Psychopathology: Social Values in Therapy and Ethical Applications (Case Study Sample)

Psychopathology
Name of Institution
Department
Student ID
Date
Background
Demographic Characteristics
Client name: Sasha Fierce
Client age: 33 years
Client gender: Female
Level of education: Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
Number of siblings: 2 brothers and 1 sister
Order of birth: Third born
Religious background: Mormon
Date of Referral: June 13, 2022
Presenting Problem
During the first session, the client stated having specific symptoms over the last six months; sadness, anger whenever she cannot work, and insecurity since she fears leaving the house due to people keenly observing her. Furthermore, the last six months have seen Sasha perform poorly at work and in her academics at the university. Sasha also has sleep disorders. On further probing, the client reveals that people like making fun of her, which is why she spends less time moving about and is always at the office or home.
History
The mental issues that Sasha faces date back to eight months ago. The client was in an abusive marriage. Sean, her husband, always came home drunk and was a womanizer with several women outside the marriage. Sean would become angry whenever questioned and beat the lights out of Sasha. The abuse was critical to the point that she was once rushed to the hospital and had to be admitted for several days to observe if there was any severe organ damage. Due to humiliation and risk of abuse, Sasha filed for divorce. Shortly after the courts granted a divorce, Sasha’s father died in a tragic road accident. At this point, Sasha started asking herself why the accident had happened to her father. Sasha became quite upset and could not handle her emotions. At that point, she turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism, but it only worsened things. Once drunk, she would be reckless and misbehave, so people started mocking her. It is important to note that the client sought medical help and was put under anti-depressants medication. Moreover, she has tried counseling from her local church, which did not help. The unsuccessful run in seeking help exacerbated her mental problems, bringing her to the current state. Precisely, she is sad and angry, has sleep disturbance, poor performance at work and academics, and low self-esteem.
Living Arrangement
At the moment, Sasha lives with her nine-year-old son, Hover, and is also an active member of her church. She is also a partner at a law firm in Chicago. Therefore, there are a lot of demands in terms of duties that worsen the mental issues she is experiencing. She barely has time for herself, and whenever she tries to engage in something she likes, she feels that it is time-wasting. Additionally, with her career, Sasha has become the breadwinner in her entire family. She has to fend for everyone even though she is a single mother. Ideally, Sasha lacks a support structure. Conclusively, Sasha feels she must work hard to make things work, which comes with a lot of stress.
Level of Functioning
In terms of functioning, Sasha’s mental challenges present several observations. Specifically, Sasha has several colleagues from work whom she does not get along with due to her anger issues. Additionally, in her post-graduate program, Sasha does not perform well academically. Sasha’s close family and friends complain that she is unfriendly due to the sadness and anger that characterizes her. Sasha cannot sleep and ends up watching cartoons for an entire night. Sadness and anger have also worsened her appetite since her family complains that she does not eat regularly, and if she eats, it is mostly junk food.
Risk Assessment
During the session with Sasha, her situation has a shallow risk. Specifically, she has mental issues stemming from her heavy co-parenting duties, church responsibilities, and academics. No suicidal ideations have crossed her mind in the six months that she has been experiencing these mental challenges. It is after to conclude that the risk assessment in her case is shallow.
Mental Status
Orientation
A mental status examination of Sasha begins with her orientation. Sasha was accurate regarding place, time, and person. More precisely, Sasha reported on time for sessions and was aware of the place and the people around her quite well. The orientation accuracy is reinforced by the fact that she can answer questions regarding the place and people well.
Appearance
Sasha’s appearance was neat at best. The dressing was appropriate and ideal for an official visit such as the therapy sessions we are engaging in. The shoes were well polished, with neatly done hair. However, the client’s weight is not encouraging as she appears thin, meek, and fragile.
Behavior
The revealing aspect of Sasha’s mental issues is evident in her conduct. Notable, she has frequent eye contact and appeared restless at first. After some time through the sessions, when there is a guarantee of confidentiality, she calms down and keeps her hands and legs in a relaxed position when sitting.
Speech
Interestingly, Sasha’s speech does not reflect the mental issues she is having. Despite acknowledging her challenges, she is adequate and transparent in terms of speech. The content of the speech was adequate and understandable, and she appropriately answered all questions. The progression of speech was relatively slow. Although very slow when talking, she makes logic and meaning in her communication. In the end, her speech was organized in the English language. 
Mood
Sasha’s mood during the session will be addressed from the objective, subjective, affect, range, intensity, and quality perspectives. Regarding the objective, Sasha appears to be in a good mood, but it progresses to low once she opens up on her issues. From a subjective perspective, Sasha reports she was in a good mood. In terms of affect, her’s was appropriate for the scenario. However, the affect was restricted as she did not display high emotions when explaining her challenges. In terms of intensity, Sasha was flat, and quality was sad, which afterward turned into anxiety.
Thought Process
Noticeably, the session revealed the inadequacy in Sasha’s thought process. Specifically, Sasha could answer questions without hesitation but could not clarify when there was questioning on detail. For instance, the client could not explain what her mental problems had to do with some people she is hostile towards other than indicating, “I am just angry with the situation I am facing.”
Thought Content
Similar to the process, the content of her thoughts was also inadequate. As earlier indicated, Sasha could not provide specific details as to why she is hostile towards others, among other challenges. The main reason was that she had no vocabulary to explain why. Unfortunately, the language she understands and communicates well is English, which restricts her communication due to inadequate thought content.
Cognition/Memory
Interestingly, Sasha’s concertation and memory were excellent. Throughout the sessions, she remained attentive and was eager to