1.Alice is your long-term friend from high school. Alice was typically quieter in the group, but she was well liked amongst your peers. In high school she began to come out of her shell a little more, but she continued to feel selfconscious when she had to do presentations in front of the class. She would feel anxious all morning before a school presentation and would find it hard to concentrate on anything else. Presentations in front of the class would make her heart rate increase, she would feel nauseous, and the more she focused on that, the more she felt like she wanted to throw up. Alice would then speak quickly to get through the presentation. At the end of every presentation, she always felt a great sense of relief that she got through the presentation. In her final year at school, she was appointed to the student leadership team. She was so proud to be chosen and be involved in organising events for her final year. One of the first events for the leadership team was to go on a leadership team camp to set up plans for the year ahead. On day 1 of the camp, Alice felt a little nervous and a little nauseous. She decided to go to bed early on the first night. The next day she joined the group for a long bush walk. Not long after everyone returned to camp, Alice felt her nausea increase and then she vomited in front of everyone at camp. Alice was embarrassed by what had happened in front of everyone and she was worried that she was sick and might vomit again. Alice left the camp early to avoid another vomiting incident. For the next few weeks after camp Alice stayed home and didn’t go out with her friends. First, she saw a doctor who ran some tests which were inconclusive, but the doctor suggested that she might have had food poisoning and so suggested that Alice take the rest of the week off school to rest and recover. The next two weeks were the school holidays. Even though she was feeling a lot better, she declined offers to go out on group walks with friends. A little part of her was worried she was not better yet, and she wanted to avoid vomiting again. She has caught up with friends over video chat and is looking forward to getting back to school before the HSC exams later in the year. Considering Alice’s changes in her behaviour, you start to wonder if she has a specific phobia for vomiting. Is Alice likely to have a specific phobia, or any other type of psychological disorder? Why or why not? Justify your answer and give a diagnosis if you think it is appropriate.

2.Alice is feeling much better, she has been back at school all term and has been spending more time with her friends again. You are happy to see her back to her old self once again. However, your mutual friend Sally has been spending less and less time with you both as the year has progressed. She seems to be missing a lot of school, which is not like the Sally you have always known. Sally has always been shy and on the quieter side in your group of friends. She always described her family life as perfect- that is until last year when they found out that her dad had been having an affair. Her parents separated not long after, which has been hard for Sally. As an only child she often wonders if she might have been part of the reason her dad left and has started a new family. School work and academics had always come easy to Sally. She has always received compliments from her parents for her grades and since her parents’ separation over a year ago, she has thrown herself into her studies as it seems to be the only thing that makes her mum and dad happy with her. In contrast she always found social life at school harder. Sally has always had a small group of friends and with some encouragement from Alice she put her name down to be on the leadership team – and to her surprise she was selected. Sally felt nervous at first as she has always found it hard to speak up in groups and to meet new people. With Alice’s and your encouragement, she decided to challenge herself as she knew that her friend Alice would be there if she couldn’t speak up herself. Sally accompanied Alice on the bush walk on the second day (after also staying in with her on the first night). When they got back from the bush walk, Sally was standing right next to Alice when Alice vomited in front of everyone. Sally felt terrible for Alice, but when she looked up she could see everyone was looking in their direction. Sally felt her cheeks flush, her heart race and she begun to feel dizzy and nauseous. She started to fear in that moment that she would likely vomit in front of everyone, so she went to her room and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon. That night, there was a group brainstorming session straight after dinner. Sally felt self-conscious without Alice there to support her. As the microphone moved around the room, Sally could see that it was going to be her turn soon. She started to have thoughts like “No one will find what I have to say interesting” and “Everyone can see that I am nervous, and I will embarrass myself”. Sally then felt her cheeks flush, her heart race, she began to feel dizzy and nauseous and thought “I am going to vomit in front of everyone”. In response, Sally left and hid in the bathroom for the rest of the night and didn’t leave her room for the rest of camp. After camp, Sally quit the leadership team. Over the past 7 months, Sally has been increasingly absent from school. When she does attend school, she hides in the bathroom after drop off and more often than not leaves school early. Sally has also stopped spending time with her friends and no longer answers voice or video calls and chose not to celebrate her 18th birthday this year. Considering Sally’s behaviours and worries you think she too may have a Specific Phobia of vomiting. Is Sally likely to have a Specific Phobia, or any other type of psychological disorder? Why or why not? Justify your answer and give a diagnosis if you think it is appropriate

If you believe that either Alice or Sally have a psychological disorder, what treatment strategies would you recommend? Justify your answers

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Alice Likely Diagnosis While Alices experience suggests a potential specific phobia of vomiting emetophobiaits important to be cautious about diagnosesBased on the information provideda conclusive dia... View the full answer