Depression And Anxiety Disorders Case Study

At the time of evaluation, Mrs. Smith was a 54-year-old white married heterosexual female that was referred by her PCP, Dr. Dell, to assess her psychological and emotional functioning. Specifically, Mrs. Smith complained of headaches, stomach aches, and chest pains, along with depressive and anxious symptoms. Furthermore, Mrs. Smith shared that she felt overly emotional when confronted with stressful situations, which has worsened in the past six months and caused her to feel tearful, fatigued, and easily overwhelmed. In addition, she has experienced less sleep, a reduced appetite, and ruminations.

Mrs. Smith’s test results, combined with her self-reported information, indicated situational stress that significantly impacted her psychological functioning. Her scores on the WAIS-IV, specifically on the PRI, indicated her fluid intelligence is below average when compared to her peers. In addition, Mrs. Smith acknowledged feelings of depression and …show more content…
Smith’s profile is consistent with Adjustment Disorder (insert specifier here). She reported experiencing depressive and anxiety-related symptoms due to her change in occupation three months ago. Specifically, Mrs. Smith got promoted from assistant bank manager to bank manager. With the promotion, Mrs. Smith had more responsibilities at work. As her test profile revealed she functioned best in simple, well-structured environments, her new job may have been the cause of her situational stress. More specifically, she went from a structured work environment to one that is much more complex and demanding. Similarly, the subsequent stress and complexity of her family issues, specifically her marital issues with her husband, distant relationships with her children, and finding out about her daughter’s narcotic abuse, could have also contributing to her situational stress. Therefore, it can be assumed that Mrs. Smith is experiencing more environmental demands than she can adequately handle at this