This Is the Case Conceptualization Your Psychotic Child Doesn’t Want You to Know About!
The biggest problem that John presents to his family is psychological stress, especially for his parents and financial strain if the doctor prescribes serious medication for him. Even though John is under an insurance cover by his parents, the siblings also worry the attitude that John is acquiring from his condition. He was known to be a strict boy who did not entertain nonsense from his peers. However, immediately they realized a change in his lifestyle and social life john becomes a threat to the small children and old people who do not have much energy. This is the case referral comes from family and friends of John who loved him and felt that his health condition may grow worse later in his life. They did not know what had happened to John since he left school and the negative attitude he had towards other family members. Therefore, this essay will seek to uncover the health problem disturbing John and propose solution strategies for the problem. It will cover history, symptom and other social events that may relate to changes in attitude that John was showing to his family and peers (Beck, 2011).
History of Presenting the Problem
When John was nine years, he developed a serious mental illness that the doctors diagnosed to be abnormal migraines emanating from the central part of his brain. Upon taking medication and recovering from that condition, he started secluding himself from other pupils in school. Some of his closest friends at home and school after which the class teacher put him under watch reported this. His class teacher could not see any strange behavior in John because he was quite all the time s and acted in a normal in the presence of the teacher. However, this could be happening because John was a disciplined boy who obeyed his parents and made smart choices at school (Beck, 2011).
The teacher recommended a therapist to try to interpret the sudden change of behavior John was presenting. The therapist could not come with a concrete interpretation of his condition but related the migraines to some effects on his mental health. John continued with his schoolwork but on a slow pace. He missed doing homework or sometimes he overslept and felt like not going to school anymore. His parents took him to the hospital for medical check up after which he was urged to get on with his schoolwork as normal. The condition became worse one day when his desk mate noticed that he talking alone. As a friend, the girl reported that issue to the class teacher who informed John’s parents on the latest development in his condition. John denied being sick on several occasions when the teacher asked him. He kept on saying that he was okay, and everyone to stop bothering him about sickness he could not feel (Beck, 2011).
Development History
John’s medication started formally after the painful headaches that came because of migraines when he was nine years old. After getting discharge from the hospital, he developed seclusion form peers and acted strange towards his best friends. However, most students in his school came to notice his worst behaviors after the death of his sister whom he loved so much. Ever since that time, his parents took him to the nearby local hospital where he was given anti-psychotic medicine. With developments on different behavior and attitudes towards people, John requested everyone to visit his room after getting his permission. He started giving conditions to everyone in the family in matters that touched his personal life (Beck, 2011).
He got progressively worse when realizing that the medicines he was taking had no meaning to him. Because of skipping his medication and preventing his parents from monitoring his medication, John got progressively worse. These conditions resulted into several psychiatrist emergencies that required hospitalization. After the emergencies, the school administration advised his parents to organize for him home school sessions or admission to a mental school. Their reasons were based on the safety of other students John was interacting with in the school compound. They thought John could do something bad like harming himself or hurting another student who angers him. John developed anger and violence towards those students he perceived as enemies in the school compound. After series of psych-analysis, his parents organized home schooling sessions for him as they give him medication to recover (Beck, 2011).
One his teacher noticed a strange behavior from John when he checked in to assess his assignments. John locked himself in the bathroom while shouting that someone wanted to hurt him while he was alone in the house. In spite of this, John continued with his education but on a slower pace while hiding in his room occasionally when the teacher arrives. However, the teacher provided substantial information about his condition when he indicated that John heard non-existent voices coming from the radio. Later that month in their house, John told his parents that he did not want to continue with learning. His parents and siblings tried to convince him to continue with his education but he refused. Since he left learning john sits in the house the whole day watching television or playing in the garden. There is a flip-flop in his behavior from normal to psychotic behavior (Beck, 2011).
In addition, John exhibits several abnormal behaviors like walking in the evening while talking about his harsh teacher and his parents are spying on him. He feels that everyone is ganging up against him and he becomes very angry with people. Sometimes the talks become serious when he scares people away from him with death threats and threats of committing suicide (Beck, 2011).
Case Conceptualization and Diagnosis
The case conceptualization of John covers information from his medical records and social life. The adolescent has records of behavior change immediately he was diagnosed by migraines that affected his mental health for sometimes. However, his paternal grandfather had a history of persistent headaches, which was later discovered to be Schizophrenia. From his medical record, his doctor posted different comments on his file that could help in drawing conclusions about his current medical condition. John is suffering from a mental disease that has taken his whole being that he cannot recognize any charge in his social behavior. His social life has also changed from a being an extrovert to an introvert who is violent with people concerned about his life. From the symptoms of psychotic disorders that John had after leaving school, it is clear that the DSM code 295.30 could represent a disease John is suffering from. John showed several symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia immediately he became an adolescent (Beck, 2011).
References
Beck, A. (2011). Schizophrenia: cognitive theory, research, and therapy. New York: Guilford Press.