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Case Study Assignment Diagnosing DSM5 Criteria

Case Study Assignment Diagnosing DSM5 Criteria

Overview

The case study final project will provide you with an opportunity to put into practice your interviewing skills with a patient—albeit a fictionalized one—to arrive at a diagnosis based on the DSM-5-TR criteria. Armed with that information, you will then utilize the information you learned in the course regarding psychotropic medications to determine and justify which medication from which class of medications you would prescribe for the patient and what, if any, risk factors need to be taken into account. In addition, the case study will require you to discuss how you would inform and counsel the patient regarding how the medication works, what symptoms/behaviors the medication addresses, and possible side effects.

For this final project, you will create a script for an educational video aimed at psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) students, similar to the Alexander Street videos we have used in this course. The video will feature a diagnostic interview with a fictional patient who meets the criteria for a DSM-5 diagnosis covered in this course. Your script should demonstrate the completion of the four tasks of a diagnostic interview as described by Carlat (2023): building a therapeutic alliance, obtaining the psychiatric history, interviewing for diagnosis, and negotiating a treatment plan with your patient. Your script should include both what you would say and your patient’s fictional responses. Refer to the assignment rubric for more guidance.

Instructions

Elements to Include

1. Building a Therapeutic Alliance

    • Essential Concepts to Demonstrate:
      • Be warm, courteous, and emotionally sensitive.
      • Actively defuse the strangeness of the clinical situation.
      • Give your patient the opening word.
      • Gain your patient’s trust by projecting competence.
    • Examples:
      • Start with a friendly greeting and introduce yourself.
      • Acknowledge the patient’s feelings and make them feel comfortable.
      • Encourage the patient to share their story by asking open-ended questions.

2. Obtaining the Psychiatric History

    • Include the Following:
      • History of present illness
      • Psychiatric history
      • Medical history
      • Family psychiatric history
      • Social and developmental history
    • Examples:
      • Ask the patient about their current symptoms and when they started.
      • Inquire about any past psychiatric treatments or hospitalizations.
      • Gather information about the patient’s medical history and any relevant family history.
      • Explore the patient’s social background and developmental milestones.

3. Interviewing for Diagnosis

  • Steps to Follow:
    • Use the free speech period to generate diagnostic hypotheses.
    • Investigate each diagnostic hypothesis with screening and probing questions based on DSM-5 criteria.
    • Make graceful transitions to diagnostic questions throughout the interview.
    • Use the Psychiatric Review of Symptoms (PROS) for “cleanup.”
  • Examples:
    • Allow the patient to speak freely about their experiences.
    • Ask specific questions to explore potential diagnoses.
    • Transition smoothly between topics to maintain the flow of the interview.
    • Conduct a thorough review of symptoms to ensure all relevant information is gathered.

4. Negotiating a Treatment Plan and Communicating It to the Patient

  • Steps to Follow:
    • Briefly state your diagnosis.
    • Find out what your patient knows about the disorder.
    • Give a mini-lecture about the disorder.
    • Discuss treatment options.
    • Incorporate patient input into the treatment plan.
  • Examples:
    • Clearly explain the diagnosis to the patient.
    • Ask the patient about their understanding of the disorder.
    • Provide a brief overview of the disorder and its implications.
    • Discuss various treatment options and their benefits.
    • Collaborate with the patient to develop a treatment plan that considers their preferences and concerns.
  • Formatting
  • Include an APA Style cover page.
  • Double space your script.
  • Use 1-inch margins.
  • Use a 12-point Arial or Times New Roman font.
  • There is no set page limit for this assignment; instead, ensure you have included all of the required content.
  • For the body of the script, label who is speaking with “Provider” or “Patient”; for example:

Provider: How have you been sleeping?
Patient: I don’t sleep at all.

Writing and Research Resources

The following links provide online writing and research aids to help you with your paper assignments.

  • OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue University
  • Writer’s Handbook, the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • APA Style guidelines
  • Information Literacy for TESU Students (an online guide from the New Jersey State Library to assist you in starting your research, searching databases for articles, citing sources, using ILLiad to request books or articles, etc.)