Case Study Analysis: Major Depressive Disorder and Interventions

This case study presents a 55-year-old male, Mr. Soprano, exhibiting symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder, including suicidal ideation, guilt, sadness, insomnia, low appetite, and social withdrawal. The diagnosis is based on DSM-5 criteria. The study includes an IQ test revealing average intelligence. Recommended interventions include psychotropic medications, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and various therapeutic resources such as group and individual therapy, and grief support groups. The case study emphasizes a holistic approach to treatment, addressing both psychological and emotional needs to improve the patient's quality of life. The patient is willing to attend sessions and is undergoing negative though process and guilt.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1PSYCHOLOGY
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of the patient is- Major depressive disorder. The choice of the diagnosis is
due to feeling of sad and guilt in patient about antisocial acts and killing. The patient
demonstrated the loss of interest in all activities. Further, he also admitted loss of weight (30
pounds) and decrease in appetite. The patient also sleeps too little or too much. It is evident from
the patient’s words like hibernate or insomnia. The patient also complains loss of energy and
recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. According to American Psychiatric Association (2013)
atleast five of the symptoms of the major depressive disorder should be present in the patient as a
criteria for diagnosis. The same criterion is fulfilled in case of Mr. Soprano. The patient does not
meet the criteria for other given disorders.
Interventions
Psychotropic medications- It is an effective intervention as drugs directly affect the
emotions, mind and behaviour. In 80% of the patients with major depressive disorder,
psychotropic drugs have been found effective with benefits being observed within 4-6 weeks.
Patients in 50-75% of cases respond favourably to Tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase
inhibitors, selective serotonin inhibitors and others having minimum side effect.
Cognitive behavioural therapy- is the effective intervention for Mr. Soprano as it
modifies the thought pattern and changes behaviour and mood. It helps overcome negative
pattern of thinking and stressful responses. It improves the problem thinking and address
undesirable behaviour such as suicide. In this therapy a patient can play an active role (Dunlop
et al. 2017). Therefore, it will be beneficial for Mr. Soprano who is willing to attend sessions and
is undergoing negative though process and guilt.

2PSYCHOLOGY
IQ test
The full scale IQ of Mr. Soprano is 98 which indicates average intelligence.
I am confident that in 95% of the time the person’s true IQ will be in the range of- +5 to
-5 that is 93-105.
At 45thpercentile it means that 45% of the time the patient may score at 98 or below and
that there is 55% of time chance to score at 98 or above, when the average IQ is considered to be
the 100 at 50th percentile.
Potential resources
Group therapy- It will help Mr. Soprano to meet people with similar feelings and
behaviour and gains insights of situations close to him. It is effective source of social and
emotional support that impacts wellbeing
Grief support groups- It is effective for Mr. Soprano as he is undergoing issues of intense
guilt and grief that is hard to face alone. He needs to grief about his loss of relationships and past
activities to instil positive hopes. He will get emotional support as well as communicate enough
to socialise (Brown 2018).
Individual therapy- is effective in improving the quality of life. Mr. Soprano is in need of
compassion and improving self esteem. By individual therapy he will learn to make healthy
decisions and handle difficult situations for self growth (Vernmark et al. 2010).
Summary

3PSYCHOLOGY
Mr. Soprano, a 55-year-old white male, is presented with complain of hurting himself.
The patient demonstrates depression in form of desire to commit suicide, severe guilt, sad,
sleeplessness, low appetite, poor relationships and sometimes oversleep. He stated he was good
person and things changed after his father’s murder. He met the criteria for major depressive
disorder. IQ test revealed him to average intelligence. He demonstrated willingness to attend
sessions and remedy to his helplessness. She may be subjected to CBT and psychotropic
medications and referred to grief therapy/group therapy or individualised therapy.

4PSYCHOLOGY
References
American Psychiatric Association, 2013. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
(DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.
Brown, N.W., 2018. Psychoeducational groups: Process and practice. Routledge.
Dunlop, B.W., Rajendra, J.K., Craighead, W.E., Kelley, M.E., McGrath, C.L., Choi, K.S.,
Kinkead, B., Nemeroff, C.B. and Mayberg, H.S., 2017. Functional connectivity of the
subcallosal cingulate cortex and differential outcomes to treatment with cognitive-behavioral
therapy or antidepressant medication for major depressive disorder. American Journal of
Psychiatry, 174(6), pp.533-545.
Vernmark, K., Lenndin, J., Bjärehed, J., Carlsson, M., Karlsson, J., Öberg, J., Carlbring, P.,
Eriksson, T. and Andersson, G., 2010. Internet administered guided self-help versus
individualized e-mail therapy: A randomized trial of two versions of CBT for major
depression. Behaviour research and therapy, 48(5), pp.368-376.