Case Study 1
Albert is a 33-year-old single, Caucasian male who reports experiencing pervasively depressed
mood following the dissolution of a six-month romantic relationship. He is in the emergency
room due to a non-suicidal self-injury (cutting himself). He reports feeling overwhelmed with
feelings of “emptiness” and is convinced that he will be “alone forever.” He additionally reports
being “in and out” of psychosocial treatment for suicidal thoughts though denies ever having
made any suicide attempts. He reports a history of non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors since
age 17. Albert reports chronic difficulty managing his strong emotions and recognizes that
others would describe him as “moody.” He further recognizes that he can quickly escalate with
inappropriate and/or intense anger over minor transgressions, which subsequently results in
feelings of guilt and embarrassment. His anger makes it difficult to sustain both platonic and
romantic relationships. To cope, Albert frequently seeks reassurance from others (e.g., calling in
desperation to make sure they still care about him) and drinks excessively (i.e., six or more
drinks per sitting). Due to the heaviness and frequency of his drinking in the recent weeks,
Albert has called out sick a few times from work to recover from drinking the night before. Albert
is looking for a treatment that will help him manage/regulate intense emotions in an adaptive
manner. In addition, he hopes to learn strategies to better navigate interpersonal relationships
(e.g., effective communication).
Follow-Up Questions
1. What would be their preliminary diagnosis?
2. Seeing this from a trauma-informed lens, what can we further ask to get a better
understanding of their situation?
3. In your experience, what would be the best approach/treatment modalities for working
with this client?
4. What could be some good next steps clinically? What possible referrals would you make
for this client?