MENTAL DISORDERS ASSIGNMENT
MMH21APT
You are expected to submit your assignment individually.
1. ASSIGNMENT FORMAT
Your whole assignment consists of a case study, around 2800 (+ 5%) words. The case study is expected to follow these guidelines (as applicable & relevant) and referenced as per university regulations:
? A table of contents
? List of Acronyms/List of Tables/Figures (if any)
? Questions as laid out for each case study
? Appendix (if any)
? List of references
1.1 REFERENCES
All work should be properly referenced using the Harvard referencing style and uniform throughout. Plagiarism should not exceed 20%.
1.2 FORMAT
Font: Arial Size 12, Bold for subtitles. Titles in bold and 1 to 2 fonts larger, text justified.
Line Spacing: 1.5
For each case study, a total of 5 marks will be allocated to the format, structure, clarity of ideas, critique, and referencing.

Case Study 1
The patient, Christopher, is a 45-year-old Mauritian male of African origin who entered treatment voluntarily at Centre Idrice Goomany which is an urban residential substance use treatment centre in Plaine-Verte.
Presenting complaints
Christopher reports that he relapsed to substance use 8 months ago, and his primary drug of choice is crack/cocaine accompanied by frequent alcohol use. He reports that he had success in treatment for the first time after he was released from prison 4 years ago, and he would like to try and get back on track, as he has hit a low point in the past few months. At the time of treatment entry, Christopher reports no stable living arrangement and had recently been splitting time at the homes of his friends, ex-girlfriend, and uncle. He has four children between the ages of 10 and 27, with three separate women, and has intermittent contact with each of them. He reports that his eldest son, was murdered 5 months ago in a drug-related incident. In his current environment, he reports spending most of his time with old friends, with whom he re-established a relationship with after he was laid off from his job 9 months ago.
History
Christopher was raised by his mother and never met his father. He reports an extensive family
history of substance use, including heroin and crack/cocaine use by his mother, who passed away 10 years ago. Christopher dropped out of high school after Grade 9 (Form III). Between the ages of 18 and 40, he was arrested and spent time in prison multiple times for charges related to theft and possession of marijuana and cocaine. He was released from his last prison term at the age of 41. He has worked primarily as an assistant electrician over the course of his life, but he refused to provide additional details regarding his employment history. His most stable employment history has been during the past 4 years after completing a court-mandated treatment at Centre de Solidarité in Solitude, a residential substance use treatment facility. He reports that he was committed to “turning my life around” at this time, and he successfully remained abstinent until approximately 8 months ago.
Clinical interview
During the interview, Christopher displayed psychomotor retardation, clear thought processes, and no obvious perceptual abnormalities. His speech volume and tone were within normal limits, yet his speech rate was somewhat slower than normal. He reported past crack/cocaine and alcohol dependence beginning at age 16. He reported feelings of depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, markedly diminished interest in almost all activities, feelings of worthlessness and excessive guilt, and a diminished ability to think or concentrate.
Following the loss of his job, he reported that he had a lot of free time and got bored easily. He felt worthless that he couldn’t find a job and often ruminated over the guilt he felt about his choices in life and his inability to provide for his family. He contacted his old friends, which was soon followed by cocaine and alcohol use. He also reported feeling lonely, guilty, and worthless following the loss of his son, and drug use helped him “get rid of” these feelings, although they would always resurface when he was sober, leading to a cycle of negative reinforcement. Finally, he reported intensifying feelings of sadness and shame that he had used crack/cocaine and alcohol again given how much progress he had made following his release from prison. He felt that he had let his family down, as he was just starting to re-establish relationships with his children before his relapse.
Answer the following questions pertaining to the case study 1 above. Kindly note that a total of 5 marks will be allocated to the format, structure, clarity of ideas, critique, and appropriate referencing.
[5]
1. Which psychological and/or psychiatric problems is this patient presenting with? Indicate the relevant DSM 5 diagnoses and codes and justify your answer.
[5]
2. From which other problems would you need to differentiate, and what are the criteria for doing this?
[5]
3. Are there any assessment procedures or instruments you would use to establish the nature or severity of the problem(s) for treatment plan? Justify your answer.
[5]
4. Which research-based models are available to explain the nature, aetiology or maintenance of the problem(s)? How do they apply in this case?
[5]
5. Is there any other information a mental health practitioner dealing with this/these problem(s) should know about? Justify your answer?
[2]
6. Is there any other information this patient should know about regarding his struggles? Justify your answer?
[3]
Total Marks = 30