Case Study
Name: Debra
Age: 26-year-old
Family History: Debra is a 26-year-old married woman. She is an elder sister to two of her younger brothers. Both of Debra’s parents loved and cared for all children although Debra’s mother was rather an anxious and somewhat depressed person and also suffers from specific phobias, like the fear of spiders and snakes. Debra’s father is not one to show affection very often as he demands for good performance, in both academic and social areas, and a lack of performance usually meant some form of direct punishment as well as emotional distance from him.
Personal History: Since her childhood years, Debra has always been afraid of snakes and insects. During high school, she became anxious if closed in for any length of time in a small room. She also occasionally experienced periods during which she would feel anxious for no apparent reason that she could put her finger on and then, more rarely would become depressed. Her grades were above average throughout grade school and high school and although Debra struggle academically in college, she did manage to graduate with a business degree with a major in marketing. She started to work on her MBA but felt “just burnt out” with school so she quit to take a lower-echelon job in the marketing department of a large firm in a major city about 300 miles from the area she grew up and went to college. She was introduced to her future husband shortly after moving to that city, and they were married after a brief but intense courtship of 4 months. This intensity waned almost immediately after the marriage ceremony, and they settled into a routine marked neither by contentment nor by obvious problems. They seldom fought openly but they developed increasingly “parallel lives” wherein interactions ( including the sexual ones) were pleasant but minimal.
Diagnostic Rationale:
AXIS I It is noted that Debra suffers from a variety of phobias as well as
Age: 26-year-old
Family History: Debra is a 26-year-old married woman. She is an elder sister to two of her younger brothers. Both of Debra’s parents loved and cared for all children although Debra’s mother was rather an anxious and somewhat depressed person and also suffers from specific phobias, like the fear of spiders and snakes. Debra’s father is not one to show affection very often as he demands for good performance, in both academic and social areas, and a lack of performance usually meant some form of direct punishment as well as emotional distance from him.
Personal History: Since her childhood years, Debra has always been afraid of snakes and insects. During high school, she became anxious if closed in for any length of time in a small room. She also occasionally experienced periods during which she would feel anxious for no apparent reason that she could put her finger on and then, more rarely would become depressed. Her grades were above average throughout grade school and high school and although Debra struggle academically in college, she did manage to graduate with a business degree with a major in marketing. She started to work on her MBA but felt “just burnt out” with school so she quit to take a lower-echelon job in the marketing department of a large firm in a major city about 300 miles from the area she grew up and went to college. She was introduced to her future husband shortly after moving to that city, and they were married after a brief but intense courtship of 4 months. This intensity waned almost immediately after the marriage ceremony, and they settled into a routine marked neither by contentment nor by obvious problems. They seldom fought openly but they developed increasingly “parallel lives” wherein interactions ( including the sexual ones) were pleasant but minimal.
Diagnostic Rationale:
AXIS I It is noted that Debra suffers from a variety of phobias as well as
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