Katherine Malone Case Study

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Case Presentation
Katherine Malone is a single 26-year-old Caucasian female who is currently residing in Riverside, California. Ms. Malone lives with her mother, step-father, and a younger half brother. Growing up, her biological father was physically abusive due to his alcoholism. Her parents got divorced when she was five years old and her mother remarried two years later. Her step-father began sexually assaulting her when she was about eight years old. Katherine confided in her mother, but her mother did not believe her and accused her of lying. The neglect and verbal abuse from her mother and sexual assault from her step-father went on for approximately eight years, until the age of sixteen. Katherine struggled throughout high school and …show more content…

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), there must be at least two criteria present to be classified with this disorder within a 12-month period. The criteria consist of drinking alcohol in excessive amounts, individual focuses on drinking and is always craving to drink, recurring use leads to issues with social activities and responsibilities, and harmful physical changes to the body and tolerance (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). For the client, the amount of alcohol intake increased dramatically within the month she entered college. Client’s alcohol tolerance had increased where she must increase her alcohol intake in order to feel the same effects as the last time she drank. In addition, alcohol usage went from weekends to drinking nightly. Client spends a great amount of effort to engage in drinking activities neglecting school and work responsibilities. Client spends a lot of time at home to recover from the effects of alcohol leading to her inability to hold a steady job. Client chooses to continue to engage in drinking activities even though problems with her social life occurred. Client would isolate from her family and friends that tried to help her situation. Client also experienced major weight loss as a result of limiting her consumption of food and repeated …show more content…

Biological, behavioral, and cognitive perspectives are the three that many would use in order to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for the individual.
From the biological perspective, alcohol abuse stems from the idea that an individual is predisposed to use because of the traits that were passed down from birth. Katherine was genetically determined to have the potential to be dependent on alcohol when she was born with her genes. From her family history, it was reported that her father also suffered from alcoholism. Biological treatment consists of medication such as disulfiram, however, with such medications come with hazardous side

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