Case Study Assignment on Akiko

Case Study Assignment on Akiko

A slightly–built woman of nearly 70 years, Akiko was healthy and fit, though in the last year or two, she had developed a tremor characteristic of early Parkinson’s disease. For the several years since she had retired from her job teaching horticulture in junior college, she had concentrated on her own garden. At the flower show the year before, her rhododendrons had won first prize.

However, 10 days earlier, her mother had died in Detroit, over halfway across the country. She and her sister had been appointed co-executors. The estate was large, and she was going to have to make numerous trips to take care of the house and address the stipulations in the will. That meant flying, and this was why she was seeking help from the mental health clinic.

“I can’t fly!” she had told the clinician. Except for a few short trips last year, Akiko hasn’t flown or has avoided flying for the past 20 years. Akiko had grown up during the Depression; as a child, she never had the opportunity to fly. With 5 children of her own to care for on her husband’s schoolteacher pay, she hadn’t traveled much as an adult, either. She flew last year when two of her children were getting married in different cities. On one of those trips, her plane had circled the field for nearly an hour, trying to land in the middle of a thunderstorm. The ride was bumpy; the plane was full; and many of the passengers were airsick, including the men sitting next to her. There was no one to help–the flight attendants had to remain strapped in their seats. She had kept her eyes closed and breathed through her handkerchief. When they finally landed safely, it was the last time Akiko had been up in an airplane.

Case Study Assignment on Akiko

“I don’t even like to go to the airport to meet someone,” she reported. “Even that makes me feel short of breath and kind of sick to my stomach. Then I get sort of a dull pain in my chest and I start to shake–I feel that I’m about to die or that something bad will happen. It seems so silly!”

Akiko really had no alternatives to flying. She couldn’t stay in Detroit until all of the business had been taken care of; it would take months.

Check tips on how to do your Psychology Assignments. 

Instructions: Please fill out each section fully and in-depth for the case provided. While perfection is not expected, an appropriate amount of understanding of the diagnostic process should be portrayed in the category of diagnoses selected. Grading will be dependent on how accurate (or at least somewhere in the realm of) and thorough your diagnostic impressions are, whether or not you provide supporting information and rationale for your chosen diagnoses, if the goals and interventions listed are relevant to the diagnoses chosen, an overall display of understanding of the diagnostic process (as appropriate to the stage we are at within the course) through in-depth reflection, demonstrated effort through types of questions asked in order to gain additional relevant information about the case, and use and incorporation of peer consultation during the weekly discussion in the final draft. You can make any “corrections” or changes on your final draft after you’ve engaged in the weekly discussion with your peers in RED to show that you’ve incorporated feedback from your peers that have changed or enhanced what you’ve originally provided. If your original submission remains the same, please note that at the bottom of the page and explain how your peer interaction reinforced that.

Case Study Assignment on Akiko

Symptoms:

All symptoms noted by the client, stated by the client’s spouse, family members, children, friend, etc., and/or symptoms that you recognize that were not explicitly stated by the client, timeline of when the symptoms began and how long they’ve been present for, and any other factors noted that may be of clinical interest. These can bullet points or in *narrative form (narrative form will be required for the final major case study).

Diagnostic Impression(s) (include specifiers and subtypes, when appropriate):

Diagnostic impressions are diagnoses that you believe to be the best fit for the client’s presentation and development of symptoms, duration and timeline of illness, and other clinical factors given the information included in the case. There does not have to be more than one diagnostic impression, but there can be if you feel as though the client meets criteria for more than 1 diagnosis. Diagnoses should only be listed in this section if the client meets almost, if not all, criterion.  For each diagnostic impression, please list all diagnostic criteria required to make the diagnosis and include examples from the case to support your diagnosis. *If you find yourself wanting to list multiple diagnoses (3+), consider a different category of diagnoses that may encompass most, if not all the client’s symptoms, such as a trauma and stressor related disorder or personality disorder.

Case Study Assignment on Akiko

Differential Diagnoses:

Differential diagnoses are diagnoses that you believe could potentially be a good fit for the case, but don’t have enough information to finalize. Please include the full diagnoses along with the additional information needed in order to justify the diagnosis.

Additional Information Needed:

This section should be dedicated to additional information needed to finalize your diagnostic impressions or rule out your differential diagnoses. Your questions should be pointed and have purpose.

Multicultural considerations:

Utilizing either the ADDRESSING or RESPECTFUL model, discuss 3 multicultural considerations to consider when assessing this case. How do these considerations explain or impact the client’s presenting issues?

Case Study Assignment on Akiko

Goals and Therapeutic Interventions

Goals should be a brief, broad result that the client wants to receive through counseling services, while interventions are specific strategies and/or techniques that the therapist is going to implement to help the client achieve those goals. There is no intervention without a goal. Goals and interventions should be specific to the client’s presenting symptoms, diagnosis, theory-specific, and/or personal goals for therapy. Please list 2 goals with 2 coinciding interventions.