Dorothea Cabot Case Study

Dorothea is a big person in the cultural council, thus, she was trusted with the responsibility of organizing an event to be held during the opening of a new performance hall. On her new responsibility, she encounters numerous challenges such as workers strikes and threats of her designer quitting the project unless certain specifications are met. Thus, Dorothea has a difficult job of calming her designer and uniting the striking groups. At home, she has to work more since her nanny left to visit an ailing relative. To make matters worse, her best friend whom she considers her sibling died in a tragic road accident. The first major diagnosis is Schizophrenia and is coded as 295. 90 (F20. According to the DSM-5 diagnosis criteria, Dorothea depicted a number of signs which are stipulated for proper diagnosis of schizophrenia and these are; one.

A person experiences more than one of the following signs in about one month, and they include, delusion, disorganized speech, hallucinations, catatonic behavior, and negative symptoms (found in criteria A); Two, a decline in functioning in during self-care, work, and interpersonal relations; Three, the signs persist for more than six months; Four, major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder are not present; five, substance abuse is not the cause of the disturbance. Dorothea’s diagnosis of schizophrenia is because she has three symptoms in Criteria A which are delusion, disorganized speech, and hallucination, and she has presented the symptoms for a long after the demise of her friend, most probably for more than one month (Jablensky, 2013). This diagnosis was made since Dorothea fulfilled the following diagnostic criteria found in DSM-5; One, excessive worry and anxiety over various aspects of not less than six months; two, the individual cannot control the extent of worry; three, the anxiety is linked with at least three signs such as restlessness, fatigue, sleep disturbance, lack of concentration, irritability, and muscle tension.

; four, the anxiety affects the individual’s social or occupational life; five, the disorder is not caused by physiological changes as a result of drug abuse; six, the disorder cannot be elaborated better by other medical disorders (Andrews et al. The fourth diagnosis is mild major depressive disorder coded as 296. 21 (F32. It was made because Dorothea fulfilled the following criteria found in DSM-5; One, impaired function occupationally and socially; two, manifestation of at least 5 specific symptoms that include irritability, decreased interest in several activities, insomnia, psychomotor retardation or agitation, diminished concentration, and suicidality (Andrews et al. In addition to the symptoms discussed, Dorothea presented with others that helped confirm the presence of schizophrenia. Firstly, she developed anxiety which was intense and uncontrollable; secondly, she had sleep problems since she could only afford to sleep a maximum of 2 to 3 hours per night; and thirdly, she experienced extreme fears causing her to think that her life was in danger and that an ultrasound is meant to hurt her (Jablensky, 2013).

She was also diagnosed with panic disorder since a number of symptoms she presented with matched the diagnosis criteria found in DSM-5. After her friend’s funeral, Dorothea used to experience sudden extreme panics that could be heightened within minutes. On top of that, she had a feeling of death and unreality. Based on the DSM-5 criteria, Dorothea presented with anxiety that lasted a long time after the death of her friend, most probably more than six months. She could not control her anxiety as it was intense and unpredictable. She also showed additional signs such as sleep problems and low concentration. Dorothea used to sleep only 3 hours maximum and could not concentrate well in her work because of her delusion among many other factors.

Her physiological change causing the disorder was not a result of substance abuse (Andrews et al. However, after the departure of her nanny, assuming of a huge project as a coordinator, and the demise of her friend, she developed mental disorders that affected her social and occupational life. After being brought for medical care, she was diagnosed majorly with schizophrenia, while other diagnosis included general anxiety disorder, a major depressive disorder (mild), and panic disorder. These disorders can be treated as long as proper drug treatment and counseling are provided promptly. References American Psychiatric Association.  Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). doi: 10. 1002/da. 20658 Asmundson, G. , Taylor, S. , & A. 1016/j. schres. 037 Maj, M. Delusions in Major Depressive Disorder: Recommendations for the DSM-V.