...Case Study: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – The Case of Bess Your Name PSY/410 Date Professor Obsessive Compulsive Disorders: The Case of Bess Obsessive compulsive disorder commonly (OCD) can be defined as an anxiety disorder differentiated by acts of compulsiveness or continual thoughts of obsession. Persistent thoughts, images, and desires are characteristics of obsessions. These thoughts, images, and desires are not typically willed into one’s mind as they are often senseless, illogical, aggressive, taboo, etc. Compulsive acts are unrealistic and repetitive behaviors. The fear of contamination with germs, dirt, or grease is the most common obsession, which leads to thoroughgoing or compulsive cleansing rituals. Religion, sex, neatness, and hostility are other premises of obsessions. Other variations of compulsions consist of ritualistic counting and checking a specific amount of times. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of OCD in the case of Bess. Additionally, I will explain the biological, psychodynamic, cognitive, and behavioral theories as they apply to the disorder analyzed in my selected case. Overview of Case Bess is a 27-year-old upper-middle class woman who is an accountant and perfectionist, which is normal within her field. At age 10 her parents divorced and Bess was raised by her mother. Although Bess and her mother spent a great deal of time together and her mother frequently expressed her love for Bess, they would often fight. Most...
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...A Summary of the Journal Article: Seasonal Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder = A Summary of the Journal Article: Seasonal Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder is excessive thought (obsessions) that lead to repetitive behaviors. Seasonal Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder, which is very rare, is when the symptoms occur during a certain time of the year; such as autumn or spring. This rare ten year (2004-2014) case study is about a patient whose Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder had its onset during winter and remitted the following summer. This 41yearold housewife, educated up to sixth standard, hailing from middle socioeconomic status, with nil contributory family history, and suffering from hypertension and myopia in left eye (+0.75) and hypermetropia in right eye (−0.75), reported to outpatient clinic with history of 10years duration characterized by unpleasant, frequent, and distressing worries related to dirt and contamination (Sinha, P., Bakhla, A. K., Patnaik, A. K., & Chaudhury, S., 2014). These triggered the occurrence of long, nonfunctional repetitive behaviors such as cleaning and repeating the same words over and over. It was also stated both by husband and the patient that these symptoms have a seasonal pattern developing in October and completing the cycle in April-May. This pattern was so wellrecognized that she wasn’t given any treatment for the first three to four years as they considered it an result of the change of the seasons and that symptoms...
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...Introduction Although kleptomania, the irresistible impulse to steal objects not needed for personal use or for their monetary value, is currently classified in psychiatric nomenclature as an impulse control disorder, research suggests it is, rather, a variant of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The principle effects of the theft are repetitive, unwanted intrusions of thoughts, and an inability to avoid the compulsion to perform the theft, and the relief of tension following the act (Dannon, 2002). Comparison of both disorders, their comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, and the treatment used to reduce and eliminate symptoms may have a baring on the “correct” classification. Kleptomania, listed in the DSM-IV as an impulse control disorder not elsewhere classified, is a psychiatric condition still poorly understood and subject of only a few systematic studies (Presta, Marazziti, Dell‘Osso, Pfanner, Pallanti, & Cassano, 2002). Kleptomania is characterized by the persistent impossibility to resist the drive to steal objects. Kleptomania should be distinguished from shoplifting, in which the action is usually well-planned and motivated by need or monetary gain. Often a kleptomaniac steals things he or she could have easily bought or things that are not expensive. The objects stolen are not stolen for their immediate utility or monetary value; on the contrary, the person will most likely discard them, give them away, or collect them. This behavior is usually associated with...
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...Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a disorder that can be more debilitating than one would think. It has been found that the cause of OCD is either due to brain abnormalities or a chemical imbalance. There are various types of treatments out there to treat OCD. There are two possible treatments for OCD: psychotherapy and medication. Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) is one of the possible treatments of OCD. This type of treatment helps patients internalize a strategy to resist OCD for the rest of their life. It has been found that serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are very effective in treating OCD. What this medication does is increase the concentration of serotonin in the brain. One of the common SRIs used to treat OCD in the United...
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...English 102 10 June 2010 Contamination OCD and Our Health Contamination obsessive-compulsive disorder can be the most unnecessary and most annoying disorder out there. Consider the feeling of constantly tracing the history of germ contents for everything you touch. It’s nearly impossible, but enough to drive a person crazy. Dealing with contamination OCD myself, I am a self-proclaimed “germ-a-phobe” or “germ-freak,” but living in fear of germs is not what I always dreamed of. Anxiety is an understatement in regards to never touching the TV remote control just because I don’t know who touched it last and what they’ve touched last, or letting everyone believe I’m unfriendly just to avoid a high-five, even though I do carry hand sanitizer with me. These are unnecessary and irrelevant thoughts to anything worthwhile, but somehow they aren’t as easy to get rid of as you might think. Contamination OCD can cause so much fear and anxiety in a person’s life, but what is it that actually jump starts this seemingly endless annoyance? Should the rest of the world consider our thoughts on the fact that maybe germs are dangerous or is it the disinfectants that are really causing us harm? Even though disinfectants pose such a dangerous threat to our health due to toxins in them, those living with contamination OCD still can’t seem to accept that fact and put down the cleaners in fear of being contaminated by germs because of the habits and rituals that have taken over in our minds and...
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...Mental/Behavioral Case Study HCS/245 April 27, 2015 Mental/Behavioral Case Study Jim Wolfe is a 45 year old owner of an auto parts store. He is constantly washing his hands, rechecking his parts list, equipment, and employee schedules. His wife raises concerns about his work performance and his inability to sleep and convinces him to see his physician. He gets a referral to see a psychiatrist and is diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). OCD is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by unreasonable thoughts and fears that lead a person into repetitive behaviors. It has two parts: obsessive and compulsive. The obsessive portion relates to a person’s repetitive thoughts and emotions. The compulsive part concerns the person’s inability to resist the repetitive actions. Trying to ignore or stop these thoughts only create more anxiety and stress. (Neighbors, 2015, Chapter 21). Based on the onset of the disease and the symptoms that Jim is displaying, he should receive a primary level of care. Treating OCD early can reduce the symptoms and the disruption that this disease can cause in daily life. Treatment for OCD consists of medications and behavior therapy. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, the doctor may only prescribe counseling. Medications such as anti-depressants or tricyclic anti-depressants help to relieve obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors and help balance brain chemicals (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). Receiving...
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...Children Just Want to be Treated Equally Academic Behavior Code A. Califano April 24, 2013 Abstract Many children and adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder go undiagnosed. Researchers examine the possible causes and found that many children do not get diagnosed because of their lack of ability to understand and vocalize their experiences; hindering children’s abilities to maintain relationships and perform well in school. ERP is a form of treatment that has been recorded to work in many cases. In some circumstances children may not be able to handle the distress and anxiety that is associated with the repeated exposure exercises. Treatment is extremely important for those who are suffering from OCD. If not properly treated, it is expected that those people unfortunately can have a chronic and deteriorating course. Keywords: OCD, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Children, Adolescents, ERP, Treatment, Distress, Anxiety, Diagnosis Children Just Want to be Treated Equally Obsessive-compulsive disorder, referred to as OCD, is a common psychiatric disorder and is one of the highest recorded in the United States. It has been estimated that OCD affects 1 in 200 young persons (Adams, 1999). This means that 3 or 4 students in an averaged sized elementary school suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder. This disorder impairs children’s abilities to function in home, school, and community settings. The American Psychiatric Association (2000) characterizes OCD as recurrent...
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...Psychological disorders and treatment Psychological disorders can be described as abnormal behavior. Defining what abnormal behavior is can be a complex process. Not every episode of behavior we would deem abnormal is due to a psychological disorder. Having anxiety before a big event, performing, etc. is natural, however, when anxiety starts to affect one’s life and causes suffering, there might be an underlying disorder. Psychologists identify behavior as abnormal when it matches one or more of this criteria: unusualness, social deviance, emotional distress, maladaptive behavior, dangerousness, faulty perceptions or interpretations of reality (Nevid, 2012). Disorders are classified into groups, for example, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, dissociative and somatoform disorders, etc. that are further divided into specific disorders. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, for example, is an anxiety disorder, whereas, hypochondriasis is a somatoform disorder. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder that affects the brain and behavior. OCD involves obsessions and compulsions that are time-consuming, distressing, even impairing, that the person suffering from the disorder cannot control. According to Abramowitz, Taylor & McKay (2009), obsessions have four fundamental features: “they are recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and cause great anxiety; they are not simply excessive worries...
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...Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA c Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA b a r t i c l e in fo Article history: Received 14 February 2008 Received in revised form 7 April 2008 Accepted 8 April 2008 Keywords: Hoarding Prevalence Risk factors Personality disorders Comorbidity abstract Little is known about the prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior in the community. We estimated the prevalence and evaluated correlates of hoarding in 742 participants in the Hopkins Epidemiology of Personality Disorder Study. The prevalence of hoarding was nearly 4% (5.3%, weighted) and was greater in older than younger age groups, greater in men than women, and inversely related to household income. Hoarding was associated with alcohol dependence; paranoid, schizotypal, avoidant, and obsessive–compulsive personality disorder traits; insecurity from home break-ins and excessive physical discipline before 16 years of age; and parental psychopathology. These findings suggest that hoarding may be relatively prevalent and that alcohol dependence, personality disorder traits, and specific childhood adversities are associated with hoarding...
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...Obsessive Compulsive Disorder What is OCD? OCD is an anxiety disorder where sufferers experience persistent and intrusive thoughts occurring as obsessions, compulsions or a combination of the two. Obsessions are things that people think about and can comprise of inappropriate ideas and visual images that aren’t based on reality, such as being convinced that there are germs everywhere. Compulsions are what people do as a result of those obsessions; they are an attempt to reduce distress or prevent feared events, though there is little chance of them doing so. Symptoms of OCD. Obsessive symptoms. Common obsessions include: * Contamination, eg by germs. * Fear of losing control, eg through impulses to hurt someone. * Perfectionism, eg fear of not being the best. * Religion, eg fear of being immoral. Common obsessions include: * Contamination, eg by germs. * Fear of losing control, eg through impulses to hurt someone. * Perfectionism, eg fear of not being the best. * Religion, eg fear of being immoral. Behavioural. * Hinders everyday functioning – having obsessive ideas of an inappropriate type creates such anxiety that the ability to perform everyday tasks is severely hindered, for example, being able to work effectively. * Social impairment – anxiety levels generated are so high as to limit the ability to conduct meaningful interpersonal relationships. Emotional. * Extreme anxiety – persistent inappropriate or forbidden ideas...
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...Application to Psychology: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Se'Sees Holmes PSY/480 November 3, 2014 Chantell Scott Application to Psychology: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Clinical Psychologist’s must tackle a huge number of mental disorders. They can range from anything being Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to Schizophrenia. To fully comprehend the application of clinical psychology in the real-world environment one must fully understand the realm of psychology and all that goes with it. Here I will provide an overview of my chosen disorder being Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I will then discuss the biological, psychological and social factors that are involved in my case. I will then explain which interventions would be appropriate in the field of psychology and then for each intervention we will discuss the rationale for the selected intervention, what would take place, who would be involved in the intervention, where the intervention would be held and lastly which area the intervention would target either biological, psychological or social. Overview My case involves Bess; she is a 27 year old female stemming from the upper middle class. Bess is an accountant as well as a perfectionist, which in her field is completely normal. When Bess was the young age of 10, her parents divorced and Bess remained in her mother’s custody. The two spent a great deal of time together. Her mother would often express her love for Bess and from there it would turn into a fight. The fights...
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...Resilience Factors in Childhood Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Introduction The emotional disorders are termed the ‘internalising disorders’ and comprise depression and the anxiety disorders. Although the emotional disorders of childhood are discussed as separate entities, in reality it is not that easy to separate them because there is a lot of common ground. The reason they are seen as separate entities is due to the clinical approach of DSM IV. Often, in any given case, depression and anxiety are both present to some degree and there is also often overlap with the conduct disorders. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is categorised as one of the anxiety disorders. In most individuals with OCD, the picture is frequently mixed to a lesser or greater extent. OCD is highly co-morbid, with most studies finding up to 70% of children with OCD having at least one other disorder. Most common are other anxiety disorders, ADHD, developmental disabilities, conduct problems, substance abuse, depression and bipolar disorder (Swedo, Rapoport et al 1989). Any treatment programs for the OCD child must therefore take this into account and tailor the approach accordingly. The nature of childhood OCD and special problems faced Obsessions are unwanted, repetitive, intrusive thoughts, while compulsions involve repetitive, stereotyped behaviours that the child or adolescent feels compelled to perform. In the majority of youngsters with the disorder, both obsessions and compulsions...
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...September 11, 2015 Question no. 1 1. Visual/Spatial - Involves visual perception of the environment, the ability to create and manipulate mental images, and the orientation of the body in space. 2. Verbal/Linguistic - Involves reading, writing, speaking, and conversing in one's own or foreign languages. 3. Logical/Mathematical - Involves number and computing skills, recognizing patterns and relationships, timeliness and order, and the ability to solve different kinds of problems through logic. 4. Bodily/Kinesthetic - Involves physical coordination and dexterity, using fine and gross motor skills, and expressing oneself or learning through physical activities. 5. Musical - Involves understanding and expressing oneself through music and rhythmic movements or dance, or composing, playing, or conducting music. 6. Interpersonal - Involves understanding how to communicate with and understand other people and how to work collaboratively. 7. Intrapersonal - Involves understanding one's inner world of emotions and thoughts, and growing in the ability to control them and work with them consciously. 8. Naturalist - Involves understanding the natural world of plants and animals, noticing their characteristics, and categorizing them; it generally involves keen observation and the ability to classify other things as well. http://www.cse.emory.edu/sciencenet/mismeasure/genius/research02.html Question no.2 Self-Assessment: This can be defined as having the...
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...Lukasz Giza Essay discussing causes of disorders for three selected case studies The case of Bess Obsessive compulsive disorder commonly referred to as OCD is an anxiety disorder; people who suffer from OCD act compulsively and have obsessive thoughts. The fear of contamination is most common type of OCD; it leads to compulsive cleaning rituals as fear of germs, or dirt is a frightening thought for OCD sufferers. OCD could be explained biologically and psychologically. Genes could be a factor that could expose one to OCD. It is thought of that OCD could be passed on genetically. Family studies are good source supporting this theory; the siblings, parents or children of OCD sufferer have 50% genes similar to the OCD sufferer. The risk of getting OCD is between 2-3%, if the percentage is bigger than 2-3% within the family members it is the suggested as an evidence for genetic influences. Close family members have 10-15% risk of developing OCD which stands as a strong evidence. Another study has concentrated on the twins both identical and fraternal. The twins that were studied where selected based on if one had definitely OCD and they looked if the other twin had it too. The results showed that the second twin had 53-87% risk of developing OCD. With the fraternal twins the risk was smaller at 23-43%. To fully understand OCD psychological factors that could trigger OCD need to be taken into consideration too. Regression to an anal stage is an example of psychodynamic explanation...
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...Anxiety Disorders Anxiety disorders are a group of relatively common psychological problems, which used to be known collectively as neuroses. The main psychological feature of anxiety disorders is the unhappiness, the tension, and the excessive anxiety believed by their sufferers. Except for their symptomatic behavior individuals with anxiety disorders usually respond appropriately to their surroundings, both cognitively, and emotionally. They are aware that something is wrong, but they are generally able to cope without hospitalization. Their main characteristic is what mental health professionals may call personal distress. The most common anxiety disorders are phobic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder (Phillipchalk & McConnell, 1994). The less common are panic and obsessive-compulsive. These will be discussing ahead next to its causes, symptoms, and treatments according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) recommendations. Each anxiety disorder has different symptoms, but can alter the life of the individual who suffers those. It is possible to have more than one type of anxiety disorder at the same time or simultaneously. Individuals can also have an anxiety disorder with other mental health problems like depression and substance abuse among others. Generalized Anxiety Disorder Generalized anxiety disorder is much more...
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