psychiatric history case study

Case Presentation: A 23-Year-Old With Bipolar Disorder

Gus Alva, MD, DFAPA, presents the case of a 23-year-old female diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder.

EP: 1 . Case Presentation: A 23-Year-Old With Bipolar Disorder

Ep: 2 . clinical impressions from the patient case, ep: 3 . clinical insights regarding the management of bipolar disorder.

Gus Alva, MD, DFAPA: Psychiatric Times presents this roundtable on the management of bipolar disorder, a phenomenal dialogue allowing clinicals a perspective regarding current trends and where we may be headed in the future.

This is an interesting case, as we take a look at this 23-year-old female who first comes in to see her psychiatrist with moderate depressive symptoms. At the time of the interview, her chief complaint included feeling like she’s lacking energy, she’s feeling depressed. She’s also reporting difficulty in paying attention, organizing her day, and accomplishing her tasks at work. Notably these symptoms started abruptly. Three weeks early, prior to that, she had been functioning better than usual, requiring very little sleep and getting more accomplished. Of significance, she reported two brief episodes of depression over the past 2 years. Each lasting about 2 months. And although the patient reported these depressive episodes as coming out of the blue, she learned after consulting with her therapist that they were related to significant psychosocial stress, stemming from the loss of her job and the deaths of 2 uncles, both of which were related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The patient reported that she still finds enjoyment talking to friends and socializing and she has hope of finding a new job and she’s constantly looking.

It’s noteworthy to bear in mind that in her first depressive episode she was treated with methylphenidate 25mg titrated up to 50 m and she stated feeling improved on this does with psychotherapy. Her second depressive episode, her does was bumped up to 100 mg which we saw improvement in depression, but she noted she felt a little activated and had trouble sleeping. With her third depressive episode, the therapist and PCP referred the patient over to a psychiatrist. Of great note should be her past psychological history: she was diagnosed with ADHD in middle school, during which time she responded well to methylphenidate. She continued to do well until her college years at which time she began experiencing difficulty falling asleep as well as irritability. At that time, she discontinued methylphenidate and was psychiatric drug free. She found that practicing mindfulness and yoga on a daily basis helped her residual ADHD symptoms. Of note, she had no history of suicidal thoughts or behavior, self-injurious behaviors, psychiatric hospitalization, or problems with substance abuse. Of note, regarding medical comorbidities, she was diagnosed a year earlier with type 2 diabetes, which was managed with metformin 1000 mg twice daily and her hemoglobin A1C was not poorly controlled. She was also diagnosed with high blood pressure 2 years earlier, that is managed by lisinopril 20 mg once daily. We noted that her BMI is 31, which is indicative of obesity. All other lab values were within normal limit. Significantly, her TSH was in the normal range and her urine toxicology screening was negative. Upon further querying of her family history, her maternal grandmother was diagnosed with a nervous breakdown and spent 2 months in a psychiatric hospital in her 30s. Her mother required little sleep, had a history of impulsive spending, and had a history of starting projects that she didn’t finish. The patient’s paternal uncles had a history of depression as well as alcohol abuse. Upon doing assessments, her PHQ9 is indicative of 18 points and her mood questionnaire she scored an 8.

Transcript Edited for Clarity

The Week in Review: May 6-10

Blue Light Blockers: A Behavior Therapy for Mania

Suicide and Other Deaths From Unnatural Causes in Bipolar Disorder

Blue Light, Depression, and Bipolar Disorder

FDA Approves Fanapt for Mixed, Manic Episodes Associated With Bipolar I Disorder

An Update on Bipolar I Disorder

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5 Psychiatric Treatment of Bipolar Disorder: The Case of Janice

• Published: February 2013
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Chapter 5 covers the psychiatric treatment of bipolar disorder, including a case history, key principles, assessment strategy, differential diagnosis, case formulation, treatment planning, nonspecific factors in treatment, potential treatment obstacles, ethical considerations, common mistakes to avoid in treatment, and relapse prevention.

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• Case report
• Open access
• Published: 11 September 2017

A case of a four-year-old child adopted at eight months with unusual mood patterns and significant polypharmacy

• Magdalena Romanowicz   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4916-0625 1 ,
• Alastair J. McKean 1 &
• Jennifer Vande Voort 1  

BMC Psychiatry volume  17 , Article number:  330 ( 2017 ) Cite this article

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Long-term effects of neglect in early life are still widely unknown. Diversity of outcomes can be explained by differences in genetic risk, epigenetics, prenatal factors, exposure to stress and/or substances, and parent-child interactions. Very common sub-threshold presentations of children with history of early trauma are challenging not only to diagnose but also in treatment.

Case presentation

A Caucasian 4-year-old, adopted at 8 months, male patient with early history of neglect presented to pediatrician with symptoms of behavioral dyscontrol, emotional dysregulation, anxiety, hyperactivity and inattention, obsessions with food, and attachment issues. He was subsequently seen by two different child psychiatrists. Pharmacotherapy treatment attempted included guanfacine, fluoxetine and amphetamine salts as well as quetiapine, aripiprazole and thioridazine without much improvement. Risperidone initiated by primary care seemed to help with his symptoms of dyscontrol initially but later the dose had to be escalated to 6 mg total for the same result. After an episode of significant aggression, the patient was admitted to inpatient child psychiatric unit for stabilization and taper of the medicine.

Conclusions

The case illustrates difficulties in management of children with early history of neglect. A particular danger in this patient population is polypharmacy, which is often used to manage transdiagnostic symptoms that significantly impacts functioning with long term consequences.

Peer Review reports

There is a paucity of studies that address long-term effects of deprivation, trauma and neglect in early life, with what little data is available coming from institutionalized children [ 1 ]. Rutter [ 2 ], who studied formerly-institutionalized Romanian children adopted into UK families, found that this group exhibited prominent attachment disturbances, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), quasi-autistic features and cognitive delays. Interestingly, no other increases in psychopathology were noted [ 2 ].

Even more challenging to properly diagnose and treat are so called sub-threshold presentations of children with histories of early trauma [ 3 ]. Pincus, McQueen, & Elinson [ 4 ] described a group of children who presented with a combination of co-morbid symptoms of various diagnoses such as conduct disorder, ADHD, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. As per Shankman et al. [ 5 ], these patients may escalate to fulfill the criteria for these disorders. The lack of proper diagnosis imposes significant challenges in terms of management [ 3 ].

J is a 4-year-old adopted Caucasian male who at the age of 2 years and 4 months was brought by his adoptive mother to primary care with symptoms of behavioral dyscontrol, emotional dysregulation, anxiety, hyperactivity and inattention, obsessions with food, and attachment issues. J was given diagnoses of reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and ADHD. No medications were recommended at that time and a referral was made for behavioral therapy.

She subsequently took him to two different child psychiatrists who diagnosed disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), PTSD, anxiety and a mood disorder. To help with mood and inattention symptoms, guanfacine, fluoxetine, methylphenidate and amphetamine salts were all prescribed without significant improvement. Later quetiapine, aripiprazole and thioridazine were tried consecutively without behavioral improvement (please see Table  1 for details).

No significant drug/substance interactions were noted (Table 1 ). There were no concerns regarding adherence and serum drug concentrations were not ordered. On review of patient’s history of medication trials guanfacine and methylphenidate seemed to have no effect on J’s hyperactive and impulsive behavior as well as his lack of focus. Amphetamine salts that were initiated during hospitalization were stopped by the patient’s mother due to significant increase in aggressive behaviors and irritability. Aripiprazole was tried for a brief period of time and seemed to have no effect. Quetiapine was initially helpful at 150 mg (50 mg three times a day), unfortunately its effects wore off quickly and increase in dose to 300 mg (100 mg three times a day) did not seem to make a difference. Fluoxetine that was tried for anxiety did not seem to improve the behaviors and was stopped after less than a month on mother’s request.

J’s condition continued to deteriorate and his primary care provider started risperidone. While initially helpful, escalating doses were required until he was on 6 mg daily. In spite of this treatment, J attempted to stab a girl at preschool with scissors necessitating emergent evaluation, whereupon he was admitted to inpatient care for safety and observation. Risperidone was discontinued and J was referred to outpatient psychiatry for continuing medical monitoring and therapy.

Little is known about J’s early history. There is suspicion that his mother was neglectful with feeding and frequently left him crying, unattended or with strangers. He was taken away from his mother’s care at 7 months due to neglect and placed with his aunt. After 1 month, his aunt declined to collect him from daycare, deciding she was unable to manage him. The owner of the daycare called Child Services and offered to care for J, eventually becoming his present adoptive parent.

J was a very needy baby who would wake screaming and was hard to console. More recently he wakes in the mornings anxious and agitated. He is often indiscriminate and inappropriate interpersonally, unable to play with other children. When in significant distress he regresses, and behaves as a cat, meowing and scratching the floor. Though J bonded with his adoptive mother well and was able to express affection towards her, his affection is frequently indiscriminate and he rarely shows any signs of separation anxiety.

At the age of 2 years and 8 months there was a suspicion for speech delay and J was evaluated by a speech pathologist who concluded that J was exhibiting speech and language skills that were solidly in the average range for age, with developmental speech errors that should be monitored over time. They did not think that issues with communication contributed significantly to his behavioral difficulties. Assessment of intellectual functioning was performed at the age of 2 years and 5 months by a special education teacher. Based on Bailey Infant and Toddler Development Scale, fine and gross motor, cognitive and social communication were all within normal range.

J’s adoptive mother and in-home therapist expressed significant concerns in regards to his appetite. She reports that J’s biological father would come and visit him infrequently, but always with food and sweets. J often eats to the point of throwing up and there have been occasions where he has eaten his own vomit and dog feces. Mother noticed there is an association between his mood and eating behaviors. J’s episodes of insatiable and indiscriminate hunger frequently co-occur with increased energy, diminished need for sleep, and increased speech. This typically lasts a few days to a week and is followed by a period of reduced appetite, low energy, hypersomnia, tearfulness, sadness, rocking behavior and slurred speech. Those episodes last for one to 3 days. Additionally, there are times when his symptomatology seems to be more manageable with fewer outbursts and less difficulty regarding food behaviors.

J’s family history is poorly understood, with his biological mother having a personality disorder and ADHD, and a biological father with substance abuse. Both maternally and paternally there is concern for bipolar disorder.

J has a clear history of disrupted attachment. He is somewhat indiscriminate in his relationship to strangers and struggles with impulsivity, aggression, sleep and feeding issues. In addition to early life neglect and possible trauma, J has a strong family history of psychiatric illness. His mood, anxiety and sleep issues might suggest underlying PTSD. His prominent hyperactivity could be due to trauma or related to ADHD. With his history of neglect, indiscrimination towards strangers, mood liability, attention difficulties, and heightened emotional state, the possibility of Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED) is likely. J’s prominent mood lability, irritability and family history of bipolar disorder, are concerning for what future mood diagnosis this portends.

As evidenced above, J presents as a diagnostic conundrum suffering from a combination of transdiagnostic symptoms that broadly impact his functioning. Unfortunately, although various diagnoses such as ADHD, PTSD, Depression, DMDD or DSED may be entertained, the patient does not fall neatly into any of the categories.

This is a case report that describes a diagnostic conundrum in a young boy with prominent early life deprivation who presented with multidimensional symptoms managed with polypharmacy.

A sub-threshold presentation in this patient partially explains difficulties with diagnosis. There is no doubt that negative effects of early childhood deprivation had significant impact on developmental outcomes in this patient, but the mechanisms that could explain the associations are still widely unknown. Significant family history of mental illness also predisposes him to early challenges. The clinical picture is further complicated by the potential dynamic factors that could explain some of the patient’s behaviors. Careful examination of J’s early life history would suggest such a pattern of being able to engage with his biological caregivers, being given food, being tended to; followed by periods of neglect where he would withdraw, regress and engage in rocking as a self-soothing behavior. His adoptive mother observed that visitations with his biological father were accompanied by being given a lot of food. It is also possible that when he was under the care of his biological mother, he was either attended to with access to food or neglected, left hungry and screaming for hours.

The current healthcare model, being centered on obtaining accurate diagnosis, poses difficulties for treatment in these patients. Given the complicated transdiagnostic symptomatology, clear guidelines surrounding treatment are unavailable. To date, there have been no psychopharmacological intervention trials for attachment issues. In patients with disordered attachment, pharmacologic treatment is typically focused on co-morbid disorders, even with sub-threshold presentations, with the goal of symptom reduction [ 6 ]. A study by dosReis [ 7 ] found that psychotropic usage in community foster care patients ranged from 14% to 30%, going to 67% in therapeutic foster care and as high as 77% in group homes. Another study by Breland-Noble [ 8 ] showed that many children receive more than one psychotropic medication, with 22% using two medications from the same class.

It is important to note that our patient received four different neuroleptic medications (quetiapine, aripiprazole, risperidone and thioridazine) for disruptive behaviors and impulsivity at a very young age. Olfson et al. [ 9 ] noted that between 1999 and 2007 there has been a significant increase in the use of neuroleptics for very young children who present with difficult behaviors. A preliminary study by Ercan et al. [ 10 ] showed promising results with the use of risperidone in preschool children with behavioral dyscontrol. Review by Memarzia et al. [ 11 ] suggested that risperidone decreased behavioral problems and improved cognitive-motor functions in preschoolers. The study also raised concerns in regards to side effects from neuroleptic medications in such a vulnerable patient population. Younger children seemed to be much more susceptible to side effects in comparison to older children and adults with weight gain being the most common. Weight gain associated with risperidone was most pronounced in pre-adolescents (Safer) [ 12 ]. Quetiapine and aripiprazole were also associated with higher rates of weight gain (Correll et al.) [ 13 ].

Pharmacokinetics of medications is difficult to assess in very young children with ongoing development of the liver and the kidneys. It has been observed that psychotropic medications in children have shorter half-lives (Kearns et al.) [ 14 ], which would require use of higher doses for body weight in comparison to adults for same plasma level. Unfortunately, that in turn significantly increases the likelihood and severity of potential side effects.

There is also a question on effects of early exposure to antipsychotics on neurodevelopment. In particular in the first 3 years of life there are many changes in developing brains, such as increase in synaptic density, pruning and increase in neuronal myelination to list just a few [ 11 ]. Unfortunately at this point in time there is a significant paucity of data that would allow drawing any conclusions.

Our case report presents a preschool patient with history of adoption, early life abuse and neglect who exhibited significant behavioral challenges and was treated with various psychotropic medications with limited results. It is important to emphasize that subthreshold presentation and poor diagnostic clarity leads to dangerous and excessive medication regimens that, as evidenced above is fairly common in this patient population.

Neglect and/or abuse experienced early in life is a risk factor for mental health problems even after adoption. Differences in genetic risk, epigenetics, prenatal factors (e.g., malnutrition or poor nutrition), exposure to stress and/or substances, and parent-child interactions may explain the diversity of outcomes among these individuals, both in terms of mood and behavioral patterns [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Considering that these children often present with significant functional impairment and a wide variety of symptoms, further studies are needed regarding diagnosis and treatment.

Abbreviations

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Reactive Attachment disorder

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Romanowicz, M., McKean, A.J. & Vande Voort, J. A case of a four-year-old child adopted at eight months with unusual mood patterns and significant polypharmacy. BMC Psychiatry 17 , 330 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1492-y

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What Is a Case Study?

Weighing the pros and cons of this method of research

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Cara Lustik is a fact-checker and copywriter.

Verywell / Colleen Tighe

• Pros and Cons

What Types of Case Studies Are Out There?

Where do you find data for a case study, how do i write a psychology case study.

A case study is an in-depth study of one person, group, or event. In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject's life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes of behavior. Case studies can be used in many different fields, including psychology, medicine, education, anthropology, political science, and social work.

The point of a case study is to learn as much as possible about an individual or group so that the information can be generalized to many others. Unfortunately, case studies tend to be highly subjective, and it is sometimes difficult to generalize results to a larger population.

While case studies focus on a single individual or group, they follow a format similar to other types of psychology writing. If you are writing a case study, we got you—here are some rules of APA format to reference.  

At a Glance

A case study, or an in-depth study of a person, group, or event, can be a useful research tool when used wisely. In many cases, case studies are best used in situations where it would be difficult or impossible for you to conduct an experiment. They are helpful for looking at unique situations and allow researchers to gather a lot of˜ information about a specific individual or group of people. However, it's important to be cautious of any bias we draw from them as they are highly subjective.

What Are the Benefits and Limitations of Case Studies?

A case study can have its strengths and weaknesses. Researchers must consider these pros and cons before deciding if this type of study is appropriate for their needs.

One of the greatest advantages of a case study is that it allows researchers to investigate things that are often difficult or impossible to replicate in a lab. Some other benefits of a case study:

• Allows researchers to capture information on the 'how,' 'what,' and 'why,' of something that's implemented
• Gives researchers the chance to collect information on why one strategy might be chosen over another
• Permits researchers to develop hypotheses that can be explored in experimental research

On the other hand, a case study can have some drawbacks:

• It cannot necessarily be generalized to the larger population
• Cannot demonstrate cause and effect
• It may not be scientifically rigorous
• It can lead to bias

Researchers may choose to perform a case study if they want to explore a unique or recently discovered phenomenon. Through their insights, researchers develop additional ideas and study questions that might be explored in future studies.

It's important to remember that the insights from case studies cannot be used to determine cause-and-effect relationships between variables. However, case studies may be used to develop hypotheses that can then be addressed in experimental research.

Case Study Examples

There have been a number of notable case studies in the history of psychology. Much of  Freud's work and theories were developed through individual case studies. Some great examples of case studies in psychology include:

• Anna O : Anna O. was a pseudonym of a woman named Bertha Pappenheim, a patient of a physician named Josef Breuer. While she was never a patient of Freud's, Freud and Breuer discussed her case extensively. The woman was experiencing symptoms of a condition that was then known as hysteria and found that talking about her problems helped relieve her symptoms. Her case played an important part in the development of talk therapy as an approach to mental health treatment.
• Phineas Gage : Phineas Gage was a railroad employee who experienced a terrible accident in which an explosion sent a metal rod through his skull, damaging important portions of his brain. Gage recovered from his accident but was left with serious changes in both personality and behavior.
• Genie : Genie was a young girl subjected to horrific abuse and isolation. The case study of Genie allowed researchers to study whether language learning was possible, even after missing critical periods for language development. Her case also served as an example of how scientific research may interfere with treatment and lead to further abuse of vulnerable individuals.

Such cases demonstrate how case research can be used to study things that researchers could not replicate in experimental settings. In Genie's case, her horrific abuse denied her the opportunity to learn a language at critical points in her development.

This is clearly not something researchers could ethically replicate, but conducting a case study on Genie allowed researchers to study phenomena that are otherwise impossible to reproduce.

There are a few different types of case studies that psychologists and other researchers might use:

• Collective case studies : These involve studying a group of individuals. Researchers might study a group of people in a certain setting or look at an entire community. For example, psychologists might explore how access to resources in a community has affected the collective mental well-being of those who live there.
• Descriptive case studies : These involve starting with a descriptive theory. The subjects are then observed, and the information gathered is compared to the pre-existing theory.
• Explanatory case studies : These   are often used to do causal investigations. In other words, researchers are interested in looking at factors that may have caused certain things to occur.
• Exploratory case studies : These are sometimes used as a prelude to further, more in-depth research. This allows researchers to gather more information before developing their research questions and hypotheses .
• Instrumental case studies : These occur when the individual or group allows researchers to understand more than what is initially obvious to observers.
• Intrinsic case studies : This type of case study is when the researcher has a personal interest in the case. Jean Piaget's observations of his own children are good examples of how an intrinsic case study can contribute to the development of a psychological theory.

The three main case study types often used are intrinsic, instrumental, and collective. Intrinsic case studies are useful for learning about unique cases. Instrumental case studies help look at an individual to learn more about a broader issue. A collective case study can be useful for looking at several cases simultaneously.

The type of case study that psychology researchers use depends on the unique characteristics of the situation and the case itself.

There are a number of different sources and methods that researchers can use to gather information about an individual or group. Six major sources that have been identified by researchers are:

• Archival records : Census records, survey records, and name lists are examples of archival records.
• Direct observation : This strategy involves observing the subject, often in a natural setting . While an individual observer is sometimes used, it is more common to utilize a group of observers.
• Documents : Letters, newspaper articles, administrative records, etc., are the types of documents often used as sources.
• Interviews : Interviews are one of the most important methods for gathering information in case studies. An interview can involve structured survey questions or more open-ended questions.
• Participant observation : When the researcher serves as a participant in events and observes the actions and outcomes, it is called participant observation.
• Physical artifacts : Tools, objects, instruments, and other artifacts are often observed during a direct observation of the subject.

If you have been directed to write a case study for a psychology course, be sure to check with your instructor for any specific guidelines you need to follow. If you are writing your case study for a professional publication, check with the publisher for their specific guidelines for submitting a case study.

Here is a general outline of what should be included in a case study.

Section 1: A Case History

This section will have the following structure and content:

Background information : The first section of your paper will present your client's background. Include factors such as age, gender, work, health status, family mental health history, family and social relationships, drug and alcohol history, life difficulties, goals, and coping skills and weaknesses.

Description of the presenting problem : In the next section of your case study, you will describe the problem or symptoms that the client presented with.

Describe any physical, emotional, or sensory symptoms reported by the client. Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions related to the symptoms should also be noted. Any screening or diagnostic assessments that are used should also be described in detail and all scores reported.

Your diagnosis : Provide your diagnosis and give the appropriate Diagnostic and Statistical Manual code. Explain how you reached your diagnosis, how the client's symptoms fit the diagnostic criteria for the disorder(s), or any possible difficulties in reaching a diagnosis.

Section 2: Treatment Plan

This portion of the paper will address the chosen treatment for the condition. This might also include the theoretical basis for the chosen treatment or any other evidence that might exist to support why this approach was chosen.

• Cognitive behavioral approach : Explain how a cognitive behavioral therapist would approach treatment. Offer background information on cognitive behavioral therapy and describe the treatment sessions, client response, and outcome of this type of treatment. Make note of any difficulties or successes encountered by your client during treatment.
• Humanistic approach : Describe a humanistic approach that could be used to treat your client, such as client-centered therapy . Provide information on the type of treatment you chose, the client's reaction to the treatment, and the end result of this approach. Explain why the treatment was successful or unsuccessful.
• Psychoanalytic approach : Describe how a psychoanalytic therapist would view the client's problem. Provide some background on the psychoanalytic approach and cite relevant references. Explain how psychoanalytic therapy would be used to treat the client, how the client would respond to therapy, and the effectiveness of this treatment approach.
• Pharmacological approach : If treatment primarily involves the use of medications, explain which medications were used and why. Provide background on the effectiveness of these medications and how monotherapy may compare with an approach that combines medications with therapy or other treatments.

This section of a case study should also include information about the treatment goals, process, and outcomes.

When you are writing a case study, you should also include a section where you discuss the case study itself, including the strengths and limitiations of the study. You should note how the findings of your case study might support previous research. 

In your discussion section, you should also describe some of the implications of your case study. What ideas or findings might require further exploration? How might researchers go about exploring some of these questions in additional studies?

Need More Tips?

Here are a few additional pointers to keep in mind when formatting your case study:

• Never refer to the subject of your case study as "the client." Instead, use their name or a pseudonym.
• Read examples of case studies to gain an idea about the style and format.
• Remember to use APA format when citing references .

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach .  BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011;11:100.

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach . BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011 Jun 27;11:100. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-11-100

Gagnon, Yves-Chantal.  The Case Study as Research Method: A Practical Handbook . Canada, Chicago Review Press Incorporated DBA Independent Pub Group, 2010.

Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods . United States, SAGE Publications, 2017.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Module 11: Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

Case studies: schizophrenia spectrum disorders, learning objectives.

• Identify schizophrenia and psychotic disorders in case studies

Case Study: Bryant

Thirty-five-year-old Bryant was admitted to the hospital because of ritualistic behaviors, depression, and distrust. At the time of admission, prominent ritualistic behaviors and depression misled clinicians to diagnose Bryant with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Shortly after, psychotic symptoms such as disorganized thoughts and delusion of control were noticeable. He told the doctors he has not been receiving any treatment, was not on any substance or medication, and has been experiencing these symptoms for about two weeks. Throughout the course of his treatment, the doctors noticed that he developed a catatonic stupor and a respiratory infection, which was identified by respiratory symptoms, blood tests, and a chest X-ray. To treat the psychotic symptoms, catatonic stupor, and respiratory infection, risperidone, MECT, and ceftriaxone (antibiotic) were administered, and these therapies proved to be dramatically effective. [1]

Case Study: Shanta

Shanta, a 28-year-old female with no prior psychiatric hospitalizations, was sent to the local emergency room after her parents called 911; they were concerned that their daughter had become uncharacteristically irritable and paranoid. The family observed that she had stopped interacting with them and had been spending long periods of time alone in her bedroom. For over a month, she had not attended school at the local community college. Her parents finally made the decision to call the police when she started to threaten them with a knife, and the police took her to the local emergency room for a crisis evaluation.

Following the administration of the medication, she tried to escape from the emergency room, contending that the hospital staff was planning to kill her. She eventually slept and when she awoke, she told the crisis worker that she had been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) a month ago. At the time of this ADHD diagnosis, she was started on 30 mg of a stimulant to be taken every morning in order to help her focus and become less stressed over the possibility of poor school performance.

After two weeks, the provider increased her dosage to 60 mg every morning and also started her on dextroamphetamine sulfate tablets (10 mg) that she took daily in the afternoon in order to improve her concentration and ability to study. Shanta claimed that she might have taken up to three dextroamphetamine sulfate tablets over the past three days because she was worried about falling asleep and being unable to adequately prepare for an examination.

Prior to the ADHD diagnosis, the patient had no known psychiatric or substance abuse history. The urine toxicology screen taken upon admission to the emergency department was positive only for amphetamines. There was no family history of psychotic or mood disorders, and she didn’t exhibit any depressive, manic, or hypomanic symptoms.

The stimulant medications were discontinued by the hospital upon admission to the emergency department and the patient was treated with an atypical antipsychotic. She tolerated the medications well, started psychotherapy sessions, and was released five days later. On the day of discharge, there were no delusions or hallucinations reported. She was referred to the local mental health center for aftercare follow-up with a psychiatrist. [2]

Another powerful case study example is that of Elyn R. Saks, the associate dean and Orrin B. Evans professor of law, psychology, and psychiatry and the behavioral sciences at the University of Southern California Gould Law School.

Saks began experiencing symptoms of mental illness at eight years old, but she had her first full-blown episode when studying as a Marshall scholar at Oxford University. Another breakdown happened while Saks was a student at Yale Law School, after which she “ended up forcibly restrained and forced to take anti-psychotic medication.” Her scholarly efforts thus include taking a careful look at the destructive impact force and coercion can have on the lives of people with psychiatric illnesses, whether during treatment or perhaps in interactions with police; the Saks Institute, for example, co-hosted a conference examining the urgent problem of how to address excessive use of force in encounters between law enforcement and individuals with mental health challenges.

Saks lives with schizophrenia and has written and spoken about her experiences. She says, “There’s a tremendous need to implode the myths of mental illness, to put a face on it, to show people that a diagnosis does not have to lead to a painful and oblique life.”

In recent years, researchers have begun talking about mental health care in the same way addiction specialists speak of recovery—the lifelong journey of self-treatment and discipline that guides substance abuse programs. The idea remains controversial: managing a severe mental illness is more complicated than simply avoiding certain behaviors. Approaches include “medication (usually), therapy (often), a measure of good luck (always)—and, most of all, the inner strength to manage one’s demons, if not banish them. That strength can come from any number of places…love, forgiveness, faith in God, a lifelong friendship.” Saks says, “We who struggle with these disorders can lead full, happy, productive lives, if we have the right resources.”

You can view the transcript for “A tale of mental illness | Elyn Saks” here (opens in new window) .

• Bai, Y., Yang, X., Zeng, Z., & Yang, H. (2018). A case report of schizoaffective disorder with ritualistic behaviors and catatonic stupor: successful treatment by risperidone and modified electroconvulsive therapy. BMC psychiatry , 18(1), 67. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1655-5 ↵
• Henning A, Kurtom M, Espiridion E D (February 23, 2019) A Case Study of Acute Stimulant-induced Psychosis. Cureus 11(2): e4126. doi:10.7759/cureus.4126 ↵
• Modification, adaptation, and original content. Authored by : Wallis Back for Lumen Learning. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
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• A Case Study of Acute Stimulant-induced Psychosis. Authored by : Ashley Henning, Muhannad Kurtom, Eduardo D. Espiridion. Provided by : Cureus. Located at : https://www.cureus.com/articles/17024-a-case-study-of-acute-stimulant-induced-psychosis#article-disclosures-acknowledgements . License : CC BY: Attribution
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• A case report of schizoaffective disorder with ritualistic behaviors and catatonic stupor: successful treatment by risperidone and modified electroconvulsive therapy. Authored by : Yuanhan Bai, Xi Yang, Zhiqiang Zeng, and Haichen Yangcorresponding. Located at : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5851085/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

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Is the Psychiatric History Losing Its Relevance?

Richard j moldawsky.

1 Departments of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Laguna Hills, CA

One of the axioms of medical practice is that obtaining a good history is key to making a correct diagnosis and developing a treatment plan. This is particularly true in psychiatry, in which laboratory or imaging investigations are not typically of great value. Any factor that compromises a history may compromise care. This area of practice has not been formally studied, although it is widely believed to be true. In mental health settings, there are many factors that affect obtaining the history. Among these are the skills of the clinician in eliciting relevant information in a limited time, the clinician’s philosophy regarding the importance of such history, and lack of formal training in history-taking. Nonphysician clinicians may be more likely than psychiatrists to confront these barriers. Practice settings may, in their effort to maximize access, patient turnover, and cost control, convey a here-and-now approach to patient care, implicitly downplaying the importance of a complete history. There may be some cultural factors at play as well, reflecting American society’s gradually decreased interest in the study of history. Despite these understandable barriers, the need for a complete history is still the highest priority in an initial evaluation. Some suggestions are offered to support clinicians’ and organizations’ struggles to keep a comprehensive history at the forefront of care.

INTRODUCTION

One axiom of medical practice is that a good history is key to making a diagnosis and developing a treatment plan with the patient. Despite a clinician’s best efforts, errors will still occur. 1 , 2 There seems to be relatively little in the published literature or clinical guidelines that addresses errors in psychiatric care. Much of what has been published concerns itself with medications. 3

Psychiatric diagnoses are largely dependent on the patient history. Although few studies look specifically at history-taking in psychiatric care, it stands to reason that barriers to obtaining a proper history will lead to less accurate diagnoses. This Commentary identifies some of these barriers—some specific to psychiatric history-taking, some more broadly applicable to other specialties—and considers some other possible factors not directly related to medical care. This is not a catalog of the myriad errors that can be made in taking a history.

I offer what follows largely on the basis of my own observations as a psychiatrist in several interdisciplinary settings over 40 years, including 15 years’ experience as a peer reviewer for the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Orange County-Anaheim Medical Service Area’s Department of Psychiatry in CA, and 3 years as an expert reviewer in psychiatry for the Medical Board of California. Although most of my work has been with KP, I believe that these observations are not unique to that model of care.

OBSERVATIONS ON HISTORY-TAKING

It must be acknowledged at the outset that, among mental health practitioners, there is an unresolved tension as to the primacy of the medical model in history-taking. The importance of making a diagnosis from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) widely varies depending on the clinical situation and the evaluator, and therefore taking a diagnosis-oriented history is irrelevant to some. 4 That said, in most settings (if for no other reason than regulatory or billing purposes), a DSM-V diagnosis must be made.

Much of this discussion is based on the widespread belief that obtaining a full history is essential to a correct diagnosis and for treatment planning. As with many aspects of clinical practice that are held to be true, there is no good evidence that validates this belief. Even the recent American Psychiatric Association Guidelines on the Psychiatric Evaluation of Adults, 5 based on broad input from “expert” psychiatrists and others, cites virtual unanimity on the critical importance of the history while noting the lack of study of this link.

The approach to history-taking traditionally starts with the patient’s chief concern followed by the history of the present illness (HPI). The HPI is intended to reflect some sequence of events and symptoms, which start at whatever point the patient began to experience changes from whatever his/her baseline was. The assumption is that the patient was in a relatively stable state before that onset; on the basis of the patient’s prior history of psychiatric problems and functional level, his/her ability to manage stressors, and current symptoms would vary accordingly, but the HPI dates from that point. At times, the HPI may reflect a continuation of some illness that had never remitted.

The importance of this (as it relates to diagnosis) is that focusing too much on the immediate issue, without assessing the premorbid status, can lead to a less severe diagnosis than is truly called for. For example, a patient who reports a few weeks of anxiety and insomnia in the context of job stress, leading to perhaps a diagnosis of adjustment disorder or occupational problem, may have a history of similar episodes that are not work-related but suggest, for example, an anxiety, mood, or personality disorder. The premorbid status is relevant to a more accurate diagnosis. Treatment of a less severe (but incorrect) diagnosis would not likely be very successful, and the patient will have unintentionally been denied better care.

CAUSES OF ERRORS

Errors or omissions in history-taking have many causes, of course, and no one is immune from making them. Clinicians of all disciplines vary in their fund of knowledge and skills regarding diagnostic acumen and interviewing ability. Although such variation is likely the most salient factor affecting the quality of the history, there are some other factors worth identifying that also play a role.

Some form of the medical model generally predominates in most mental health settings. However, not all practitioners consider the organization of the history that way (ie, HPI and other traditional categories as the personal or developmental history, the family history, the social history, and the medical history) as immediately relevant or helpful to the person being evaluated. If a practitioner’s toolkit includes primarily psychotherapies and psychoeducation, the role of genetic or medical factors may not seem pertinent. Some practitioners are untrained and/or uncomfortable asking about such factors, so it is predictable that genetic or medical factors are at higher risk of being overlooked.

All practitioners are prone to error. Among the better known and studied errors are 1) confirmation bias, 6 by which we look for data that support what we initially think is the problem, and dismiss or not pursue data that would cause us to change our first formulation; and 2) premature closure, 7 by which we too rapidly decide on a diagnosis and begin to plan treatment for that diagnosis, as if there might not be concurrent diagnoses and/or alternative diagnoses to entertain. To these errors I would add confusing correlation with causation, for example, assuming that the existence of prior trauma or substance abuse is the cause of the current clinical situation. Each of these kinds of errors closes off the history-taking, and it is done at the peril of the patient.

A practitioner’s professional discipline or theoretical orientation also can lead to errors. Psychiatrists who are primarily psychopharmacologists are at risk of looking narrowly for medication-responsive symptoms. Those who work in substance abuse are at risk of overemphasizing the role of substance use or seeing any situation in terms of addictive behaviors. Those who do primarily cognitive behavioral therapy are at risk of ignoring psychodynamic or family factors. In my experience, nonphysician practitioners are more prone than physicians to miss or normalize milder but potentially important signs of a major mental disorder, such as suspicion without formal delusions, or heightened self-consciousness without overt paranoia. All mental health practitioners are at risk of not recognizing medical factors that may be causative or important contributors to a set of symptoms. None of the errors described here is unique to any professional discipline or theoretical orientation, and we must all be humble.

Errors in history-taking cannot be fully understood without regard to the practice setting. The pressures of working in a high-volume, high-demand environment naturally add stress to an evaluation. This stress, although most commonly experienced in the outpatient setting, also often applies to Emergency Department and medical inpatient settings. The need to rapidly assess and develop a plan of action in a short time is often achieved at the expense of a fuller history. Patients who come to an appointment late or are intoxicated or otherwise unable to provide a coherent history will necessarily have treatment plans based on precious little information.

In recent years, the focus on customer service and satisfaction has led to providing the treatment that a patient wants and will accept. Although such patient preferences cannot and should not be ignored, the odds that that preferred treatment will be effective may be quite low if the history is limited. The approach that says, “What can I do for you today?” often presupposes a here-and-now framework, which limits how the problem is addressed. The “quick fix” may be satisfying to the patient, even if not necessarily in his/her best interests over the longer term. An organization that overemphasizes that approach may be doing a disservice to its patients, especially as it tries to simultaneously address broader issues of access and cost control. Many mental illnesses are chronic and recurring, for which a quick-fix model is of limited effectiveness.

POSSIBLE ROLE OF SOCIETAL FACTORS

Having discussed some of the clinician and environmental factors affecting history-taking, I here briefly review some evidence that our American society’s interest in history as a field of study has dwindled, and I speculate that this could have an indirect effect on both clinicians’ and patients’ views of the relevance of history to the initial health care evaluation. If our society is, as a whole, more “here-and-now” oriented and less interested in history in its broader context, such a trend might permeate clinical practice.

Recent data indicate that fewer college students are majoring in history. 8 This appears to be independent of students’ sex or ethnicity and is correlated with the increased interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in school curricula. There is also some evidence that history courses offered in colleges are shifting more toward special-interest foci, such as sex-based or ethnic perspectives, and away from the traditional courses that address the major historical events or periods. 9 Perhaps the newer offerings, although they may well provide some balance and alternate perspectives, do so at the expense of teaching what most would call the basics of a given historical era. Might clinicians sometimes be distracted from the basics of a clinical history by their own special interests? Might younger clinicians be less focused on a patient’s longitudinal history as well? Linking these clinical and societal factors would admittedly be difficult to investigate systematically, but I propose that it may play a role.

I posit that the recent interest in the narrower range of some college courses is paralleled by some of the narrowly focused histories that I have come across more frequently in my work. Examples include the “trauma-focused” history or the “addiction-focused” history. Although such histories are often critical, they should be interpreted in a broader history; otherwise, the errors of premature closure and confirmation bias are more likely. The value of a generalist approach to history-taking is that such errors are less likely to reflect a clinician’s bias or expertise, and it allows the treatment plan to be more comprehensive and accurate. To complete the parallel, one who studies history through, say, the lens of ethnicity or sex, may find it harder to see a bigger picture.

RECOMMENDATIONS

After the earlier categorization of history-taking errors into those centered on the clinician, the practice setting, and larger cultural factors, it is appropriate to offer some ideas for decreasing such errors.

Although not firmly based on scientific study, the expert consensus on the importance of a thorough history should be the “default” position. There are times when deviation from a thorough history is unavoidable, but the clinician must endeavor to obtain that history. It means that clinicians need to improve their skills at asking questions and eliciting information in the time allotted. There are many snares that move the clinician away from this task, and therein lies the challenge. Clinicians must be aware that many diagnoses will fit a patient’s initial complaint and keep as many of those in mind as possible while obtaining the history that rules in or out those diagnoses. Such an approach should decrease the incidence of the errors discussed earlier. There is no pathognomonic finding for any psychiatric condition. Despite the shortcomings of DSM-V both as a diagnostic aid and as a helper in treatment planning, there is for now no better system, and it is the “coin of the realm.” It can be tempting to dismiss diagnosis altogether, but that has greater risks.

Health system leaders and clinical managers need to be clear with clinicians as to what the reasonable expectations are for such initial evaluations, including how to address these individual and system challenges. The use of a template can point a clinician to what the categories are, but without instruction, supervision, and support, the template degenerates into a stereotyped set of preprogrammed phrases without providing clinically meaningful data. Most patient questionnaires and validated rating scales help in highlighting areas for further historical and current exploration but are not, in themselves, diagnostic. Accepting what a patient reports, in an interview or questionnaire, on face value must be resisted; handled sensitively, it will not disrupt the formation of a therapeutic alliance but will reflect the clinician’s desire to more fully understand the patient.

This Commentary has discussed the link between a good history and good treatment. That this link has not been rigorously studied speaks to the difficult methodologic issues in such a study but perhaps even more to the power of the belief in that link.

The noble impulse to be rapidly helpful is only noble if well placed and well timed. Clinicians (and the organizations in which they serve) need to see that the more complete the history, the better the chance to direct that impulse for good. Good treatment demands the best possible history, and despite the unrelenting competing pressures, mental health clinicians must still aim high.

Acknowledgments

Kathleen Louden, ELS, of Louden Health Communications performed a primary copy edit.

Disclosure Statement

The author(s) have no conflicts of interest to disclose.