Addiction Case Study

Information on his immediate family including whether he has children and who he lives with; as well as his relationship with them, would also be important as it would show any indicators of addiction. In addition, family history with a specific focus on cases of alcohol/substance abuse, mental health problems and completed suicide would also be useful in determining the possible causes of his addiction. Also important for the assessment would be information on the patient’s physical functioning including such aspects as medical history; any allergies, current medical problems, past, and current medication as well as nutritional status. Socially, information on the patient’s supportive social network, their living situation, current employment, sources of income, financial situation, leisure and recreational activities, and sexual orientation would provide a ground on some of the factors in the patient’s socio-economic environment that contribute to their addictive symptoms.

As pertains to a psychological state, it would be important to seek information on whether the patient has a history of depressive moods, current or present PTSD symptoms, irritability, violence or anger. Considered, tried repeatedly and failed to stop gambling viii. Considered or actually broken the law to finance his gambling activities ix. Gambled with the intent of getting money to help in meeting his financial obligations This information would help determine the extent to which the patient is into the gambling and consequently whether or not they are addicted, their reasons for gambling, impacts of the gambling on their wellbeing and whether or not they acknowledge that they have a problem and need help to change. Using this information, it would be easier to determine what course of action to take to help them recover.

According to section 312. In addition, studies have also linked the male gender and ethnic minorities such as African-Americans as well as persons with substance use disorders to a greater risk of gambling disorders (Oleski et al. , 2011; Carragher & McWilliams, 2011). In light of the above criteria, Jerry is undoubtedly suffering from a gambling disorder seeing as he not only meets more than four of the criteria outlined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but also fits into the criteria put forward by studies on gambling. First, he is male, of African-American and American-Indian descents smoke cigarettes and marijuana, all of which have been identified by Oleski et al. (2011) and Carragher & McWilliams (2011) as risk factors for gambling disorder. According to the proposed criteria for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Hypersexual Disorder or sexual addiction is defined as the intense and repetitive preoccupation with urges, fantasies and behaviors of a sexual nature and which lead to adverse consequences and significant clinical impairment or distress in occupational, social and other important functioning areas (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).