Choose a case study from this week’s required text readings (Chapters 6 and 9 of Contemporary Clinical Psychology).
Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word analysis of your selected case, in which you demonstrate an application of clinical psychology in a real-world situation.Address the following items:
Provide a brief overview of your selected case.
Discuss the biological, psychological, and social factors involved in your selected case.
Use your selected case study to explain which interventions would be appropriate in the field of clinical psychology. For each intervention you select, provide the following:
The rationale for selecting the intervention
What would be done
Who would be involved
In what setting the intervention would occur
Which area the intervention is targeting, such as biological, psychological, or social factors
Use information from at least three peer-reviewed publications to support your points.Format your analysis consistent with APA guidelines
ONLY DO BULLET 2 (Discuss the biological, psychological, and social factors involved in your selected case) AROUND 350 WORDS ONE PEER REVIEW SOURCE
CASE STUDY
Case Study: Nicole Experiences School Phobia (Biopsychosocial)
PLEASE USE THE TEXT BOOK P 158
home tutoring.
Biological Factors: Nicole has always been
an anxious child who had difficulty with
separation and new experiences. While her
mother is unaware of any family history
of anxiety disorders, she claims that Nicole
has seemed ‘‘edgy’’ and ‘‘fearful’’ from ‘‘day
one.’’ Nicole’s diet is significant for her
lack of appetite—excessive consumption of
caffeine-rich cola beverages (approximately
6 cans per day)—and she also complains of
sleep difficulties.
Psychological Factors: Nicole is deeply
attached to her mother who works full
time. Her mother finds it challenging to
parent such a needy child. Nicole is beset
by ongoing anxiety, particularly in response
to separation experiences such as going to
school and sleepovers at friends’ homes. She
has numerous strengths, such as her high
intellect, loving nature, and artistic skill. She
has poor self-esteem, and is riddled with
feelings of inadequacy.
Social Factors: Nicole lives and attends
school in an urban environment. Having
moved to the city only recently, Nicole and
her mother feel relatively isolated and feel
tentative in a big city with significant crime
and hustle-bustle. Nicole’s relatives all live
in distant cities, and her mother’s work
demands have limited their ability to make
social or community connections.
Biopsychosocial Formulation and Plan:
Nicole, who may or may not have a biological
tendency toward anxiety, is certainly
not benefiting from the high levels of caffeine
she is consuming. Caffeine may be
contributing to some degree to her sleeplessness,
low appetite, and possibly even
her anxiety. Most prominent, however, appears
to be Nicole’s sense of isolation in a
new and intimidating environment and her
necessary dependence on her single, fulltime
working mother. By staying home from
school, Nicole (perhaps unconsciously) succeeds
in securing her mother’s presence, or
at least the attention of a neighbor. Nicole’s
school refusal may be inadvertently reinforced
by the companionship and attention
of her mother and neighbors, as well as by
relief from the more challenging aspects of
getting to school on public transportation
and contending with school demands. The
lack of a secure social support network appears
to be enhancing her dependency on
her mother and generating fearfulness and
school refusal.
Treatment should progress in a number of
ways. First, a behavioral program should
be instituted whereby shaping is utilized
to gradually reinforce Nicole’s reentry to
school. For example, Nicole’s mother could
spend the first hour of her school day during
her first week back at school, then only
Integrative and Biopsychosocial Approaches in Contemporary Clinical Psychology 159
Case Study (Continued)
the first 30 minutes, then merely accompany
her to school, and so forth. Nicole’s successes
could be reinforced by special time with her
mother, enjoyable experiences with friends,
or other desirable incentives. This behavioral
plan should be augmented by some supportive
psychotherapy to help Nicole express her
fears and dependency needs, both verbally
and through nonverbal means such as play
and drawing. Efforts should also be encouraged
for the family to extend their social
network, and consultation could be provided
to determine available resources and strategies.
Nicole’s participation in activities (such
as group art projects), which can enhance
her sense of esteem and competence, would
also be beneficial. Finally, all caffeine should
be eliminated from Nicole’s diet.
Cardiovascular Disease
Photo: Courtesy Zach Plante.
In addition to common mental health problems
such as obsessive-compulsive disorder,
anxiety and depressive disorders, and
schizophrenia, the use of the biopsychosocial
perspective in clinical psychology has been
effectively extended to understand and treat
major medical diseases. Thus, clinical psychologists
are now involved in disorders that
fall directly under the purview of medicine.
Cardiovascular disease provides an excellent
example of the biopsychosocial perspective’s
utility for clinical psychology in better understanding,
preventing, and treating this problem.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the nation’s
number-one killer, resulting in 40% of
all deaths and having been the leading cause
of premature death in the United States since
the 1930s (American Heart Association, 2009).
As mentioned earlier, it has been estimated
that 50%