Reference no: EM133476518

Assignment

Karen C., a 30-year-old married African American woman, was brought to a therapist by her mother. Karen reported feeling severe depression and hopelessness. She was barely able to care for her 5-year-old child or her home, and she had not gone to her part-time job as an aide at her child's school for over 2 weeks. Her accompanying symptoms included significant weight gain, excessive fatigue and sleeping, and severe guilt.

Karen and her husband had been married for 8 years. Karen's husband was in the military, which meant that he was frequently away from home. Karen had always found his absences difficult and had encouraged her husband to leave the service. He complained that she was too dependent on him, and he urged her to develop her own interests.

Apart from her work at their child's school, Karen had few outside activities, and she had few supports other than her mother, who had been widowed shortly after the birth of Karen, her only child. Karen's mother had not remarried. She told Karen that she had been so devastated by the death of Karen's father that she would never get involved with another man. The mother seemed to have experienced episodes of severe depression, although she had never received treatment for them.

Conflict had been increasing in Karen's marriage and had reached a peak about three weeks before, when Karen's husband left for an overseas tour of duty in what both viewed as a safe part of the world.

Karen was fearful that he would become involved with another woman and never return home, even though her husband's behavior gave her no justification for her concerns. She berated herself for not being a good wife and stated that life was not worth living without her husband. The only bright spot for Karen over the past few weeks had come when she received a handwritten letter from him. She read it again and again and did feel better for a few hours, but her depression soon returned.

Karen's developmental history was unremarkable except for her having been ill quite often. After her graduation from high school, she had worked as a secretary and lived with her mother until her marriage.

She had dated little before her marriage, but she did remember having felt very depressed at least once before in her life, when a young man she had dated a few times became engaged to another woman.

Karen is suffering from a severe depression that has impaired her level of functioning. A precipitant can be identified for Karen's current episode of depression, but her symptoms do not suggest either an adjustment disorder or a condition; her reactions show too much dysfunction to be reflective of either one.

Instead, Karen is experiencing a mood disorder characterized by depression.

Question A. List the signs and symptoms that point to a mental health diagnosis in the case.
Question B. Describe the other case details you would need to know for treatment planning and explain your reasoning.
Question C. List and describe the treatment interventions you would use for this case and explain your reasoning.