Case Study Katherine And Michelle

Case of Kathrine and Michelle
Biological Components Katherine is a 45-year old widow, who lives with her 16 -year old daughter Michelle. Katherine upbringing described as having a “tumultuous” relationship with her mother and having a cold, strict disciplinarian, grandmother as a caregiver, alludes to an unsecure attachment she had as a child which largely explains her behavior as a parent. As it relates to her relationship with Michelle and her parenting skills, her clinginess, over attach, strict, and helicopter mom approached, is simply her compensating and projecting the love and care she never had as a child. This can turn maladaptive and caused some conflict between them as she described
Through-out the years Katherine’s trauma has overwhelmed her defense mechanisms altering her neural reflexes, as seen when she is quick to anger, easily startled and her lack of patience. As she regularly dissociates from reality, derealization and depersonalizing reactions allow her to to avoid the reality of her situation or watch it as a detached observer (Cozolino,2010). Her manifestation of avoidance is evidence of her lack of interest in social activities to the point of impeding her to hold a job. As she is unable to avoid relieving her trauma through her nightmares, intrusion keeps a vivid memory of the traumatic event in her life. Her irritability and having difficulty sleeping (nightmares), is also a form of hyper-arousal, another common symptom associated with PTSD. Both of these symptoms overlap with depressive characteristics. Katherine’s PTSD is co-morbid with depression, which has developed to dysthymia based on the duration of her symptoms exceeding numerous years after her exposure to
Its possible her irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is fear induced through the same intrusions (nightmares) she shares with her mother. This suggests she experienced a transferred vulnerability through interactions with her traumatized parent (Yehuda,1999). As ADHD affects various region in the brain, neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine, play a big role as they carried signals between nerves in the brain relating to functional regions. As the frontal cortex facilitates high level functioning, a deficiency of norepinephrine cause by ADHD, can cause inattention, problems with organization, and impaired executive functioning, (Silver, 2007). As it relates to the limbic system, a deficiency in this region might result in restlessness, inattention, or emotional volatility, (Silver,2007).
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