Analysis of Mary's Mental Health: A Clinical Psychology Report

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of Mary's case, a 36-year-old woman facing significant mental health challenges, including anxiety and depression. The study delves into Mary's family history, highlighting the impact of her childhood experiences with an alcoholic mother and early marriage, as well as her current family dynamics, examining her relationships with her husband Rick, daughter Jane, and sons Nate and Luke. The report identifies key issues contributing to Mary's psychological distress, such as her past trauma, failed marriages, emotional distance from family members, and the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in her son Nate. Applying the Family Systems Theory, the analysis explores how these factors interact and influence Mary's mental state. Finally, the report suggests potential strategies for Mary to manage her anxiety and depression, emphasizing the importance of professional counseling, social engagement, and improved communication within her family. The report concludes that Mary's mental health is significantly impacted by her family history and current relationships and recommends targeted interventions to improve her well-being.

Running head: CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND GERONTOLOGY
Clinical Psychology and Gerontology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
A family can be defined as a system where each of the members possesses specific roles
to play, follow as well as respect. The Family System theory can be defined as the concept that
defines the family as a cohesive emotional unit. According to the mentioned theory, family
members are intensely connected with each other. According to the researchers, within the
boundaries of the system, patterns get developed when a certain member of the family
demonstrates behaviors in an unpredictable way. From the given vignette it can be clearly
understood that Mary is suffering from a good number of issues and all of them can be
interlinked with either her family history or her current relationship with her husband, daughter
and sons. The purpose of this research paper is to identify the key issues faced by Mary. Along
with this, this research paper will also evaluate the current family situation of Mary, focusing on
her by analyzing the relationship of the key issues faced by Mary with her family history as well
as her relationship with the family members. Finally, a brief discussion of the strategies that can
be applied by Mary in order to deal with the issues faced by her has been discussed in this report.
Key issues faced by Mary
Mary is a 36 years old female adult who is currently living with his third husband Rick
and sons Nate and Luke. After going through the case study of Mary it can be clearly understood
that she is suffering from anxiety and depression. Anxiety can be defined as a psychological
disorder that is characterized by an intense feeling of tension, physical changes as well as
worried thoughts accompanied by increasing blood pressure. According to researchers,
individuals suffering from anxiety disorders are usually found to have recurring intrusive
thoughts as well as concerns (Healy & Allen, 2019). Another major issue faced by Mary is
depression. Depression, in medical terms, is defined as a psychological disorder that is the

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resultant of a persistent feeling of loss of interest in regular activities as well as sadness.
According to psychologists, major depressive disorder possess the potential to affect an
individual’s way of feeling, thinking as well as behaving and this, in turn, leads to a good variety
of emotional as well as physical issues (Rosenbusch&Cseh, 2012). The family issues that have
been faced by Mary as a wife and mother can be pointed out to be origin both of the two
mentioned physiological disorders. In the following paragraphs, the relation of the key issues
faced by Mary and its relationship with Mary's life history has been discussed.
Relation of the key issues with Mary’s life history
Mary, in her childhood, has experienced trauma and negligence which can be significantly
understood for her description of her childhood home as a "dysfunctional home." The chief
reason behind the adverse experience faced by her as a child was the alcoholic nature of her
mother. According to researchers, some of the major impact of parental alcoholism on child
along with trauma and negligence includes trust issues, self judgment, approval seeking attitudes
as well as normalization of alcoholism. Considering the fact that in several cases, the severe
alcoholic nature of either of the parents can lead to an atmosphere of denial, lying as well as
keeping secret, the children who have been experiencing the same and are getting neglected on a
daily basis develops serious trust issues. Along with this, a child residing with alcoholic parents
often doesn’t feel himself or herself adequate while comparing to his or her peers. In addition to
developing a harsh self-judgmental mentality, often children ho have evidence of negligence
from their alcoholic parent like Mary, develop a people-pleasing and approval seeking behavior.
This if not being eliminated at the stage of development often results in an inferiority complex.
These conditions have a high chance of being true in Mary's case and the long term effect of
these emotions is an anxiety disorder.

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From the family history of Mary it has been identified that she used to work hard from her
childhood in order to get over her family condition that includes parental alcohol leading to
neglect. According to researchers, Children who are being criticized, shoe anger or neglected by
alcoholic parents often develop the urge to get rid of the adverse situation and as a result become
responsible and dependable (Bridge, 2019). This, while imposing several positive impacts on
their life like overachieving their goal, due to lack of experience, they may often end up taking
the wrong decision. Considering the fact that Mary got married at the age of 17 can be
considered as an example of rash decision-making behavior due to a lack of experience and
support from experienced individuals. She had also become a mother at the age of 17 which has
imposed an immense negative impact on her phycology. According to researchers, teenage
mothers are found to face a significant level of stress which in turn often leads to enhanced
psychological health concerns (Yektatalab et al., 2017). Along with the higher rate of postpartum
depression, it has been found that teenage mother possesses a higher rate of depression. Thus
early pregnancy can be pointed out as a chief reason that has eventually resulted in depression of
Mary.
Another fact from Mary’s family history that possesses direct linkage with her current mental
issue includes her deteriorating relationship with her first husband. Coming from a family where
she had experienced trauma and neglect, Mary had opted for the marriage for a better lifestyle
characterized by trust, honesty, commitment and love. However, as per Mary, Her first husband
was physically as well as emotionally absent. Thus lack of both physical as well a mental
satisfaction from the marriage may have led to anxiousness, loneliness as well as depression.
After being a mother of 2 children, Mary had got divorced from her husband. According to the
theory of Family system, as the tension within a family gets enhanced due to the marital conflict,

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spouses are found to externalize the anxiety that they are feeling on to the martial partner as well
as on their relationship. Thus the failure of Mary's second marriage may have the result of
enhanced expectation along with a lack of Compatibility as being stated by her. Thus the failure
of her second marriage may have resulted in intensification of the feeling of depression as well
as anxiety.
Relation of the key issues with her relationship with the family
Along with her family history, her current relationship with her family is also
contributing to the psychological issues faced by Mary as daughter, wife and mother. First of all,
Mary has lost her mother recently. In spite of the fact that she possesses negative memories
associated with the alcoholic nature of her mother, her relationship with her mother was
effective. According to researchers, losing a parent, even as an adult, may lead to depression and
anxiety (Erdem& Safi, 2018). According to Dr. Bowen's theory of family system, emotional
cutoff can be defined as an act of reducing or cutting off any emotional contact with the family
and are often used by the family members to manage unresolved emotional issues. Considering
the fact that the death of her mother has resulted in an emotional cut off while she had an
unresolved emotional issue, this may have added up as another reason that enhanced her feeling
of being depressed.
Mary, after two failed marriage, she had finally been able to lead a happy married life
with Rick. However, a recent lack of ability to connect with her husband emotionally can be
considered as a reason for anxiety and depression for her. According to the Family system
theory, emotional distance often results in a lack of understanding, affection as well as
connection between the partners (Papero, 2020). Often emotional distance is created by either of
the partners for avoiding family tension family and reduces the intensity of emotional turmoil

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that may arise due to the tension. Considering the fact that Mary, is not the partner who is
creating the distance, she is getting anxious about the consequences that may be influencing
Ruck to create the emotional distance. Since, Mary has already gone through two failed
marriages, any signs from her partner that may lead to breaking the relationship possess a high
chance of developing an anxiety disorder.
The third factor associated with Mary’s current relationship with her family is her
relationship with her daughter, Jane. Jane is the first child of Mary at the age of 17 years with her
first husband. Mary currently has no relation with her daughter. However, she is aware of the
fact that she is a single mother as well as a part-time student. Considering the fact that some
emotional conflict has resulted in emotional distance eventually resulting in the physical distance
with Jane, as a mother lack of communication is contributing to anxiety disorder for Mary. As
per Dr. Bowen’s theory, emotional cut off takes place when a member of a family tries to
manage unresolved problems with the family members by cutting f any emotional contact. For
emotional cutoff, it is not necessary for a family member to stop communicating. It includes
keeping a distance from a particular family member for becoming more independent on an
emotional level(Rosenbusch&Cseh, 2012). Emotional cutoff often leads to unresolved
attachment issues and can cause tension among the familial relationships leading to anxiety,
which is currently faced by Mary.
The fourth reason leading to her metal issue and distress is the current condition of her
son Nate. Mary’s youngest son Nate has been detected with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is
highly concerning for her and is a leading reason behind her anxiety and depression. The mental
stress that Mary is going through due to Nate’s condition is making her feel exhausted. Along
with this, a lack of emotional attachment with her marital partner is resulting in a lack of

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opportunity to share the thoughts and stress she is facing. According to Bronner et al.
(2019)mothers with children suffering from ASD are generally found to exhibit high levels of
anxiety and symptoms.
Strategies to deal with Mary’s Solution
From the above discussion, it can be clearly understood multiple reasons associated with
family history as well as current relationships with the family can be pointed out for the anxiety
disorder and depression faced by Mary. In this paragraph, strategies that can be taken by her to
deal with her anxiety and depression have been discussed. The first step that can be taken by
Mary is to consult a psychologist so that she can effectively share her emotions and feelings with
the same. Sharing her emotion will allow Mary to release the burden of thought s she is having
within herself. Not only will this, but communicating her feelings also helps her to feel light.
Additionally, effective measures will be suggested by the psychologists which in turn will help
her to deal with her mental issue. Along with this, she needs to involve in social activities given
if she doesn't feel like doing the same. According to researcher social inclusion possess the
potential to reduce anxiety and depression to a great level (Bronner et al., 2019). Not only this,
involving herself socially will also enhance her confidence that in turn will help her to deal with
her daily lie struggle. In order to develop effective bonding with her daughter, Mary should meet
her physically and provide her with mental support. This will help to eliminate the emotional
cutoff both of them are suffering from.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that Mary as a mother, daughter, a wife,
has gone through a lot of mental struggle which eventually has resulted in depression along with

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anxiety. The current condition of Mary is more critical due to lack of mental support from any of
her family members. In this case, if effective steps are not taken on an emergency basis the
mental issues can be fatal. The above strategies should be implemented by Mary to deal with her
psychological issues.

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Reference list
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