion.
(25 points)
-Paper was
typed, doublespaced with
one-inch
margins
-Paper was
free of
typographical
and
grammatical
errors.
-Paper was
clearly
written and
wellorganized.
-Student used
APA style
correctly to
cite
references
within the
text, and
references
were cited at
the end of the
paper.
-Student used
high-quality
references.
(25 points)
-Student
provided an
adequate
account and
evaluation of
treatment
efforts.
-Student
identified
potential
treatment
approaches in
an adequate
fashion.
(20 points)
Paper is
adequate in
terms of style.
(20 points)
-Student
provided a
marginal
account and
evaluation of
treatment
efforts.
-Student
identified
potential
treatment
approaches in
a marginal
fashion.
(15 points)
Paper is
marginal in
terms of style.
(15 points)
-Student
provided an
inadequate
account and
evaluation of
treatment
efforts.
-Student
identified
potential
treatment
approaches in
an inadequate
fashion.
(10 points)
Use of
appropriate
style is
inadequate.
(10 points)