Case Study 4:

Joel is a 20 year-old engineering major at a local university. Over the past few weeks his roommates have noticed increasingly bizarre behaviors. On many occasions they've overheard him whispering to himself. Lately, he has refused to eat anything that is not from a sealed can for fear someone has poisoned his food.

He's become angry with his roommates, accusing them on several occasions that they are conspiring with foreign intelligence to have him killed since they are aware he will create many ingenious engineering projects that could assist in the capture of foreign enemies. He's stopped attending his classes and is now so far behind in his coursework that he will fail if something doesn't change very soon.

His parents have tried to get him in to see a psychiatrist. Joel has had an occasional drink, but has never experimented with illegal drugs. His parents are extremely worried about his behavior but don't know how to help. Joel is unwilling to see a psychiatrist because he has an aunt who has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for most of her adult life.

1. Diagnosis of Joel is Paranoid Schizophrenia. Explain why this diagnosis makes sense. Be sure to provide a thorough explanation for the diagnosis using specific information from the case study, along with information from the learning materials, your textbook, or other sources. Cite your sources.

2. What treatment do you believe to be best for Joel? (list more than 1 treatment option)

3. Why do you believe this treatment would be beneficial? (support your ideas with information from the textbook or learning materials)

Case Study 5:

Ann presented to her doctor as a 5 feet 7 inches female weighing 79 pounds. Sandy didn't really think there was anything wrong with her, but her parents brought her in worried about her weight loss. Ann gets anxious when her parents try to get her to eat, stating she believes she's "too fat," and needs to watch her weight. She's recently become disinterested in activities that she once enjoyed, preferring to stay in her room for hours at a time.

During the meeting her physician discovered Ann has experienced amenorrhea for the past 7 months. The medical evaluation found no significant medical history and no physical illness to explain her weight loss, but she did have low blood pressure.

1. Diagnosis of Ann is Anorexia Nervosa. Be sure to provide a thorough explanation for the diagnosis using specific information from the case study, along with information from the learning materials, your textbook, or other sources. Cite your sources.

2. What treatment do you believe to be best for Ann? (list more than 1 treatment option)

3. Why do you believe this treatment would be beneficial? (support your ideas with information from the textbook or learning materials)

Reference: Psychology (Spielman, R. M.). OpenStax, Rice University, Houston, TX.