Individual Assignment on Case Study of Margaret

Running head: INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT ON CASE STUDY OF MARGARET
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
Problems
Depression is a mental health condition in which people generally feel low and less
enthusiastic about activities they used to enjoy previously. People always feel sad and miserable
and severity of this condition can range from mild to extreme. The signs and symptoms of
depression in women includes consistently sad mood with anxiety, decreased energy and suicidal
thoughts, weight gain due to overeating [1]. Besides this the patient is unable to concentrate or
make appropriate decisions, cries excessively and feels guilt, worthlessness or helpless. Besides
this, patient suffers from physiological disorders such as headache, pain and chronic digestive
issues which never respond to medical treatments [2].
Despite the presence of several theories regarding the pathophysiology of depression,
there is no specific theory present to demonstrate the pathway that leads to depression. Within
this the Monoaminergic theory is relevant in which inactivity of monoamine neurotransmitters is
the leading cause behind depressive symptoms [3]. Further, it is also evident from researches that
due to acute depletion of tryptophan, which is a precursor of serotonin can cause depression
symptoms within the patient. Further, the risk factors associated with depression can be of three
types, medical, social and substance risk factor. Sleep disorder, serious illness, substance abuse,
lacking social support are few of the risk factors associated with depression [4].
The treatment goal for Margaret will be-
 Providing her with the strategies to manage anger.
 Explore the issue of her depression condition and discuss the technique to cope up
the stressful situation.

2INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
 Improve her overall behavior such as her attitude and mood and provide her
strategies to maintain that.
 Improve her reasoning and decision making skills.
Options
While formulating the care plan for Margaret, the treatment options such as
pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment should be assessed. The
pharmacological treatment of depression includes the application of second generation of anti-
depressants or SGAs that help in reducing the quotient of depressants generated in the human
body. Further it should be mentioned that maximum people suffering from depression depends
on the non-pharmacological interventions which are helpful in reducing the symptoms [5]. The
applied interventions depend on the severity of depression as for low intensity depression guided
help, cognitive behavioral therapy, light therapy, programs with physical activities and relapse
prevention for moderate depression are applied. However to determine the nest treatment plan
for Margaret, evidences from researches should be collected. Research determined that CBT or
cognitive behavioral therapy is an important intervention that can be applied to patients affected
with sub-threshold depression and using this, identification of changing thoughts, and changing
behaviors can be maintained [6]. However, there are very few researches available regarding the
combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions that can help the
patients affected with depression. It has been seen in the research it was shown that CBT along
with SGAs and physical activities can lead to improve the patient condition and has shown great
efficacy in treating the clinical depression syndrome. Hence, these are the available treatment
options for Margaret [7].