Week 6 Discussion: Case StudiesDiscussion Topic Ends Apr 27, 2021 11:59 PM

This week we will continue to tap into our analytical abilities, applying them to four case studies.  Through the review, evaluation, and drawn conclusions for each study, we will apply our knowledge and understanding of clinical and counseling concepts. 

Your Task

Part 1:  Read:  Read the four case studies provided this week.  They are included in the Week 6 Learning Resources. Links to access the case studies are included below as well.   

Part 2: Main Post:  In order to express our mastery of professional psychology’s prerequisite knowledge, skills, and abilities, this week we will exchange responses to diversely different case studies.

Select the case study you would like to analyze and discuss.  Read the case study carefully and compose your responses to the assigned questions, provided below. Your responses should reflect your unique, personal, response to the case addressed.  Once you have crafted your analysis and written your answers, post your answers here as your main post.

Part 3.  Peer follow-up:  Respond to two of your classmates’ postings.  In 5+ sentences, share how their posting reinforces your understanding of the case or an ethical principle.  Provide constructive, thoughtful feedback designed to build an engaging dialog.  To achieve this, you can ask questions, or share a website or articles, that address topics relevant to the case.  

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CASES

Study 1: Josie: An Interdisciplinary Case Study of Madness

Josie:  An Interdisciplinary Case Study of Madness by Joan-Beth Gow. Susan M. Nava, and Kerri W. Augusto. Case copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Originally published July 30, 2011. https://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/files/josie.pdf

This case study is divided into 6 parts.  After each part there is a series of questions.   Jot down your initial impressions after each part.  At the conclusion of your reading, answer the following questions.  Post your answers and discuss the case with your classmates.

Questions (Required): Answer these three questions.

1.  Outline for the class a brief history of this case.

2.  Discuss the presenting problem addressing your early and concluding assessment of the problem.  That is, in the beginning did you think Josie was physically or mentally ill?  How or why did your thoughts change?

3. What kind of treatment strategy would you recommend? Mention theoretical perspectives, or interventions/techniques and prognosis.

Questions (Pick Two):  Select. then answer two of the following questions.

4. Do you think Josie’s behavior or appearance influenced the care she received?  Why?  How did this impact her case?  

5.  What questions still remain?  What other information would help you more accurately assess what Josie is experiencing?

6. With respect to the general public, how has the treatment of the mentally ill changed over time?

7.  Do you think medical professionals are sufficiently trained to differentiate medical from psychological illness?  Why or why not?  Can you give us an example of another illness which presents as a psychological concern but is chemically based?

Study 2:  Artificial Sanity

Artificial Sanity by Sheila O’Brien Quinn.  Case copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Originally published June 23, 2005. https://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/files/artificial_sanity.pdf

Questions: Answer five of the following questions.

1. Discuss two accepted models of mental illness, i.e., psychological, biological, behavioral.  What assumptions are made within the models? How do they differ?  

2.  How do these two different models influence the treatment of people with mental disorders?

3.  Tell the class the history of the present case.   What does “right to treatment” entail for Singleton?  Does Singleton have schizophrenia, in your opinion?

4.  What are the assumptions about mental illness held by Singleton’s lawyer and the prosecutor?  Support your answer with direct quotes from each lawyer.

5.  Each lawyer appears to believe in a different model of mental illness.  What model is each lawyer using to support his/her argument about how Singleton should be treated?

6.  What is artificial sanity?  Argue your personal side of the case.

Study 3: Sins of the Mother

ID Crimefeed (2017, October 25). A look back at Susan Smith – the South Carolina mom killed her two young sons.  (Webpage)

Read the attached article.  Then answer at least 4 of the following questions.

http://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/crime-history/a-look-back-at-the-susan-smith-case-23-years-after-the-south-carolina-mom-killed-her-2-young-sons

Questions: Answer five of the following questions.

1. Susan violated what most people consider our most sacred trust when she killed her children. How could she have done it? Develop a profile of a woman who might kill her own children. Online, find the FBI’s profile of women who kill their own children. Compare your profile with the FBI’s profile.
2. Discuss potential effects that sexual abuse can have on a young woman. How might Susan’s experiences with her stepfather have affected her behavior?
3. Discuss possible pressures on a young couple that marries in their teens, especially under the circumstances of David and Susan’s marriage.
4. Identify nonverbal cues that Susan gave. Discuss how it is possible to tell if someone if lying from nonverbal behavior. What information does the use of the polygraph supply?
5. Speculate on why Susan might have done what she did. Include speculations about her marriage as well as her own childhood and adolescence.
6. Susan wanted relief from loneliness and the problems in her life. She wanted to commit suicide but did not want her sons to suffer as she had after her father’s suicide. She believed that if she killed her sons first and then committed suicide, her sons would suffer less than if she left them on their own. She felt burdened and was overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being a single mother. What role might depression have played in her actions?
7. Classify Susan according to the DSM V?
8. Why didn’t her attorneys use the mental illness defense?

Study 4: Nature or Nurture: The Case of a Boy Who Became a Girl

Nature or Nurture: The Case of the Boy Who Became a Girl by Keith K. Schillo.  Case copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Originally published November 16, 2011. https://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/files/gender_reassignment.pdf

Questions: Answer five of the following questions. 

1. Some people have argued that the Johns Hopkins psychologist used this opportunity as an experiment to test his nurture theory of gender identity. What are the expected results of this experiment, assuming that the nurture theory is valid?

2. According to the nurture theory, predict the gender identity Bruce would express if he were not subjected to gender re-assignment surgery and raised as a boy?

3. Provide one peer-reviewed article, selected from our UMGC Library’s databases, that address current research or theory on gender identity.

4.  In light of newer research on gender identity, what advice would you give parents who are considering gender re-assignment of a male infant who lacks a penis, but has functional testicles?
5.  What are your thoughts on therapist behavior. What guidelines and codes of ethics direct therapists managing cases of this nature?