Diagnosis paper/movie assignment (Steven pounds

The purpose of this assignment is to give you experience in making clinical diagnoses.>

First, you will watch the movie Seven Pounds, and then you will write a diagnosis paper. Detailed instructions for the paper can be found below. Note that to access the movie, you will need to log in with your Maryville credentials.

Diagnosis Paper Instructions

Pretend that you are a clinical psychologist, and the character in the movie has come into your office. (For this movie, the character you are to focus on is Ben (Tim), as portrayed by Will Smith).

In your paper, first, give a brief description of the character.

Identify the diagnosis that you would make of the character.

You should back up your diagnosis with the relevant symptoms displayed by the character (in other words, explain why you made the diagnosis that you did). Refer to the movie to illustrate the symptoms that the character demonstrates.

Discuss all the possible symptoms of the disorder; does the client show all the possible symptoms or only some of the possible symptoms of the disorder?

In some cases, the character may be lying and does not really have a disorder. For example, the person may be faking the disorder to avoid prosecution for a crime. If you feel that the character does not really have a disorder, what makes you think that the person is lying? What evidence is there that the disorder is not genuine? What do they do well in faking the disorder?

Discuss the possible origins of the disorder.

Do you think, for example, that it is genetic? Is it likely to be caused by stress or by exposure to certain life events? Explain.

What origins are clear from the movie, and what origins would you speculate, given what you know of the disorder?

Discuss the expected prognosis for the disorder.

What prognosis do you see in the movie (e.g., does the person commit suicide? Does the person seem to recover fully?)

What prognosis seems reasonable, based on your textbook or class discussion of the disorder? The movie might not be realistic; be sure that you describe a realistic prognosis, as well as the movie's outcome.

Determine how you would provide therapy for your client.

What sort of therapy would you provide, based on what you feel would be the most effective?

What sort of therapy (if any) is the character receiving in the movie?

Would you expect the character to respond well to the recommended therapy? Why oS