Psychological Analysis

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Recommended: Posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatic treatments

Patient Analysis
Arleen has been a police officer for ten years. Currently she is on paid medical leave for three months and has three weeks left before she is due back at work. Arleen’s parents have been divorced for sixteen years. She still keeps in touch with her mother, and talks to her on a regular basis. Her father is an alcoholic with a history of physical and mental abuse towards his children. Arleen has two brothers, one that she keeps in contact with and one that she does not. She stated that her aspirations to become a police officer originate from her not being able to protect her family from her father when she was a child.
On her first visit, Arlene seemed very tense and said that she had been feeling very stressed since leaving the force following her incident. Her and her husband have also not been getting along due to her nervousness. She has not been able to sleep, does not want to go back to work and dreads visiting any of her fellow colleagues. Arleen also stated that she has been having dreams and flashbacks about the incident causing her leave. This incident occurred during a routine traffic stop while Arleen was on duty. The suspect in the car was a known drug dealer, after being asked to get out of the car the suspect brandished a firearm, then fired a single shot ricocheting off Arleen’s arm. The bullet then went into oncoming traffic striking the passenger side door of a passing car, causing that car to crash, in turn killing a five year old boy that was inside. Arleen has feelings of guilt and responsibility for the boys’ death. Even though there was nothing she could have done. She still feels she could have done more to prevent what happen. She has daydreams and nightmares of seeing herself killing the boy. These feelings of guilt have plagued Arleen since the incident happen, over two months ago.

Diagnosis

It is because of these behaviors and duration of time that I diagnosis Arleen McCoy with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an Axis I Disorder found in the DSM. The characteristics of PTSD as described by the DSM are: response to an extreme traumatic event elicits fear, helplessness, or horror (CCU 1). Characteristic symptoms include: dreams, recurrent feelings of event, psychological distress and physiological reactivity.
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...ith PTSD. The MAOI’s are not as widely used as the other classes of drugs due to their many, many food restrictions. They also cannot be combined with other prescription and over the counter drugs.
Of course drugs are not always the answer, they might be a quick fix, but nothing long term. I have always agreed that a therapy along with some drugs can have the best and most lasting effects. The best ways for patients with PTSD to get through such a traumatic experience in my professional opinion is to commit to treatment and try to establish a therapeutic alliance with their psychologist. The next step would be to acknowledge and accept the trauma and its effects on the survivors and their relationships. From there both patient and counselor can breakdown any barriers that may arise in the future.

References
Cross Country University. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Effective Diagnostic and Treatment Options. Course Materials
Dr. Martha Rosenthal. Study guide packet for test two "Emotions"
Gerald C. Davison, John M. Neale, Ann M. Kring. Abnormal Psychology (9th edition) Neil Carson, Allyn and Bacon. Foundations of Physiological Psychology (5th
edition)

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