Reference no: EM133192100

Case Study 3

Mr. Boyle is a 55-year-old high school principal who has come in for an assessment. He reports that this is due to his wife's concern after he had a heated interaction with the school board recently. This interaction has put his job as a principal in jeopardy. Mr. Boyle reports that his wife states that their marriage is unbearable due to Mr. Boyle's difficulty in getting along with others, and that if it does not improve, she will have to leave him. During the interview, Mr. Boyle states that although he has always been a suspicious person, this has lately increased. Despite this admission, he goes on to explain that he believes members of the school board are conspiring with some of the faculty at his school and bitter parents of former students to have him removed from his position as principal. He reports that 1 of the school board administrators recently shared with Mr. Boyle that since his appointment as principal 2 years ago, he has been driving everyone "nuts" because he is too structured. Mr. Boyle reports that he has been doing the best job he can and that he believes this statement stems from jealousy, as the board member's friend also wanted the principal position. When questioned in more detail, Mr. Boyle shares that he may be overreacting and that he may be at fault for some of these issues. However, he reports that he spends a significant amount of time thinking about how he is being mistreated by the school board. He admits that this is causing him not to perform as well as he could at work.

In addition, Mr. Boyle reports that he recently has started drinking some wine in the evenings to deal with this.  He often decides that he will only have one glass of wine, but 2 or 3 times a week will realize that he has had as much as 3.  In addition, he reports that he has tried to cut down or even cut out his alcohol use, but has not been successful at this yet.  He reports that he does not think that this is a problem, but just thinks it is something he should work on.  The client reports the use of no other substances.

When Mr. Boyle's wife is questioned separately, she reports that Mr. Boyle has always had a difficult time making friends and trusting in others. She reports that recently he has become more irritable and argumentative with her, his friends, and the faculty at his school. She shares that the recent fight with the school board was over Mr. Boyle's insistence that he had been passed over for an adequate yearly raise. Although the school board explained to Mr. Boyle that all of the principals' yearly raises had been reduced this year due to budget cuts, he insisted on presenting his case to the school board. She reports that after he was still refused the raise, he has been sullen, has told her he feels helpless and hopeless, and has lost interest in most of the things that previously interested him. She reports that this began the same week he was refused the raise.

Mr. Boyle's 2 children are also interviewed-a boy, 15 years old, and a girl, 17 years old. They both report that Mr. Boyle is very strict and runs the household like a drill sergeant. He monitors every expense, where they go, and who they are with. Mr. Boyle's daughter even reports that he will check her gas gauge in her car to see if the gas used matches the distance she told him she went. She believes he is just a "penny-pincher."

When asked to describe himself, Mr. Boyle says he is very proud of the fact that he is a person who cannot be taken advantage of, as he can spot a con from a mile away. He reports that he came from a very poor family and worked his way to where he is today. He reports that although he has had to endure a lot of adverse situations and jealous people, he has made his way to the top on his own abilities.

Case Study Template

Follow the example below as you complete your Case Study assignment. You will have 3 major areas to your case study response: (1) key issues, (2) diagnostic impressions, and (3) treatment recommendations. This assignment needs a current APA-formatted title page, and you are required to cite the sources for the treatment recommendations and include a reference page. It must be 3-4 pages for content. The Case Study assignment is an opportunity for you to think through a clinical case, identify and prioritize key issues involved, consider and clarify relevant diagnostic issues, and formulate treatment recommendations that are most likely to be helpful to the client.

I. Key Issues

A. List in order of importance the key issues you believe are involved in the case study, as if you were the client's counselor. Provide a rationale for the order in which you prioritized issues. What are the most important features to you, and why?

B. Link your rationale to what you believe outcomes of treatment should be for this client. How will your order of priority contribute to a successful outcome for the client?

II. Diagnostic Impressions

A. Based on the information provided in the case study, use the current version of the DSM to accurately diagnose the type(s) of disorder(s) involved. Refer to specific diagnostic criteria when presenting your impressions. What category could this be in? What disorder in that category does this appear to be and why? Provide rationale for diagnosis, giving consideration to differential diagnostic considerations. In other words, what disorders in this category or other closely related categories were considered? Why could this not be any of those disorders?You may want to consider here theories of normal and abnormal personality development. Also, consider systemic and environmental factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior.

B. Be sure to consider other disorders in addition to the main disorder. Is there more than one diagnosis? Provide rationale for diagnosing any additional disorders.

III. Treatment Recommendations (cite sources in this section)

A. List your recommendations (e.g., 1., 2., 3., etc.) so that you can clearly delineate what you believe will be of most help to your client. Consider recommendations that will be motivating to your client and reflective of a collaborative approach.Also, consider essential interviewing, counseling, and case conceptualization skills.

B. Be sure to consider the biopsychosociospiritual aspects of the case.Make sure your recommendations are relevant to the case, able to be implemented by the client, and have some basis of support from professional literature-include your 2-3 academic sources here.Ensure that you have included evidence-based counseling strategies and techniques for prevention and intervention for this client.

Case Study Instructions

EachCase Study assignment is designed to help you make application of course content to a counseling situation. You are to read the assignedcase study, determine the key issues presented, provide diagnostic impressions based upon the DSM-5, and develop treatment recommendations. You will need to follow the Case Study Template for eachassignment.

Under diagnostic impressions, be sure to consider other disorders in addition to the main disorder. Provide a rationale for your diagnostic impressions using criteria from the DSM-5, also including reasons for ruling out certain disorders. You may want to consider here theories of normal and abnormal personality development. Also, consider systemic and environmental factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior. The goal is to present, in writing, the basis for your diagnostic impressions.

Under treatment recommendations, be sure to consider the biopsychosociospiritual aspects of the case. Make sure your recommendations are relevant to the case, able to be implemented by the client, and have some basis of support from 2-3 references from professional literature. Also, consider essential interviewing, counseling, and case conceptualization skills.In addition, ensure that you have included evidence-based counseling strategies and techniques for prevention and intervention for this client.