Case Study: Anxiety Answer Sheet
Diagnosing Tina
Student Name:
Diagnosing Generalized Anxiety Disorder:
1a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for generalized anxiety disorder. Which of Tina’s symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match specific symptoms with specific criteria.)
| Tina’s symptoms correlate to 3 of the 4 from the DSM-IV checklist that comprise:
1. Excessive anxiety and uneasiness (hesitant anticipation), that take place for a good number of days and at least 6 months for a certain number of events (like work or school performance) Tina’ problem took place for a few weeks and below six months. 2. The person has complexity managing the worry She said that she was afraid of several things; alienation by kids among others. 3. Has over 3 of the signs; · Muscle tensions; she said that her body experienced feelings of tied knots. · Irritable; has concern with teenagers and loud music among others · Sleep depreivation; had to take alcohol to sleep 4. Extensive signs of distress; She has difficulty to do her noral things. |
1b. Based upon your review of Tina’s symptoms and the diagnostic criteria, could Tina be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder or not (and if not, why not)?
| No, Tina would not be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, this is since one cannot be diagnosed with it if has lasted for over 6 months. |
Diagnosing Specific Phobia:
2a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for specific phobia. Which of Tina’s symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match specific symptoms with specific criteria.)
| 1. Tina has been experiencing anxiety when on bridges. Hence, once could attribute it to be for over 6 months, with the anxiety getting worse, her gephrophia was high too.
2. Anxiety takes place when she gets near a bridge or is on one. 3. It is extensive; Tina adds that it leads to physical sx or anxiety issues 4. She tries to do away with it but can’t. 5. It makes her stressed and gets worse when she gets near a bridge. |
2b. Does Tina have a specific phobia and if yes, what is the feared object?
| Yes, she has gephyrophobia (fear of bridges). The scores read a 5 of 5 on the sx checklist. |
Diagnosing Panic Disorder:
3a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for panic disorder with agoraphobia and the checklist for panic disorder without agoraphobia. Which of Tina’s symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match any specific symptoms with specific criteria.)
| Tina is not disturbed of the attacks. Though, she is frightened to get outside the house or in a car wich could be attributed to sx of 2-C from a checklist for panic disorder in the absence of agoraphobia. Hence, it is okay to eliminate agoraphobia (Andrews, et al, 2010). Tina relates to all of the sx Panic disorder in the absence of agoraphobia as stated below;
1. Recurrent unprobable panic attacks; Tina says that she has certain feelings of shakings and other physical sx that result to panic attack. 2. (a). A month or months of some of about one after one or more panic attack; (b). concern over the importance of attack, she feared it related to her health, (c) she transformed her tendencies as she did not want to be out of the house to drive. |
3b. Does Tina meet the diagnostic criteria for panic disorder with agoraphobia or panic disorder without agoraphobia or neither? Explain why you believe your choice is the most appropriate diagnosis.
| Tina relates to diagnostic criteria for panic disorder in the absence of agoraphobia. She is not concere about another attack or even avoid certain places that she fears another attack. She fears on the meaning of the attacks and how she transformed her behaviour which connect with the checklist of 2-C in the checklist in the absence agoraphobia. |
Understanding Tina’s Disorders:
- How would the Socio-Cultural Perspective explain Tina’s GAD?
| One would sya that Tina’s GAD from the socio-cultural aspect through stating that origin being her husband’s illness. She experienced extreme anxiety for twelve months which sick. She was keen since the first day as she lacked the knowledge that the day would bring. This led to extreme anxiety and extended exposure to it would result to GAD. |
- Explain Tina’s GAD from the Existential Perspective.
| The origin of Tina’s anxiety is based on her husband who had a strong manor to her, and when he goes she does not know how to respond to some issues that arise. He was popular for doing some things and now she does not know how. Additional, she does not feel wanted as her husband would take care of her as well as the kids never liked her. She experienced an unstable life of being alienated from life. |
- Explain Tina’s GAD from the Cognitive Perspective (please identify any basic irrational assumptions that Tina is making, even if they may be unspoken).
| The Cognitive Perspective is how I feel Tina’s GAD ought to be handled. A good number of her sx are attributed to cognitive distortions. She has a number of basic irrational norms that led her to anxiety. For instance, her fear of teenagers killed in acar wreck, irrational thoughts regarding the bridge falling as it stood for a logn period of time. |
- Explain Tina’s Phobia from a Behavioral Perspective (please use classical conditioning as a possible example).
| It is probable that Tina’s gephyrophobia is due to classic conditioning. It adds that Tina has to pass bridges to get to other places, hence it is good to say that she had passed several bridges when getting Harry to hospitals. Harry had a terminal condition hence his going to hospital was not exciting and was attributed to anxiety. Tina began to connect the bridges with anxiety that result to gephyrophobia. |
- Explain Tina’s Phobia from a Psychodynamic Perspective.
| When she ws little, Tina was controlled; her id impulses were seen as a negative thing. She was taught to be afraid these impulses and suppress using ego defense mthods to reduce anxiety. This result obsessive and intrusive ideas, hence her fear was a physical attribution of what her suppressed anxiety that she was afraid to handle (Andrews, et al, 2010). This could be her husbands passing away, fear of being left along and hatred by other children among others. |
- Considering the biological correlates or causes of Tina’s panic disorder, what role does the neurotransmitter norepinephrine play in her panic disorder?
| Norepinephrine is neurotransmitter that passes messages from one neuron to another; Her norepinephrine is not normal based on her panic attacks. It directs message to her body not required, she is afraid more than being on homoeostasis. |
- What does Tina’s locus ceruleus have to do with her panic disorder?
| Tina had to stay watch for any anxiety news that was positive or negative for a year as Harry fought with his cancer. Tina’s locus ceruleusregion was stimuised regularly that resulted to pressure of neurons that had norepinephrine to be build in her body. This resulted to panic acts, though they were necessary due to her case (Andrews, et al, 2010). After Harry passed, her body was not aware and went on to atc as if she was stressed. This resulted to small stressors to fomr stimulation that were not required to her locus cerules, that made the attacks happen. |
- What role might GABA play in her symptoms?
| Tina’s brain was under lots of pressure due to issues she faced daily the year Harry passed. This led to extended to firing brough about by feedback model, this limited the level of excitability of neurons an combine the GABA receptors on some neurons that made her body to stop firing the fear resonses. If the GABA receptors were not blocked the fear reaction would result to panic or anxiety issues; muscle tension among others. |
Treating Tina
- Which Psychodynamic technique has been found to be the most useful in the treatment of GAD?
| I would opt for a free association, Tina had pride and guarded making me be of the opnion that she applied defensive methods to hinder her id impulses. If she had spoeken openly her defense would help manage her anxiety. |
- Explain why a humanistic approach would be helpful in treating Tina’s GAD.
| Client-based therapy would help Tina when seeing her GAD from a humanistic aspect. Although she is of the belief that there was no point of concern submitting her husband, she talk of how she was not wanted (Hoyer, et al, 2009). Since her childhood and adulthood, Tina lacked any positive rgeards that lead her to critice herself and question issues about herself. |
- How might you use Rational-Emotive Therapy to treat Tina’s GAD?
| Tina has several issues as to how people attribute her, if she could handle see that people domt act as she perceives them. This would be of help to manage her anxiety and be happier. |
- How would Systematic Desensitization be used to treat Tina’s phobia of bridges?
| She could be educated on being relaxed mehods that could hinder panic attacks, or assist to control incase it took place. She could be able to face her fears and use the methods, if one eliminated the fear of the bridge she will be able to handle herself well. |
- What medications have proven useful for treatment with panic disorder?
| Antianxiety medicines have been of great help in managing panic disorder. Xanax would be of help when Tina gets the feeling of nearing anxiety trigger issues, or she use it when an attack was about to happen. Other medicines involve clonazepam that would be taken daily if it occurred daily. |
- What role could cognitive therapy play in Tina’s treatment for panic disorder?
| Cognitive therapy would be of great significance in therapy to assist manage the distorted irrational ideas like a falling bridgr. Cognitive therapy would manage these thoughts through making her see how irrational they are and reduce her anxiety. |
- Considering that Tina may be treated for comorbid disorders, how do you see the treatments for the various disorders complementing each other?
| In most cases, when one is faced by an illness, another one is bound to take come in as well. The best way is to find a solution that would highten the sx. An integration of cognitive therapy and biochemical method would manage anxiety, irrational ideas and her distortions about herself. The use of antianxiety would be useful in managing her panic attacks while trying to know how to deal with her triggers (Hoyer, et al, 2009). After some time she would be able to stop the sue of the drugs and apply the coping nad thinking skills that she was taught in cognitive therapy. |
- Is there any reason to think that any of the treatments would be contraindicated when utilized together? Explain why/how or why/how not.
| The use of cognitive behavioural and biochemical therapy will not contradict one another, as one would facilitate the management of anxiety while the other one can find main issues that produces the anxiety (therapy). After some time Tina would be tapered off the medication for her to use the coping skills that she should have been taught in therapy classes. |
References
Andrews, G. et al (2010). Generalized worry disorder: a review of DSM-IV Generalized anxiety disorder and options For DSM-V. Depression and Anxiety 0: 1-14.
Hoyer J, Beesdo K, Gloster AT, et al. (2009). Worry exposure versus applied relaxation in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Psychother Psychosom;78:106–115.
