Joshua, a 14 year-old boy, is brought to your clinic by his mother. Over the course of the year Joshua has been increasingly concerned with germs, which has led to him developing particular hand-washing and showering behaviors.
Joshua’s parents divorced when he was 6 years old. Since that time, he has been raised solely by his mother and has had minimum contact with his father. His mother has been his primary source of social support and is highly involved in his day-to-day functioning. Two years ago, his mother was diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder, the family much of their free time at home, due to their mother’s anxiety.
Joshua experienced concentration difficulties in school, beginning in the third grade, and performed below average throughout elementary school. He had great difficulty …show more content…
In addition to washing frequently, he changes his clothing multiple times a day. Changing his clothes repeatedly throughout the day requires his mother to wash laundry more often. Quickly growing weary of this, Joshua’s mother insisted that he not change clothes so many times a day or he could start to do his own laundry. This prompted him to begin to wash his own clothing, but he is now additionally washing his bedding daily as well. Within the past two weeks he has expanded to washing his siblings and his parents bedding. This is what finally convinced his mother to bring him in for evaluation. Joshua believes that his steady regime of cleaning is what prevents him and his family from being infected by Ebola. He has become ever more fearful of attending school where he cannot maintain his cleaning habits, causing him greater vulnerability to contracting Ebola. Joshua’s parents have attempted to explain that he is not at risk for Ebola, but he is not convinced, feeling it is his responsibility to protect them all through his
Joshua’s parents divorced when he was 6 years old. Since that time, he has been raised solely by his mother and has had minimum contact with his father. His mother has been his primary source of social support and is highly involved in his day-to-day functioning. Two years ago, his mother was diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder, the family much of their free time at home, due to their mother’s anxiety.
Joshua experienced concentration difficulties in school, beginning in the third grade, and performed below average throughout elementary school. He had great difficulty …show more content…
In addition to washing frequently, he changes his clothing multiple times a day. Changing his clothes repeatedly throughout the day requires his mother to wash laundry more often. Quickly growing weary of this, Joshua’s mother insisted that he not change clothes so many times a day or he could start to do his own laundry. This prompted him to begin to wash his own clothing, but he is now additionally washing his bedding daily as well. Within the past two weeks he has expanded to washing his siblings and his parents bedding. This is what finally convinced his mother to bring him in for evaluation. Joshua believes that his steady regime of cleaning is what prevents him and his family from being infected by Ebola. He has become ever more fearful of attending school where he cannot maintain his cleaning habits, causing him greater vulnerability to contracting Ebola. Joshua’s parents have attempted to explain that he is not at risk for Ebola, but he is not convinced, feeling it is his responsibility to protect them all through his