Psychological Assessment of Diana Miller
The intention of this report is to provide a comprehensive investigation into the abnormal behaviours, diagnoses and treatment options of Diana Miller. Abnormal behaviour is comprised of such revealing features as deviating from societal norms, experiencing distressful thoughts and feelings, severe dysfunctional interruptions to daily life and ongoing endangerment of the self and/or others (Comer, 2015). These areas of abnormal functioning must be wholly assessed prior to the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders (Comer, 2015). To accomplish this, specific symptomatic behaviours are compared and contrasted with etiological and diagnostic features as well as biological, sociocultural and …show more content…
Diana began to exhibit abnormal behaviour around age 12, following the death of her sister and reappearance of her father after a 9-year estrangement. She has experienced lasting feelings of hopelessness and suicidal ideation. She has developed an insecure self-image, unstable and often unhealthy relationships with others, demonstrated bouts of intense anger, and is notoriously impulsive (i.e. she constantly craves excitement due to frequent boredom). There is a strong relationship between these behaviours and the clinically identifying traits of MDD and BPD as documented by the American Psychological Association (as cited in Bellino et al., 2005; Field, Francis, & Carr, 2015; Mikolajewski, Pizzarello, & Taylor, 2011). Bellino and colleagues investigated this relationship by inviting 119 outpatients with MDD (and various coinciding personality disorders) to participate in several assessments such as the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) with the intention of understanding their symptomatic histories. The authors found that along with self-aggression and suicide attempts, which has an elevated rate for those with BPD (Field et. al., 2015; van Goethem, Mulders, Muris, Arntz, & Egger, 2012), similarities also included higher levels of …show more content…
Research suggests that women are biologically predisposed to hormonal changes through natural processes (i.e. menstruation, pregnancy) and these changes may contribute to the development of depression-related illnesses (Albert, 2015; Lara, 2008). Affectively speaking, women tend to regulate emotions and relationships on an internal level more so than their male counterparts who are prone to externalization (Albert, 2015). This premise was supported by the findings of a 2013 bi-cultural study in which 764 undergraduate students (384 American, 380 Korean) responded to surveys examining their affective coping tendencies. The authors observed, with little doubt, that American women were more likely than men to use ineffective coping methods such as anger suppression (Kwon, Yoon, Joormann & Kwon, 2013). Diana, however, does periodically externalize her anger but typically does so through tantrums. Risk factors for BPD are less focussed on cultural background but are more contingent upon sex distinctions; three quarters of the diagnosed population are women (Comer,
The intention of this report is to provide a comprehensive investigation into the abnormal behaviours, diagnoses and treatment options of Diana Miller. Abnormal behaviour is comprised of such revealing features as deviating from societal norms, experiencing distressful thoughts and feelings, severe dysfunctional interruptions to daily life and ongoing endangerment of the self and/or others (Comer, 2015). These areas of abnormal functioning must be wholly assessed prior to the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders (Comer, 2015). To accomplish this, specific symptomatic behaviours are compared and contrasted with etiological and diagnostic features as well as biological, sociocultural and …show more content…
Diana began to exhibit abnormal behaviour around age 12, following the death of her sister and reappearance of her father after a 9-year estrangement. She has experienced lasting feelings of hopelessness and suicidal ideation. She has developed an insecure self-image, unstable and often unhealthy relationships with others, demonstrated bouts of intense anger, and is notoriously impulsive (i.e. she constantly craves excitement due to frequent boredom). There is a strong relationship between these behaviours and the clinically identifying traits of MDD and BPD as documented by the American Psychological Association (as cited in Bellino et al., 2005; Field, Francis, & Carr, 2015; Mikolajewski, Pizzarello, & Taylor, 2011). Bellino and colleagues investigated this relationship by inviting 119 outpatients with MDD (and various coinciding personality disorders) to participate in several assessments such as the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) with the intention of understanding their symptomatic histories. The authors found that along with self-aggression and suicide attempts, which has an elevated rate for those with BPD (Field et. al., 2015; van Goethem, Mulders, Muris, Arntz, & Egger, 2012), similarities also included higher levels of …show more content…
Research suggests that women are biologically predisposed to hormonal changes through natural processes (i.e. menstruation, pregnancy) and these changes may contribute to the development of depression-related illnesses (Albert, 2015; Lara, 2008). Affectively speaking, women tend to regulate emotions and relationships on an internal level more so than their male counterparts who are prone to externalization (Albert, 2015). This premise was supported by the findings of a 2013 bi-cultural study in which 764 undergraduate students (384 American, 380 Korean) responded to surveys examining their affective coping tendencies. The authors observed, with little doubt, that American women were more likely than men to use ineffective coping methods such as anger suppression (Kwon, Yoon, Joormann & Kwon, 2013). Diana, however, does periodically externalize her anger but typically does so through tantrums. Risk factors for BPD are less focussed on cultural background but are more contingent upon sex distinctions; three quarters of the diagnosed population are women (Comer,