Case Study 2:

Shari is a 28 year-old mother of two. She went through a divorce 2 years ago and has remained single ever since. She's had a successful career as a teacher for the last 6 years but for the last 8 months she's gradually become more and more troubled by worry that she will lose her job and her house. Despite her best efforts, she hasn't been able to shake the negative thoughts.

Ever since the worry started, she has found herself feeling restless, tired, and tense. She has a hard time relaxing with her children and the only activity that seems to help is pacing back and forth in the hallway. When she goes to bed at night, her brain races. She mentally rehearses the fear of losing her job and the worse-case scenarios that can come from her job loss.

1. Diagnosis of Shari is Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Explain why this diagnosis makes sense. Be sure to provide a thorough explanation for the diagnosis using specific information from the case study, along with information from the learning materials, your textbook, or other sources. Cite your sources.

2. What treatment do you believe to be best for Shari? (list more than 1 treatment option)

3. Why do you believe this treatment would be beneficial? (support your ideas with information from the textbook or learning materials)

Case Study 3:

Dean's parents reported that as an infant and toddler, he was difficult to settle; swaddling, slow rhythmic rocking, and keeping the environment and routines consistent were the most effective techniques to manage his behaviors, which included flailing, kicking, and yelling when he was distressed. In grade school he did not express his emotions in an age-appropriate manner. If he felt sad or angry, he would burst into tears, scream, and/or walk away from the situation. Dean struggled with social interactions and had difficulty initiating a conversation. He rarely asked questions and mostly replied with a very brief "Yes" or "No" response.

Currently, Dean is 23 and employed at an accounting firm. He does well working with numbers but sometimes has difficulty with coworkers. He has difficulty understanding gestures, body language and facial expressions. He finds "small talk" difficult and tends not to be very socially motivated.

1. Diagnosis of Dean is Autism Spectrum Disorder. Explain why this diagnosis makes sense. Be sure to provide a thorough explanation for the diagnosis using specific information from the case study, along with information from the learning materials, your textbook, or other sources. Cite your sources.

2. What treatment do you believe to be best for Dean? (list more than 1 treatment option)

3. Why do you believe this treatment would be beneficial? (support your ideas with information from the textbook or learning materials)

Reference: Psychology (Spielman, R. M.). OpenStax, Rice University, Houston, TX.