Psychological Case Studies 2024

Psychological Case Studies 2024

By: Aaron Zaretsky

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Overview of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Classified as an anxiety disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder plagued with unwanted thoughts, impulses, and desires that can severely impair the daily functioning of a person. These obsessions, as they are known, can include obsessing over sexual preferences, parental safety, contamination, or uncertainty on whether or not a person did something. OCD requires a person to counteract these obsessions with compulsions, or actions that, at the time, temporarily make the obsessions go away.

Soon however, these obsessions return, and a person is ultimately forced to be stuck in the same repetetive cycle that never ends. This cycle often is paired with other aspects, such as depression, and wanting to isolate from family, as well as in some unfortunate cases, self-harm. Examples of these compulsions could be rationalizing intrusive thoughts, washing your hands repeatedly, or repeatedly checking on something. Only in some miracle cases does this disorder go away on its own. It usually requires the help of therapists and anti-depressants to lessen the grip that OCD has on one's life. While OCD will never completely go away, a person who is going through recovery will ideally know the best ways to cope with it and ignore it.

Howard Hughes-The Aviator

A character that correctly exhibits this horrid disorder is Howard Hughes, an engineering genius, who was portrayed by Leonardo Dicaprio in the 2004 film, the Aviator. In the film, when Howard was young, it shows how his mother gave him a lecture about germs and their danger, playing a role in the development in his OCD. Eventually, we can see that when Howard gets uncomfortable, he goes to the bathroom to wash his hands, demonstrating a classic compulsion. In addition, another example of Howard's OCD can be seen when he refuses to be around a colleague after discovering an almost unseen speck of dirt on his lab jacket. This shows the obsession of exactness, and how Howard wants everything to be orderly, also seen when he wants his peas arranged a certain way on his plate. In the end, all of these obsessions and their respective compulsions provide a big burden on to the life of Hughes, and eventually end up crippling it.

How do we treat Howard's OCD with behaviorism?

Behaviorism, which was a psychological perspective that obtained its name from John B. Watson in 1913, is primarily focused on a person's observable behavior. An example of this would be when Hughes washes his hands whenever he feels uncomfortable. This is both an unnecessary behavior, as well as a detrimental one, which can very easily ruin the skin quality of the hand. Thus, this behavior will be the focus of this example. One of the leading methods of behaviorism therapy is called Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), which consists of purposefully exposing a person to an unwanted situation, and then preventing them from doing anything about it. In this case, we would put Mr. Hughes in an uncomfortable situation on purpose, and prevent the compulsion of washing his hands. While this most likely will evoke high anxiety levels in the patient, largely due to their ability to counteract an obsession being taken away, this method of therapy should teach Mr. Hughes that the compulsion is not needed and that his life can be lived without constantly washing his hands whenever he feels uncomfortable. Likewise, this can be applied to virtually any other unhealthy behavior.

Citations

Malone, J. C. (2014, May). Did John B. Watson Really “Found” Behaviorism? ResearchGate; Springer Nature. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272007485_Did_John_B_Watson_Really_Found_Behaviorism#:~:text=He%20never%20claimed%20to%20have,a%20movement%20than%20a%20founder. ‌

Uchil, R. (2015). Movie Review -Psychological Standpoint “The Aviator.” Indian Journal of Mental Health, 2(2). https://indianmentalhealth.com/pdf/2015/vol2-issue2/The_Aviator.pdf ‌

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Overview of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a psychological disorder that is enacted by stressful experiences and traumatic events, most commonly portrayed in movies with soldiers after coming home from war. Other experiences are also catalysts for PTSD: physical assault, sexual violence, abuse, and being held at gunpoint. Specifically, with PTSD, people tend to revisit these memories, either with flashbacks, or nightmares, accompanied by high anxiety levels and irrational thoughts. People can experience these symptoms on an even higher level with abnormal brain chemistry and chemical/hormonal imbalance. These symptoms can severely impair a person's ability to function and can take a significant toll on their mental health, as well as their social life. Usually, symptoms are accompanied by depression, suicidal ideation, and in some cases, eating disorders.

Wolverine-Logan

Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman in the 2017 film "Logan", does a great job of displaying symptoms of PTSD and the effects that they can have on one's life. In the film, Wolverine is a type of mutant, used to fight crime. As a result, he has witnessed lots of violence and loss throughout his career. Later on in the film, we see the PTSD pierce through his life, as he begins to have flashbacks of his rough past, as well as the lives that were lost and the people that he killed. Consequently, Wolverine's life slowly begins to deteriorate and he becomes severely depressed, as well as emotionally numb.

How do we treat Logan's PTSD with the cognitive psychological approach?

To help Wolverine with the cognitive psychological approach, I would use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Essentially, instead of being horrified by these flashbacks and trying to challenge the irrational thoughts that may come with them, ACT forces one to accept these thoughts and let them be. The logic behind this is that the less you obsess and continue to battle or justify your thoughts, the less of an impact they will have on you. For example, if Wolverine suddenly gets a flashback about killing a person in a fight and begins to think to himself that he likes to kill people, he can simply choose to acknowledge and accept this thought and prevent it from going any further, causing mayhem in his brain. Realizing that he does not have control over these flashbacks or irrational thoughts and enacting this form of therapy can help him get on the track of recovery. This approach also closely mimics mindfulness, which is primarily linked with acceptance.

Citations

CBT for PTSD: How It Works, Examples & Effectiveness. (2023). Choosing Therapy. https://www.choosingtherapy.com/cbt-for-ptsd/ ‌

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - Symptoms and causes. (2022). Mayo Clinic; https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355967 ‌

Depression

Overview of Depression

Depression, also characterized as Depression Disorder is a psychological disorder that is highly common among the general population of the world, although it occurs more in women. Symptoms of it can include reduced concentration, unhappiness, lack of interest in endeavors, low energy, suicidal thoughts, inactivity, and hopelessness about the future. Depression can last for a short period, but in more serious cases, can last up to a couple of years, if not more. It can be brought on by just about anything, but more prominently by deaths in the family, tragedies, unemployment, or addiction. As a result, some of these catalysts can also harbor other conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases While this disorder accompanies many psychological disorders as a consequence, such as bipolar disorder (periods of manic and depression), depression itself can severely impact a person's life with the dullness and gloominess that it brings on. To treat it, people can do things relating to self-care, such as avoiding addictive behavior, staying active or going on walks, doing activities they enjoy, or seek professional help.

Ellen Degeneres

Ellen Degeneres, the former host of the famous talk-show, "ellen", recently shared about her battle with depression. Ellen mentioned that it was repeatedly difficult for her to pretend like nothing was wrong and to interact with her guests with a smile on her face when she was experiencing a plethora of emotions inside, as well as depression. This "act" that she had to put on continuously got extremely annoying and unenjoyable, ending up with her discontinuing one of the most popular talk-shows of all time.

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How do we treat Ellen's depression with the humanistic approach to psychology?

To help Ellen return to the stage and continue her talk-show, I would use the humanistic approach to psychology to help treat her depression. Since the humanistic approach primarily focuses on the person and their possible traits, I would talk to Ellen and attempt to help her recognize the qualities that make her a good person in order for her to distract herself from her emotions, as well as to focus on the good and not the bad in her life. Secondly, I would preach to Ellen that she is fully capable of personal growth, and can, with a little work on herself, heal from this depression and ecome a better person who is not suceptible to many of the catalysts of depression. Through this realization, I truly believe that Ellen can return to her millions of fans and display her true happy attitude rather than faking it on some days.

Citations

Weisholtz, D. (2021, May 13). Ellen DeGeneres opens up about her struggles with depression. TODAY.com; TODAY. https://www.today.com/health/ellen-degeneres-opens-about-her-struggles-depression-t218329 ‌

World. (2023, March 31). Depressive disorder (depression). Who.int; World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression ‌

Bipolar Disorder

Overview of Bipolar Disorder

Symptoms can be witnessed through examples of manic and depressive episodes. Symptoms of manic episodes include feeling more active than usual, an overload of thoughts, feeling extreme emotions, and feeling that they are unable to get tired. Symptoms of depressive epsiodes include feeling sad or anxious, having a lack of interest in activities, feeling worthless and thinking about suicide, and struggling to find things to say. People with bipolar disorder usually tend to also experience ADHD, eating disorders, as well as some form of addiction. However severe the disorder may be in an individual, there are ways to treat it. Some recovery methods include taking medications and talking to a liscenced professional that can help the individual.

Bipolar disorder is a psychological disorder that creates significant and unexpected shifts in a person's personality, attitude, energy, and concentration. It includes manic and depressive episodes, ones in which a person is energetic and excited, as well as depressed and down, respectively. For a person to be considered bipolar, however, they do not need to ehibit both types of episodes. There are two types of bipolar disorders. Bipolar 1, which has severe manic and depressive episodes that can last more than a week, while Bipolar 2 simply has episodes that are less in severity. As of right now, scientists currently base bipolar disorder to stem from the functioning and structure of the brain, as well as genetics.

Kanye West

While Kanye West does not exhibit depressive episodes, he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, has recently mentioned that she was concerned that he was going through a manic episode. This can be seen when he announced that he was running for the presidential bid in 2020, and wanted to create a fictitous version of the White House that would be modeled by the administration model in the film, "Black Panther". Additionally, he has meds that he is supposed to take to help his disorder

How do we treat Kanye's bipolar disorder with the sociocultural approach to psychology?

In order to treat Kanye's bipolar disorder with the sociocultural approach, I would first try to understand his cultural beliefs and ideas that lead him to believe these things about the world as well as about himself. Doing so would allow me to get a better understanding of Kanye's mind, and go about further treatment without disrespecting his beliefs and customs. Kanye is also not taking his meds, which can be significantly useful in treating this disorder, so another method would be to understand if there is a stigma around mental health in his family, or if taking medications is unheard of in his culture. If taking medications is not overstepping any cultural boundaries, we could continue with that, but if it does indeed not go along with his beliefs, we could search for another solution, such as implementing his family and friends into the treatment plan.

Citations

Berman, M. R. (2020, July 15). Understanding Kanye West’s Bipolar Disorder. Medpagetoday.com; MedpageToday. https://www.medpagetoday.com/popmedicine/celebritydiagnosis/87581 ‌

Bipolar Disorder. (2024). National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder#:~:text=Bipolar%20disorder%20(formerly%20called%20manic,day%2Dto%2Dday%20tasks. ‌ ‌

Scizophrenia

Overview of Scizophrenia

Individuals who are schizophrenic interpret reality superficially, giving the disorder its dangerous connotation, as it disables the individual. The symptoms of schizophrenia may include delusions(false beliefs that are untrue), hallucinations (observing or listening to stimuli that aren't there), disorganized speech, childlike behavior, and functioning irregularly. Teens have often been found to show less signs of delusions and hallucinations than adults. While their significance may vary, some may last an entire lifelong and be of extreme severity. While there is not a lot of data on the causes of this disorder, through neuroimaging, it is believed that through genetics and brain chemistry. Moreover, neuroimaging has shown that the central nervous system and brain structure of those with schizophrenia is different to people without it. Risk factors include family history of the disease, taking mind altering dtrugs as a teenager, and birth complications with development of the brain. Some of the complications consist of suicidal ideation, alcohol abuse, feeling victimized, social isolation, anger, and depression. Individuals must consistently stick to their treatment plan, as this disorder has the aility to take up an entire lifetime

John Nash- "A Beautiful Mind

John Nash, portrayed by Russel Crow in the movie, "A Beautiful Mind" does an excellent job in portraying what the life of a scizophrenic individual would look like. Nash, a sucsesful mathmatician, began developing symptoms of schizophrenia in his college days when he started hallucinating an imaginary roomate. His hallucinations would further devlop when Nash thought that he was brought in by government intelligence to help decipher codes from Soviet spies, also displaying a delusion as this was a false belief. He then "saw" soviet spies trying to surround him and capture him, all of which never really happened in the first place. His colleagues and wife were extremely concerned, and placed him in the hands of medical professionals.

How do we treat John Nash's schizophrenia with the biological approach to psychology?

To help treat John Nash's scizophrenia with the biological approach to psychology, I would recomend using electreconvulsive therapy (ECT). With this for of treamtent, we would attempt to alter the brain chemistry of Nash's brain by inducing a seizure. This is a tested treatment, and has been known to change the chemistry of the brain after an induced seizure. Hopefully after this, and if all goes well, this treamtent could help Nash'sz treatment plan.

Citations

A Beautiful Mind: Analyzing How Schizophrenia is Portrayed in Movies versus Reality | Disability in Media Review Blog. (2016). Osu.edu. https://u.osu.edu/kovacevich.9/sample-page/#:~:text=Diagnosis%20of%20Paranoid%20Schizophrenia%3A%20The,been%20ordered%20to%20capture%20him. ‌

McKenna, J. (2003, February 9). ECT and Other Procedures for Schizophrenia. WebMD; WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/electroconvulsive-therapy ‌

Schizophrenia - Symptoms and causes. (2020). Mayo Clinic; https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354443#:~:text=Overview,functioning%2C%20and%20can%20be%20disabling. ‌

Addiction

Overview of Addiction

Addiction is a psychological disorder that is mainly identified by the constant desire and search for drugs and alcohol despite the consequences that most likely will happen. It is indeed considered a disorder of the brain due to the irreversible changes that are done to the brain, specifically the, self-control, stress, and reward center. In a way, it is similar to other diseases as the consumption of drugs and alcohol can damage organs such as the liver, kidney, and heart, as well as cause tooth decay. People may feel the need to partake in this endeavor for a variety of reasons, but the most common ones are to lessen anxiety levels, social pressure, and seeking a pleasureable experience. During the first exposure, many people feel that they are under control of alcohol and drug use, but overtime, many develop an addiction, and have to consume these things just to feel normal. The decision to consume these substances quickly goes from voluntary to necesarry to keep the person functioning. Some of the leading factors that contribute to drug and alcohol addiction include a damaged home environment, non-existent parental supervision, and being in poverty. Other factors include a certain way that they are consumed, as well as consuming them during adolescence while the brain is still developing. Introducing drugs and alcohol into a non-fully developed brain can create irreversable and detrimental changes. To treat addiction, people usually go to recovery centers, and try their best to remain sober.

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore, a world renowned actress, has mentioned that she has gone through addiction to both drugs and alcohol. Starting when she was just 9, she started drinking, quickly transitioning to cocaine and marijuana. She even went into rehab at just 13 years old, and with the help that was provided to her, has enjoyed an illustrious and sucsesful acting career that is unnafected by her earlier addiction.

How would we treat Drew Barrymore's addiction with the evolutionary approach to psychology

Even though Barrymore thankfully is not struggling with her addiction anymore, we can still hypothesize about how we would help her if she was. To help her, I would use the evolutionary approach to psychology to help her realize why she first began to consume drugs and alcohol, and how it may have been a method of survival for her to reduce the massive stress of being a child actor. Upon brainstorming some other survival reasons reasons that could explain her early addiction, with the help of Barrymore, we could begin to think of ways that she could relieve the stress or whatever other issue through a healthier, and less dangerous outlet. I believe that doing so would help Drew Barrymore find a beneficial alternative to display whatever she may be struggling with.

Citations

Health. (2022). How drugs affect your body. Vic.gov.au. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/How-drugs-affect-your-body ‌

https://www.facebook.com/WebMD. (2022). Celebrities Who Are Open About Addiction. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/ss/slideshow-celebs-addiction-recovery ‌

on, I. (2024, January 5). Drug Misuse and Addiction | National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drug-misuse-addiction#:~:text=Addiction%20is%20defined%20as%20a,and%20use%20despite%20adverse%20consequences.&text=It%20is%20considered%20a%20brain,stress%2C%20and%20self%2Dcontrol. ‌

Panic Disorder

Overview of Panic Disorder

A panic disorder can be classified when an individual has frequent panic attacks with a sense of fear and the concept that the individual is loosing control, even when the situation is neither dangerous nor triggering. Just because a person experiences pain attacks does not mean that they have a panic disorder. Furthermore, women are more likely to exhibit panic disorders than men. In terms of symptoms and signs, some may include sweating, trouble with breathing, pain in the chest and stomach, pounding heart, fear of being not in control, and fear of when the next panic attack will occur. While scientists are unsure of what exactly causes this disorder, they assume that panic attacks are a result of an individual's survival instinct being active for a long time. The number of panic attacks that individuals may experience ranges vastly, with some experiencing them a few times a year, and others experiencing them a few times a day. The overwhelming stress and anxieety that this disorders brings about onto people is extremely ddaunting and many drastically change their lives in order to not get the mental and physical pain that it could bring. This disorder can be treated by seeing a professional in the health field, who can determine if ones symptoms are relating to a panic disorder or another physical condition. Based on their analysis, they can send the individual to a mental health professional, either a psychologiest or a psychiatrist, who can assist them with necessary the medications.

Princess Diana

Princess Diana, who also suffered from both depression and post-partrum depression, also suffered from a panic disorder. It appears that she was extremely overwhelemed when first becoming Princess, as her bodyguards have claimed that she would tremble while crying when being transported to different locations along her royal tour. Although Princess Diana eolved into a public and lovable person, she was extremely nervous and scared when she first assumed the role, and experienced multiple panic attacks as a result.

How would we treat Princess Diana's panic disorder with the psychodynamic approach to psychology

I believe that using the great Sigmund Freud's psychodynamic approach to psychology would be the best way to go on about treating Princess Diana's panic disorder when she was still alive. Specifically, I would use psychoanalysis, or the talking cure by genuinly having a one-on -one conversation with her. During our talk, I would ask her about her fears and situations that make her nervous to learn about why she had that response during her royal tour. Afterwards, I would try to reason with her and convince her that there is no reason to be so scared and nervous. Since she is the new Princess of the UK, everyone is excited to see her, and cannot wait for her arrival, giving little reason for her to be nervous when the people she is in front of love her. Through this form of therapy, I would hopefully change her perspective, and help her understand that she doesn't need to be scared or nervous to such a high degree in such events, and that the people are not there to ridicule her, but rather celebrate her.

Citations

Panic Disorder: When Fear Overwhelms. (2022). National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/panic-disorder-when-fear-overwhelms ‌

10 Famous People with Panic Disorder. (2020). Calmclinic.com. https://www.calmclinic.com/panic/article/famous-people-with-panic-disorder ‌

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