Discussion 1

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, please read Chapters 3, 4, and 17 in DSM-5 Made Easy: The Clinician’s Guide to Diagnosis; Cases 18, 19, and 20 from Case Studies in Abnormal Psychology; and Chapter 1 in Psychopathology: History, Diagnosis, and Empirical Foundations. It is recommended that you read Chapter 1 in Turning Points in Dynamic Psychotherapy: Initial Assessment, Boundaries, Money, Disruptions and Suicidal Crises.

For this discussion, you will choose from one of the three “You Decide” case studies included in Case Studies in Abnormal Psychology. The case study you choose for this discussion will also be the case study you will use for your Psychiatric Diagnosis assignment in Week Six. In your initial post, you will take on the persona of the patient from the case study you have chosen in order to create an initial call to a mental health professional from the patient’s point of view. In order to create your initial call, evaluate the symptoms and presenting problems from the case study, and then determine how the patient would approach the first call.

Create a document that includes a transcript of a call from the patient’s point of view based on the information in the case study including basic personal information and reasons for seeking out psychotherapy. The call may be no more than 5 minutes in length. Once you have created your transcript you will create a screencast recording of the transcript using the patient’s voice. Based on the information from the case study, consider the following questions as you create your recording:

• What would the patient say?
• What tone of voice might he or she use?
• How fast would the patient speak?
• Would the message be understandable (e.g., would it be muffled, circumstantial, tangential, rambling, mumbled, pressured, etc.)?

You may use any screencasting software you choose. Quick-Start Guides are available Screencast-O-Matic for your convenience. Once you have created your screencast, include the link and the name of the case study you chose in your initial post and attach your transcript document prior to submitting it.