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Mood Disorder and Suicide

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PSYC 8781
"Axis III: Mood Disorders & Suicide" Program Transcript

Do Axes I through III diagnosis of the client in the case study. Then explain your rationale for assigning these diagnoses on the basis of the DSM-IV-TR. Finally, explain whether this person is at risk for suicide and how you might assess them for suicide.

See case study attached. References.

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The solution discusses mood disorders and suicide.

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Axis I

Acute Stress Disorder is in Axis I. Parts of it certainly apply to our case study. I think we've dealt with it before. Certainly, many events in her life have caused severe stress. I'm willing to bet that this is not a recent development, and that her life has been one trauma after another. Derealization and depersonalization are two important symptoms that will separate this from typical depressive or anxiety disorders. Both of these symptoms are abstract, and can only be gleaned or inferred from the case study.

These two symptoms are also closely related. Derealization concerns the external world, while depersonalization concerns the internal world of our own selfhood. It is almost a defense mechanism where pain is soothed by denying the very existence of a) the world around us and/or b) the very self that experiences pain. While not explicit, these symptoms are implied throughout her description. One might even stretch a bit and hold that suicide is the final end of depersonalization (PN, 2003).

While this might not be the most likely scenario, we would be remiss if we did not consider it. We would ask if any of her episodes of depression are accompanied by headaches. This disorder is connected with child abuse, which we deal with in Axis II. She's also about the right age for its onset. According to Psychiatric News, no effective treatment for this has yet to be found. SSRIs might help the symptoms, but it will not ...

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