Free Essay - History of Current and Past Psychological Functioning

Michelle Adams is a 30-year-old Black American female. Michelle identifies herself as heterosexual, married to Jack Adams for five years, and they have two kids together. Michelle lives with her husband and their two children, and she works full-time as a business consultant and part-time as an assistant tutor in a private college.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Reason for Referral

Michelle Adams was referred to the clinical counselor by her husband because she often complained of stress, anxiety, phobias, and depression. She was very concerned that her mental disorders may lead her to ruin her family relationship and be fired from her job. Besides, Michelle has been summoned three times in her workplace because of lateness, inattention, and failure to beat deadlines. She has also been written up two times in the last one year for rudeness. She is very concerned that she may lose her job, and her relationship with the other family members is also deteriorating.

History of Current and Past Psychological Functioning

Michelle has a one-year history of anxiety and stress, which have recently escalated into depression. She reported that she was having trouble with her husband and children within this period because of her weird attitudes. In her workplace, Michelle has developed antisocial behavior, which has consequently lowered her productivity. She has also become disobedient in the workplace, and she reported having a hard time following the workplace regulations. She also lost several friends to her temper and aggressive behavior, which has landed her in trouble with the authorities.

Michelle also reports that she had a problem of being hypersensitive to minor issues during her young age. Also, sometimes, she could become hyperactive and very aggressive for no specific reason. Besides, Michelle adds that she could violently bully her peers in school. Michell reports that although her parents have taken her for severe anxiety and depression medical tests, she has never been diagnosed with any mental disorder. However, she notes that at times she would feel sad, exhausted. Sleep too much, and some times Michelle could be unable to sleep at all. Moreover, she could also feel hopeless, guilty, and also have body aches and digestive problems. Despite having these symptoms, Michelle says that her parents believed that she did not require any medication to lead to other damages.

Michelle says that after sharing her feeling with her husband and she felt some years back, her husband noted that these feelings are similar to the symptoms of depression, and thus he advised her to seek psychological help. She is worried about her life because her recent behavior may adversely affect her future. Besides, she adds that her family has noted her weird behaviors and have commented on the same. Her husband has cautioned her several times for a carefree action, ignoring family routine and not taking good care of her children. In one instant, Michelle forgot to pick her three-year-old daughter from the kindergarten, and the husband was called from school to pick the child when the teacher realized that it was very late. Her family also commented that she is becoming very irritable, absent-minded, and hyper. In the instances that Michelle has been in trouble with her boss, she had acted carelessly and failed to follow instructions, leading to the loss of important clients for the organization. Her mistakes led to reduced profits for the company, and frustrations and her colleagues and the boss.

Social History

Michelle was born in 1990 and is the last born in a family of four children. The oldest brother is 48 years, followed closely by a second-born brother who is 45 years. The third born is a girl whose age is 36. In the United States, Michelle was born in Chicago, and the parents had a remarkably intact relationship. Michelle adds that her family became dysfunctional when she was seven years, and her parents parted ways. Her father was a mechanic, and the mother was a cashier in a supermarket in town. Michelle narrated that she could hear her parents argue due to her father's adultery behavior. Her father was also an addict to drugs, which was a significant problem for the family. The marriage also suffered because the mother was more dedicated to work than family and often came home drunk. When she was ten years, the family relocated to Arizona, where they lived until she completed school.

Michelle states that she was involved in an accident when she was three years, which made her fall in a coma for two weeks. The doctors who operated on her feared that she might have suffered a spinal cord injury. Consequently, the parents became overprotective, and in the following five years, they rarely allowed her to play freely with other children. Michelle states that her mother was born in a low-income family, and her grandfather was very abusive. However, the father was born in a middle-class family, and the grandparents were both middle school teachers. Michelle is very close to her mother, and she says that her mother started smoking at age ten. Her mother also started drinking at fifteen due to stress from her parents. Michelle and her father's relationship was excellent, and she described her father as a funny man. Her father was very open, and Michelle believes that her father loved her very much. However, the father would go away for days without coming back and became violent while drunk, he always apologized and mended things together. The mother died of a stroke at age 68, and the father committed suicide when he was 65.

Michelle states that she always had problems associating with peers. She was antisocial and was accused of acting aggressively during play activities. As such, Michelle had very few friends who were willing to play with her. Besides, she looked small for her chronological age, and thus she was forced to associate with children who were younger than her. Michelle says that she has maintained most of her childhood friends, especially those who saw her as a funny and good girl. However, Michelle believes that her condition may have adversely interfered with her romantic life as most of her past boyfriends accused her of being unromantic and dull. Currently, Michelle lives with her husband and their two children, and she fears that her mental health condition may destroy her marriage.

Educational History

Michelle noted that her teachers were anxious with her short attention span, forgetfulness, and being absent-minded. In kindergarten and grade one, she scored very poorly until the teachers recommended that the parents get a private tutor or be taken into a special education classroom. However, after her mother added a lot of effort to tutoring her at home, her grades started improving, and her retention started improving. Michelle adds that after sitting for a cognitive test, she scored above average, but creativity was low. Her teacher recommended that she always use concrete materials in class so that she could improve coordination and creativity. Michelle says that this encounter was very embarrassing, especially because other kids did not use such materials in her class. However, she states that she needed these materials to improve her coordination and study skills. Surprisingly, due to challenges in academics and family issues, Michelle attended three primary schools.

Generally, Michelle was a slow learner, and she was a below-average student throughout her primary school life. After primary education, she joined a municipal high school and did fairly well and thus qualified to join a community where she studied business management and acquired her associate degree after three years. Immediately after college, Michelle joined a state university where she received her bachelor's degree. Michelle states that she had to work extra harder than her peers because she knew that she was an average to a below-average student, and thus she had to study for extra hours. Currently, Michelle is pursuing her postgraduate degree in-state university.

Developmental History

Michelle reported that despite the accident and academic problems, she also had schizophrenia, a disorder characterized by delusions and hallucinations. As such, her motor skills development was delayed, and thus she had cognitive and emotional challenges. Nonetheless, Michelle explains that she is not aware of any other developmental problem that she faced.

Medical History

When Michelle was involved in an accident, she was rushed to the hospital with a fractured arm and bleeding back. Besides, she was unconscious, and she stayed in a coma for two weeks. The doctors also noted that her back was injured, and thus she might have a spinal cord injury. She remained in the hospital for one month before being discharged to heal the arm injury from home.

Occupational History

Michelle says that she had a passion for becoming a businesswoman, and in all her career, she studied to be a businesswoman. Michelle attended many business conferences and seminars to equip herself with skills to become a successful entrepreneur. She landed in the business management sector, where she works as a business consultant in a real estate firm. Besides, Michelle adds that she liked teaching, and she developed this trait while in college, when she found her self explaining concepts to her peers on the whiteboard. Due to this, Michelle also works as a part-time assistant tutor in a private college. Her personality has made her interact with many students, parents, teachers, and other people who motivate her to proceed with her endeavors.

Mental Status

Throughout the interview, Michelle was very active, attentive, and hospitable. She was well and appropriately dressed, and she appeared as a business consultant. Her communication skills were excellent, and she always kept eye contact. She displayed good social skills, although she appeared older than her stated age of 30 years. She was always clear and direct to the point. However, she acted aggressively when responding to questions that touched on sad moments of her life, like an accident or why he broke up with the former boyfriends. She denied having any problems with her reflexes, sense, coordination, and stance. In addition, she said that she has never had suicidal thoughts. She, however, did not want to say much about her experiences at work.