Presenting Problem
Sonya reported having depression, happiness at times, nervousness, stress, and moods are all over the place.
Background of the Patient
The patient in the case scenario is called Sonya, a 28-year-old female. She has two siblings, and both of her parents are alive. Before puberty, Sonya had anxiety issues about school; while in school, she scored a mixture of A and B in most of her subjects. She has social issues at school, and she is not able to make friends. She does not use any drugs, and no one in her family uses drugs. Her parents and siblings do not use any drugs. Sonya is not married, but she used to date her boyfriend till they broke up due to her alternating moods and depression.
She can be happy for few days, then suddenly she feels depressed, and her boyfriend could not keep up with her. She has had a different job and volunteering at the labs, but she has not gotten a job that can pay. She is a third-year student in the postgraduate biology class. Her mental condition started when she was finishing graduate school. While growing up, she had been having temper issues and tantrums. Her aunt on the mother’s side has the same problems as her since her feelings of up and down is the same as what she feels.
Overview of Symptoms
According to the observations, Sonya has won a bright coloured top. Bright colours are associated with people who have bipolar disorder. She is also worried about her boyfriend, and she feels as if she is not going to be happy. She does not concentrate on one thing, especially at school she cannot do her project. The symptoms that Sonya is verbally stating include alternating episodes of depression, stress, happiness, nervousness, and moods that are all over. She has suicidal ideations, and she has been thinking about how she can die and sometimes feels like jumping from rooftops but fears being judged by others. Sonya reports that other students see her as being weird, unusual, and having different interests. She says that other people say that she speaks a lot and wonder if she has taken a breath. This means that she has a pressure of speech since she feels like she has a lot to tell people.
Diagnostic Formulations
Basing on the information provided in the audio, Sonya has major depression. DSM5 classifies this diagnosis such as major depression due to the presenting clinical manifestations of this patient. These clinical manifestations presented by Sonya include depressed mood, disturbed sleeping pattern, and sleeping for 12 hours when depressed. This client has recurrent suicidal ideations, sometimes with a plan or no plan of how to kill herself. She has lost interest in her well-being, and she reports that this condition makes her lose appetite, leading to losing weight (Tolentino & Schmidt, 2018). The other possible diagnosis includes bipolar mood disorder since she alternates being happy and sadly most of the time.
Recommended Interventions
The treatment of choice for significant depression includes psychotherapy and antidepressant medications. Psychotherapy targets maladaptive patterns of individuals. Antidepressants recommended include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as fluoxetine, increasing the level of serotonin within the brain. Serotonin elevates the mood of the patient through the improvement of nerve signal between the neurons. Sonya should be followed up every week during the first three months of treatment (Bortolato et al., 2016). She should identify community support groups while at home, which will increase her social networks and reduce isolation.
References
Bortolato, B., Miskowiak, K. W., Köhler, C. A., Maes, M., Fernandes, B. S., Berk, M., & Carvalho, A. F. (2016). Cognitive remission: a novel objective for the treatment of major depression?. BMC medicine, 14(1), 1-18. Web.
Tolentino, J. C., & Schmidt, S. L. (2018). DSM-5 criteria and depression severity: implications for clinical practice. Frontiers in psychiatry, 9, 450. Web.