Biopsychosocial Assessment: Case Study Analysis

The biopsychosocial model encompasses an interdisciplinary approach that takes into consideration the interrelation between psychology, biology, and socio-environmental factors. This model particularly evaluates the impact of these factors on health, disease and human development. This report contains a critical analysis of a case study involving the Banks family, and also elucidates the underlying reasons behind their presenting complaints by linking them to different theories.

Running head: REPORT
Biopsychosocial Assessment
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Presenting problem.....................................................................................................................3
History of presenting problem...................................................................................................4
Mental Health History................................................................................................................4
Social History.............................................................................................................................5
Legal Involvement.....................................................................................................................6
Substance Abuse History...........................................................................................................7
Treatment Recommendations.....................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9

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Executive summary
The biopsychosocial model encompasses an interdisciplinary approach that takes into
consideration the interrelation between psychology, biology, and socio-environmental
factors. This model particularly evaluates the impact of these factors on health, disease and
human development. This report contains a critical analysis of a case study involving the
Banks family, and also elucidates the underlying reasons behind their presenting complaints
by linking them to different theories.

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Introduction
Biopsychosocial interviews are commonly referred to as assessments that are
generally conducted by counsellors and therapists, at the commencement of psychotherapy,
and help in evaluating the social, psychological and biological factors that are largely
responsible for contributing to the problems faced by a client (Hodgson, Lamson &
Kolobova, 2016). The different components of this assessment encompass physiological
pathology (bio), emotions, thoughts and behaviour, fear, coping mechanism, and avoidance
beliefs (psycho), and socio-economic, cultural, and socio-environmental factors such as,
family circumstances, work issues, and benefits/economics (Santos et al., 2018). This report
will elaborate on different psychological theories and framework, with the aim of elucidating
the psychological status of the Banks family.
Presenting problem
Tom Banks has been referred for the assessment owing to the fact that he is seeking
psychological assistance and has been found to ask for food vouchers and help with
electricity and gas payments. He displays indifferent mood and anhedonia. He also presents
signs and symptoms of apathy or lack of interest in life activities, following the episode of his
wife being diagnosed with depression. Some of his presenting problems include lack of
motivation or passion for work, irritability, and diminished willingness or emotions. In
contrast, his wife Jenny has been diagnosed with depression. Some of her symptoms include
feeling miserable or down under most circumstances, frustration, lack of confidence,
indecisiveness, disappointment, and sadness. In addition, owing to the fact that Tom is
currently unemployed, he is perturbed by the financial stress and finding it difficult to
manage their household expenses. Furthermore, diagnosis of Down’s syndrome in Christie
has created a significant impact on her life, and greatly hindered her emotional and physical

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development, and educational attainment. This condition can be associated to the presence of
three copies of genes on chromosome 21, also referred to as trisomy (Antonarakis, 2017).
History of presenting problem
The manifestation of psychological disturbances in Jenny can be associated to the
time when their first born child was diagnosed with Down syndrome. This incident created a
significant impact on the mental health of Jenny and triggered the onset of depression. In
addition, her gradual withdrawal from household activities, and loss of interest in pleasurable
activities, and gradual social isolation made it necessary for Tom to resign from his job, in
order to provide the much needed care to their children. This eventually resulted in the
development of frustration in Tom. Researchers elaborate on the fact that while caring for a
child who has been diagnosed with Down’s syndrome, it is less likely that the caregiver will
devote to full-time work. This directly reduces family income and leads to the generation of
dissatisfaction and frustration in the caregiver. Hence, onset of depression in Jenny and her
gradual withdrawal from child rearing made it necessary for Tom to prevent his engagement
with work, and acted as a significant threat to economic instability.
Mental Health History
An analysis of the case study suggests that there was no prior instance of mental
disorder in the family. However, it can be deduced from the statements of a woman at the
supermarket that Tom and Jenny often had arguments, and there was a probability of Jenny
being a victim of domestic violence. According to the feminist theory, domestic violence is a
direct manifestation of oppression of females, and male coercion, within the confinement of a
home, and involves the display of unequal power relationships (Stanko, 2017). According to
this theory, violence helps in maintaining power under circumstances when male dominance
is threatened, and economic dependence of females make it difficult for them to escape such

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behaviour (Hayes & Franklin, 2017). In contrast, the family systems theory states that
presence of family members and kin not only provide social contact, but also determine
violent behaviour (McClennen, Keys & Day, 2016). Hence, it can be stated that loss of
contact with family members altered the personality characteristics of Tom and affected his
social conditioning, thus making them manifest violent behaviour.
Social History
The conversation with Tom suggested that he does not like the concept of welfare and
also resents the fact that Jenny needs to be treated for her depression. An analysis of their
responses suggest that Tom lacks necessary support from his family and peers, as they live in
a distant land, and there exists dissimilarities between his family and Jenny’s. In addition, he
is not in regular contact with his parents and brothers. Furthermore, although Jenny’s parents
live in the vicinity and offer all kinds of assistance, Tom remains suspicious of their motives
and does not like them. Time and again it has been found that taking into consideration the
social history of a person proves imperative in making the patients feel at ease, and also
facilitates development of a differential diagnosis. Social support has been identified as the
core component of optimum psychological health and involves the presence of a network that
comprises of friends and family, whom a person can turn to, under stressful circumstances
(McConnell, Birkett & Mustanski, 2016). In addition, at times when a person faces crisis and
requires immediate assistance, support from family and peers plays a crucial role in
controlling the daily functioning of life.
According to research evidences, poor social support has often been associated to
depression and solitude, suicide, alcohol consumption, cardiovascular complications, and
modified brain function (Reid et al., 2016). Furthermore, participation in social relationships
brings about a sense of belonging and intimacy, thus fostering integration in the community
and conferring a protective advantage against different types of maladaptive actions and

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destructive health consequences (Oppedal & Idsoe, 2015). Hence, it can be suggested that
distant relationship with his family members, and lack of participation in the community
made Tom irritable, and gradually led to the development of indifferent mood, violent
behaviour, and anhedonia. Likewise, individuals present in the social network are essential
for providing instrumental support and offer a helping hand, by considering the physical and
mental needs of the patients (Perry & Pescosolido, 2015). Thus, owing to the fact that Tom
prevented Jenny from seeking help from her family members in rearing their children, and
also disliked her community engagement, it became difficult for Jenny to cope with the
stressors of life, and exacerbated her symptoms of depression.
Time and again it has been established that people suffering from Down’s syndrome
require care from support organisations, the primary aim of which should focus on
developing an environment that significantly lowers the likelihood of problems (Barros et al.,
2017). In addition, providing adequate support to such patients also helps in addressing the
issues of emotional response, flexibility, repetition, concrete thinking, social skills, memory
strength and processing speed. However, Tom was ashamed about the disorder that Christie
had been diagnosed with, and found it difficult to management the expenses associated with
her treatment. Nonetheless, the care that Christie receives from her sister Sarah can be cited
essential for enhancing her physical and mental development.
Legal Involvement
There was no past or current arrest or legal issues associated with the family.
However, Tom reports the presence of several mortgage payments that cannot be supported
by the subsidy that is being provided by Centrelink.

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Substance Abuse History
Researchers elaborate on the fact that there exists a close correlation between
substance abuse with anxiety and/or depression, with several drugs increasing the likelihood
of prolonged psychotic reactions (Welty et al., 2019). However, none of the family members
have any history of substance abuse such as, illicit drug usage, alcohol consumption or
cigarette smoking. According to the social stress theory individuals who belong to the
vulnerable and disadvantaged social status display an increased likelihood of being exposed
to different stressful conditions, which in turn are responsible for the onset of mental illness
(Neely-Prado, Navarrete & Huepe, 2019). Hence, Tom and Jenny display vulnerability to
stress due to their disadvantaged social status that resulted in their incapability of coping with
the circumstances, thereby impairing mental health.
Treatment Recommendations
All members of the family must be provided adequate support and empowerment for
lowering their signs and symptoms of mental illness. Patient education will serve an
important aspect of this case since it will help in increasing awareness on the reasons behind
mental disorder, and will also eliminate associated stigma and discrimination. Referral to
necessary support group for Down’s syndrome will prove beneficial for Christie’s
development and overall health and wellbeing (Axelrad et al., 2019). Tom will also be
referred to different employment opportunities, and provided sound information on medical
insurance and subsidies for which they are eligible. Fostering community engagement will
form a crucial aspect of depression management. In addition, the psychological counselling
based approach of family therapy will also be initiated, in order to improve communication
among family members, and resolve all kinds of conflict (Cunningham, Morreale &
Trepanier, 2018). Furthermore, with the aim of facilitating Christie’s survival, hearing aids,
speech therapy, sign language, and inclusive education approaches would also act beneficial.

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Conclusion
To conclude, biopsychosocial assessments are based on a holistic approach and help
in evaluating the client and the presenting complaints on different levels. Furthermore,
biopsychosocial assessments are mainly conducted since the underlying factors that govern
psychology of a person affect each other in dissimilar ways. An analysis of the case scenario
suggests that the three common issues are depression, Down’s syndrome, and anhedonia.
Thus, efforts need to be taken in order to eliminate all kinds of social, biological, and
environmental stressors that bring about a deterioration in the health and wellbeing of the
patients.

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References
Antonarakis, S. E. (2017). Down syndrome and the complexity of genome dosage
imbalance. Nature Reviews Genetics, 18(3), 147.
Axelrad, M., Webb, L., Mann, K., & Stoltz, A. (2019). Improving the Referral Process for
Behavioral Health Using a Patient-Centered Approach.
Barros, A. L. O., Barros, A. O., Barros, G. L. D. M., & Santos, M. T. B. R. (2017). Burden of
caregivers of children and adolescents with Down Syndrome. Ciencia & saude
coletiva, 22(11), 3625-3634.
Cunningham, M., Morreale, M., & Trepanier, A. (2018). Referrals to Mental Health Services:
Exploring the Referral Process in Genetic Counseling. Journal of genetic
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Hayes, B. E., & Franklin, C. A. (2017). Community effects on women’s help-seeking
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Neely-Prado, A., Navarrete, G., & Huepe, D. (2019). Socio-affective and cognitive predictors
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