Case Study

The goal of this assignment is for you to obtain biographical information about a famous person, to write up the clinically relevant information as a case study, to do a diagnosis using DSM-IV axes I and II, and to write a theoretical formulation of the person's case. A sample Case Study report is available on the Web. You may use any of the following famous people as subjects for your case study. We may also come up with additional names in class.

Patty Duke

Ronald Reagan

Marilyn Monroe

Buzz Aldrin

Ted Turner

William Styron

Anne Sexton

David Helfgott (Shine)

John Belushi

Vincent van Gogh

Sylvia Plath

Theodore Kaczynski (the Unabomber)

Edgar Allen Poe

Chris Sizemore

Kitty Dukakis

Madonna

Mark Vonnegut

Betty Ford

Ernest Hemingway

Elvis Presley

Joan of Arc

Ted Bundy

Fredric Chopin

Elizabeth Taylor

Susan Smith

Adolf Hitler

Margot Kidder

Howard Hughes

Kurt Cobain

Kristy McNichols

Karen Carpenter

John Rocker

Ronald Reagan

Sources of Biographical Information:

You may use any periodicals, books, scholarly publications, etc. that you can find to obtain information about your famous or fictional person. In other words, you are not limited to scholarly sources. Make sure, however, that you keep accurate records on all sources of information so that you can document your sources with accurate in-text citations and in the reference section at the end of your paper.

Diagnostic Information:

ALL students must use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) to look up the criteria for diagnosis of disorders. This is available in the library at the Dunwoody Campus in the following location:

Ready Ref. RC455.2.C4 D54 1994

The citation of this manual in the reference section should look like this:

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.).               Washington, DC: Author.

Please include the page numbers for diagnoses you used in your reference information.

The first time you cite the DSM-IV in the text you should include the following information: (American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, 1994). Additional in-text citations need only include the following information: (DSM-IV, 1994).

Writing the Case Study:

You should summarize the relevant biographical information in the following format:

Presenting problem: Indicate here in 1 or 2 sentences how you think this person would describe their problem if they were coming to you for treatment.

History of the presenting problem: Write 2-3 pages here to describe the history of the presenting problem. Present information in chronological order.

DSM-IV diagnosis:

Axis I:

Axis II:

Justification of diagnoses: Here you should explain why you picked each diagnosis you chose. Specifically, list the symptoms the person has that match up with symptoms required for diagnosis of the disorder in the DSM-IV. You may also wish to talk about other diagnoses you considered and tell why you eliminated them.

Writing the case formulation:

A case formulation is nothing more than an explanation of how a person's problems developed according to a particular theory. The formulation should incorporate both significant concepts from the theory and appropriate supporting details from the case history. You must use one of the major theories discussed in class and in the text (e.g. psychoanalytic, humanistic, behavioral, etc.). You will not get credit for explanations that use only your own idiosyncratic theory.

Citing sources of information:

Use in-text citations according to the American Psychological Association (APA) format (Name, year). List all references alphabetically (by first author's name) in a Reference section at the end of the paper. Make sure that all references cited in the text are cited in the reference section and vice-versa. If you consulted a source but did not use any of that information, do not list it in the reference section.

Some information on how to do in-text citations was provided to you in the instructions for your journal article reports. However, if you are not sure how to do your in-text citations and references, there are several sources you can consult.

The "bible" on APA format is the publication manual published by the American Psychological Association. Several copies are available in the Dunwoody Campus library:

American Psychological Association. (1994). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Ready Ref. BF76.7 .P82 1994 (Ready Reference)

Ref. BF76.7 .P82 1994 (Reference)

BF76.7 .P82 1994 (Book)

There are also numerous sites on the World Wide Web which provide information on the APA style of documenting reference information. Links to these sites are available at the following address:

http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~bbrown/apastyle.htm

You are responsible for making sure that both your in-text citations and your references at the end of the paper are done in the required format. If you are not sure, look it up.

Grading:

This assignment is worth 100 points. One point will be deducted for every spelling, punctuation, capitalization, or grammatical error in your report. These points will be deducted from points earned based on the content and organization of your report. Points will be assigned as follows:

Overall organization and clarity

10 points

Presenting problem

10 points

History of presenting problem

20 points

Correct DSM-IV diagnosis on 2 axes with adequate justification

20 points

Case formulation

20 points

References at end of paper in correct APA form

10 points

In-text citations done correctly

10 points

100 points

A sample grade sheet accompanies these instructions.