Personality Disorders
Art is a 35-year-old single man living by himself in Edmund, Oklahoma. He is experiencing emotional lows since the abrupt ending of his three-day relationship with his one, true soulmate James. Art had been certain that James was his perfect match, though he didn’t know him too well and really can’t name any specifics about his character or life. James broke it off because he was tired of Art’s constant demands for attention, rapidly shifting moods, and eccentric theatrical behavior. He was also uncomfortable with Artclaiming to be his soulmate after two dates together, both of which had been dominated by Art pretending to have a broken leg to garner the attention of strangers. Art is also an unemployed accountant, he recently lost his job due to his inappropriate work attire and being sexually provocative with his coworkers. He dressed in revealing fashions that attracted attention to his body and his interaction with his coworker often turned uncomfortably sexual. Art feels that his action are justified because they make him the center of attention, and he’s only comfortable when being there.
What is histrionic personality disorder?
Jane is a 21-year-old woman living in New York City. She has been living in New York for a year now and there have been some noticeable changes in her since about three months after the big move. Jane’s friends have noticed that she has lost interest in activities she used to enjoy, such as going out with her friends, playing recreational tennis, and even seeing her family when they fly in to visit. This disinterest has put severe distress on her social life. When her mother came in to visit last month, she noticed that Jane had lost a significant amount of weight, though she has never expressed any interest in dieting or losing weight. Her mother observed that even when she cookedJane her favorite homemade meal, she had no appetite. Jane feels as though she has little to no energy throughout the day and constantly feels so fatigued that she wants to lay in bed and sleep most of the time. However, when Jane attempts to go to sleep she finds that she is not able to. This insomnia occurs every day. Jane’s coworkers have also noticed that Jane has become unable to concentrate and has displayed increasing indecisiveness nearly every day, causing her occupational functioning to decrease. Jane also reports that she has had reoccurring thoughts of death and suicide on top of general feelings of worthlessness
What is major depressive disorder?
Sarah is a 17-year-old high school student who reports a preoccupation with her facial appearance, especially her skin. A year ago, Sarah states she started developing mild facial acne. This has significantly affected her to the point where she feels that she is “hideous” and describes herself as looking “like a monster.” She fears that when people look at her, they can only see her “flaws.” Sarah will spend 3 hours per day checking her skin in the mirror and has an extensive routine that consists of washing her face 20 times a day. She has a part-time job at a local cafe and most of her income is spent on cosmetics. However, her excessive grooming has caused her to be late to her job several times. This has also interfered with her ability to meet assignment deadlines for school. She has even avoided getting together with her friends or going to places where she knows there will be many people. Sarah fears that others will only be looking at the perceived flaws on her face. When Sarah does go out, she spends time camouflaging by repeatedly applying makeup. Sarah has also reported skin picking when she assesses her appearance in the mirror. Despite reassurances from her friends and family, Sarah does not believe them. Sarah has expressed that dermatological treatment and additional cosmetic procedures will solve her problems.
What is body dysmorphic disorder?
This therapeutic intervention is often used with people with mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety.
What is cognitive behavioral therapy?
Identify two key features of psychotic disorders
What are delusions and hallucinations?
Steven is a 32 old high school teacher. During his time in college, Steven always wanted to have control over situations and people. Because of that, he chose to become a teacher. He is not very popular among his students because he gives very bad grades, is very strict and does not care about the wellbeing of his students. Whenever a student has a question, he is not able to give a normal answer without making the student look stupid. Moreover, he is not able to deal with students who are not respecting him and who don’t listen to him as much as he wants them to. He gives students hard punishments for bad behaviors, especially when they question his authority. Among his colleagues, Steven is a funny guy but only acts in a nice way when he wants something from someone. He often manipulates his colleagues so that they do something for him or vote for him for the position as principal of his school. In his private life, Steven had a lot of difficult relationships in the past. He is divorced and had several girlfriends. According to Steven, his wife and his girlfriends left him, because they felt like they could not reach his “level” and therefore always felt like a “loser” on his side. Furthermore, Steven cheated on some of them. He thinks that he is too special to only have one wife/girlfriend and he is sure that every woman adores him and therefore doesn’t feel guilty for his behavior at all. After his divorce from his wife, Steven didn’t feel sad, he felt free to move on to other women who are more on his “level”. Steven wants to seek treatment because he is afraid that he is steadily losing control over his students and his girlfriends. He wants to learn techniques to maintain control
What is narcissistic personality disorder?
Tom is a 21-year-old finance student who is taking a leave of absence from college presenting to the hospital after experiencing a manic episode in the library. He has struggled with anxiety since his adolescence, but his parents refused to acknowledge it and insisted it was just typical childhood issues. When he started college, he began drinking excessively and experimenting with drugs. Additionally, before leaving school, his grades were significantly falling because he believed he was too smart and important to waste his time in school. Tom would party with his friends all night and get very little sleep every day. He claimed that he would feel a rush of adrenaline and would shake with anxiety. He would talk intensely and extravagantly about his intrinsic and high-riskbusiness deals, asking for the whole party’s attention. Tom would get very defensive and irritated at anyone who tried to intervene against his decisions. After these manic episodes, Tom would get very depressed and lock himself alone in his apartment for days. This is the third time it has happened over the past five months, and he has had suicide attempts during these depressive episodes before which prompted his friends to contact authorities
Mike is an 11 year old male living in the suburbs of Philadelphia. His teacher and parents recently had a meeting about his behavior in school. The teacher reported that Mike has been quite a handful in the classroom. She told Mike’s parents that he often has a hard time paying attention to tasks or play activities, as well as not listening when spoken to directly. The teacher noticed that he doesn’t like to engage in any learning activities and is easily distracted by things. When observing him, she noticed that Mike often fidgets with his hands and feet and gets up out of his seat at random times. The reason that she called the meeting was because he was talking excessively to other students and blurts out answers, which is distracting to others. Mike’s parents grew extremely concerned with his behavior because they noticed this at home. He began this poor behavior a few years back, but nothing was highly concerning at the time. In the beginning, they noticed that when they help him complete his homework, he often makes careless mistakes. Mike also has a hard time finishing the homework, as well as any chore given at home. As time went on, Mike was given a house key and he lost it before even getting to use it. His parents had a hard time trusting him with any responsibility. After having the meeting with his teacher, they sat Mike down to talk to him. His parents asked many questions about what school is like for him and what his typical day looks like. Mike’s responses were often scrambled and they found him to interrupt a lot of the conversation. The parents gathered from Mike that he“can’t sit still for a long time” and “doesn’t like schoolwork because it makes him think very hard”.
What is ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)?
This medication causes an unpleasant reaction to drinking alcohol and is used in recovery programs for alcohol use and dependence
What is Antabuse?
This term refers to feeling persistently detached from one’s mental processes or body, or having recurrent “out of body” experiences.
What is depersonalization?
Connor is a 19-year-old freshman in college who is now in his spring semester. He has been in college for 6 months now but has yet to leave his dorm room except to get food. He skipped more than half of his classes in the fall, and now skips even more in his second semester. When Connor’s parents ask him why he spends so much time in his room he says that he’s not outgoing enough to talk to people. He also thinks that he’s not as smart as his classmates and is afraid of seeming stupid. Connor’s counselor recommended that he try and join a club to help him make friends. In high school, Connor used to be very good at soccer but thinks he isn’t good enough to try out for the club team. His roommate has also tried to include Connor in plans and invites him to parties every weekend, but he hesitates to commit and gets very nervous when asked. Instead of going out with his roommate, he sits in his bed and reads his book. Connor met his roommate’s sister one time, but left the room because he was intimidated by her and felt that she didn’t like him.
What is avoidant personality disorder?
Tony is a 47-year-old Italian-American Caucasian male. Tony has a wife, and two children, and has a considerable amount of wealth, stemming from his years of work in waste management, as well as his ownership of several other local businesses. He recently began having episodes of intense discomfort, that brought with them heart palpitations, sweating, dizziness, chest pain, shaking, that have become so severe that in the throes of these episodes, he often fears that he may actually die. He describes feeling as though he has “ginger ale in his skull,” before the other symptoms appear, and on a number of occasions, have caused him to lose consciousness as a result of the attacks. While he does regularly consume alcohol, the attacks have never come as a result of heavy drinking, or any other form of substance. Tony underwent a number of physical tests, all of which cleared him of any problems, meaning that the root of the attacks did not come as a result of any existing physiological issues. After a recent bout of attacks, Tony has lived in constant fear of having another attack, fearing what might happen if he were to “lose control,” while driving his car, or at work with his associates. This fear of the loss of control serves as a persistent worry For Tony, who realizes that these attacks could end up causing him to lose his life. That is why, against all of his instincts and judgment, Tony has begun to seek out help from a therapist, seeking to understand the cause of the attacks, and how he can possibly work to prevent them from happening in the future
What is panic disorder?
David is a 5-year-old boy who presents with challenging behavior at school. He hates being redirected and told what to do, and this causes him to become immediately aggressive. He has moderately impaired intellectual ability and above-average reading skills, but a marked failure to develop any peer relationships. His mother reports that he repeats tv shows and movies constantly when at home. He is very limited in initiating peer communication and has restricted patterns of play. He becomes angry if anyone tries to play new games with him or tries to stop him while he is playing a game. Sometimes when David tries to communicate with other children he will fight and antagonize them, other times he will impulsively run away. Recently, David’s behavior has become even more physically aggressive, and sometimes he is even physically aggressive towards his mother and teachers
What is oppositional defiant disorder?
What is the best treatment option for borderline personality disorder?
What is dialectical behavioral therapy?
In order to be diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder in adulthood, children must display symptoms of this disorder before age 15.
What is conduct disorder?
Jennifer is a twenty-seven-year-old single, woman living in the richest suburb in Pennsylvania. Last year, she worked as a secretary for a paper company, until she was fired for calling out without notice and for failing to complete the tasks given to her on time. She has just been arrested several times for stealing items from the local Sephora and has just been brought in for a psychiatric assessment. On the outside, Jennifer is very pleasant and kind. She wears expensive clothes and has a calm, collected demeanor. She asks me how I am doing and makes small talk about the weather. She even goes out of her way to compliment the dress I am wearing. However, things started to change as I got to know her better. I ask her why she has stolen so many items, and she immediately becomes very defensive. She thinks it is unfair that she has to pay such high prices for such cheap quality products at Sephora. She blames the whole system and says she will not conform to the consumer culture where people have to bow down to large companies like Sephora. When I ask her about the employees at Sephora and how they might feel, she just shrugs and says that they deserve it. She says she does not feel any sympathy because they are supporting Sephora, and they are too lazy to do anything actually worthwhile to stop her. During her last shoplifting attempt, she violently threw items at employees at the store when they caught her stealing. When I inquire about her past, Jennifer’s parents explain how she has had behavioral issues at an early age. When she was in middle school, she would take books from her teachers classroom home and would lie about where she got them from. She would also take little items likeSilly Bands, Pokémon cards, and colorful erasers from her peers. If she were caught lying about where she got them from, she would get very emotional. She would cry like she was the victim of stealing herself and give some explanation for why she had no other choice
What is antisocial personality disorder?
Edward is a 29-year-old white male who is married with two kids. He is a war veteran who reports that he is constantly avoiding thoughts and images related to witnessing his fellow members being hit by an explosive device as they were driving a combat supply truck. Although since the event occurred, he has tried to avoid these thoughts and images at all costs, they still appear in his dreams, causing him a significant amount of distress. As months passed from the initial event, the thoughts began to turn into nightmares flashing him back to his time at war, which lessened the amount of sleep he was able to get each night and made it hard for him to fall back asleep. Additionally, since the accident, Edward has become increasingly depressed within his mood and has been internalizing an exponential amount of guilt. He has also had difficulties within his job that he received after coming back from war. Edward states he has a hard time concentrating while there, and sometimes he becomes incredibly irritable with his coworkers. Although he has never physically harmed someone in the office, he has been verbally aggressive one or two times to other employees. Edward loves his wife and children very much, but he expresses that he has been feeling disconnected and numb around them. The activities that he used to do with his family have not brought him the same amount of joy as they previously had. He has had a tremendously difficult time driving his car since it triggers memories associated with war, and explosive devices. He catches himself swerving away from objects on the street because he believes them to be explosives. The combination of hyper-aggression, sleep disturbances/troubles, and daily reminders of war have caused noticeable deficiencies in his life. Edward is looking for relief from his daily struggles surrounding his memories of war and hopes to one day be able to feel connected to his family again
What is PTSD?
Katniss is a 23-year-old Caucasian female who lives in Philadelphia. Ever since Katniss was a little girl, she had a habit of biting and chewing on her hair. She would bite her hair when she was nervous especially when she was first meeting someone. Katniss’s parents never attempted to try to stop her from biting on her hair and they let the habit continue to occur. As a result, this habit continued into Katniss’s teenage years and became more frequent. For instance, Katniss started to bite on her hair during class, walking in the halls, during lunch break, while watching tv,while doing homework, etc. One day when Katniss was in high school, she was sitting at her desk doing homework after school and biting on her hair as usual. She brushed her hand through her hair and some loose hairs ended up in her palm. Katniss looked down at the hair in her hand and felt the sudden urge to try swallowing the hair. Katniss quickly shoved all of the hair into her mouth and swallowed all of it. After ingesting the hair, Katniss felt a sense of pleasure and happiness. From that day on, Katniss’s habit of biting on her hair developed into a habit of swallowing hair. To obtain hair to ingest, Katniss would gather the hair that she left in the shower, pull from the hair stuck on her hairbrushes, and swift the bathroom floor to gather any loose hairs. WhenKatniss could not find any more loose hairs of her own, she would desperately go to her parents bathroom to secretly gather from their hairbrushes and floor. Oftentimes, Katniss would ingest so much hair in one day that she would end up with a stomachache and indigestion
What is pica?
This is a common treatment for PTSD which includes retelling of the traumatic event.
What is prolonged exposure?
Which disorder is a non-substance related addictive disorder?
What is gambling disorder?
Alan is a 32-year-old man who doesn’t really have any friends. He never went to college and dropped out of high school because he thought the teachers were giving him bad grades to sabotage him. Recently, he was brought into the emergency room by the police for agitated and aggressive behavior at a nearby café. The police reported that Alan had caused a bit of a commotion. The café manager stated that Allan thought the staff “did it on purpose” when the barista accidentally got his order incorrect. Alan believed that the barista was trying to poison him and was very adamant about getting her arrested. The hospital staff had a hard time getting any helpful information from Alan. He was evasive and kept insisting they didn’t need to know. The nurses claimed he was easily agitated and had a disorganized mental status. He became loud and angry the more the hospital staff asked more questions. When the nurse called a family member, they mentioned this was regular behavior for Alan. The nurse then asked if the family member could perhaps drive him home, Alan refused and said no one would come for him, and that they didn't actually care about him.
What is paranoid personality disorder?
Phil is a sophomore college student studying Accounting and Finance from Amarillo, Texas who has to deal with chronic anxiety for years. Phil describes always feeling anxious and how it has affected him mentally, physically, and emotionally since high school. Phil is unsure when and why he started to become so anxious, but that he feels he never had any control over his anxiety. He shares that he worries all the time and about everything, especially about his school and social life. This constant state of anxiety and worry affects his sleep and his school performance. He finds himself dosing off in lectures due to not sleeping the night before. Phil describes that his mind is constantly racing at night with thoughts about school and extracurriculars and that makes it difficult for him to fall asleep. This constant cycle of not sleeping has affected his studying since he is not able to focus on materials for his exams and has affected his overall school performance causing his grades to drop. He has also been fighting with his roommates and becomes easily irritated when they are in the room with him. About two weeks ago, Phil had his final exams for the semester and was overcame with feelings of anxiety and stress. He shared that he had barely slept the week of his exams and that he feared failing the exams. His anxiety and worry became overwhelming for Phil, and he has decided to seek help today after telling his parents about his struggles
What is generalized anxiety disorder?
Peter is 22-year-old male that is seeking council after “scaring his girlfriend awake too much”. He has no other mental disorders to note and does not know what is wrong with him since he never knows what his girlfriend is talking about when she wakes him up in the middle of the night. More than once she has woken him up while he is in the bathroom or living room and he has no memory of how he got there. She has come into the clinic with him today and seems very tired reporting that she does not get a good night's sleep most nights due to Peter’s episodes. Peter reports feeling very tired the morning after an episode as well and reports that he has received input from work that people are starting to notice how he is groggy and not as quick. Peter is sober and has not had anything to drink in 2 years and reports no other recreational drug use or new medications which his girlfriend can affirm. Peter’s girlfriend describes the episodes as scary since she wakes up in bed to Peterscreaming, sweating, and breathing quickly as if he is fighting something off him in his dreams. Other times she finds Peter in another room with all the same symptoms and is usually unable to comfort him and resorts to waking him. When she wakes him, he does not know why he is awake. Peter’s girlfriend says the episodes occur not soon after they fall asleep, and Peter has no trouble getting back to sleep after an episode. She has asked before what dream is making him react this way and he has no idea what she is talking about. Peter’s girlfriend is afraid she will have to move out if the episodes do not stop since she is starting to be affected at work too.
What is non-rapid eye movement sleep arousal disorders of sleep terror type with sleepwalking?
This is a major side effect of antipsychotic
medications that may immobilize a person.
What is catatonia?
This disorder is characterized by recurrent hair-pulling that results in hair loss and causes significant distress/impairment.
What is Trichotillomania?