Assessing and Diagnosing Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD
Anxiety disorder is a cluster of mental health problems that involve uncontrollable and significant feelings of fear and anxiety. This disorder can cause cognitive and physical symptoms like chest pain, increased heart rate, abdominal pain, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and easy fatiguability. On the other hand develops as a result of exposure to a traumatic event, leading to behavioral and mental disorders. This could be a case where an individual develops anxiety after something linked to a traumatic event.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a behavioral and mental disorder where the general functional impaired functioning occurs due to intrusive feelings and thoughts (Freire et al., 2020). M.J. is a nine-year-old girl whose mother brought her due to her problems in school. Her mother was invited to the school by her principal due to her anxiety (Symptom Media, 2017). This is a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation of the patient, M.J., for her anxiety-related issues.
Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD Subjective:
CC (chief complaint): MJ is a nine-year-old female in third grade. The patient complained of abdominal pains while she was at school, and her mother has several times been invited to get her by the principal as a result. This has been the case for about three months, something that her mother claims ought to stop. M.J. reports feeling scared that something bad will happen to her or her parents. Her siblings have not had such problems because it impacts her well-being and her daughter’s (Symptom Media, 2017).
HPI: M.J. was brought by her mother, Mrs. J., for her anxiety-related issues. The patient refused to have her vitals, height, and weight measured. Additionally, she has problems with her appetite, making her a picky eater. Her mother reports that her present illness has impaired her academic performance over three months.
Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD Past Psychiatric History:
- General Statement: M.J. had earlier been taken to a physician due to her abdominal pains and her problems in school. Her current illness has persisted over three months, affecting her life and her mother. Her anxiety does not arise from a traumatic event she experienced over three months before hitting all her developmental milestones.
- Caregivers (if applicable): M.J.’s caregiver is her mother, Mrs. J. has an elder brother and sister.
- Hospitalizations: All her vaccinations are up to date, and the patient has not been hospitalized in the past.
- Medication trials: The patient has not been involved in any medication trials in the past.
- Psychotherapy or Previous Psychiatric Diagnosis: The patient’s anxiety is not related to any adverse events in her life, which would rule out post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It would be necessary to ensure that she had not been abused before be beginning of the semester. This would leave the plausible diagnosis being either OCD or anxiety disorder. One of her triggers is her mother’s absence, which was evident during the therapy session.
Substance Current Use and History Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
There is no evidence of substance abuse by the patient. Additionally, the patient has not been on medication.
Family Psychiatric/Substance Use History Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
Mrs. J. does not provide any information about substance use in her family.
Psychosocial History Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
This illness is unique to M.J. within her family, with no reported mental health problems for her parents and siblings. Her current illness began three months ago, with no other mental health problems reported earlier.
Medical History Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
- Current Medications: No major medical-related events have occurred since the patient’s vaccination. The patient has not been on any medication and
- Allergies: Even though the patient has a loss of appetite, she has no allergies. Additionally, she has no known drug allergies.
- Reproductive Hx: The patient is yet to reach puberty thus has no reproductive history.
ROS Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
- GENERAL: The patient refused to have her vitals, height, and weight measured; thus, her weight change was recorded.
- HEENT: Throughout, nose, ears; no hearing loss, sore thought, running nose, congestion, or sneezing reported. Eyes: no yellow sclerae, double vision, blurred vision, or vision loss.
- SKIN: No rash or itching reported
- CARDIOVASCULAR: No chest pain, chest pressure, or chest discomfort. No palpitations or edema.
- RESPIRATORY: No shortness of breath, cough, or sputum
- GASTROINTESTINAL: No anorexia, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. No abdominal pain but has lost their appetite.
- GENITOURINARY: No burning on urination, urgency, hesitancy, odor, odd color.
- NEUROLOGICAL: No headache, dizziness, syncope, paralysis, ataxia, numbness, or tingling in the extremities. No change in bowel or bladder control.
- MUSCULOSKELETAL: No muscle, back pain, joint pain, or stiffness.
- HEMATOLOGIC: No anemia, bleeding, or bruising
- LYMPHATICS: No enlarged nodes. No history of splenectomy.
- ENDOCRINOLOGIC: No reports of sweating, cold, or heat intolerance. No polyuria or polydipsia.
Objective Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
Physical exam Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
Not applicable
Diagnostic results Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
The patient could either be having an anxiety disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This is because her anxiety is not tied to any real-life event. It would be necessary for the patient to undergo a further physical evaluation to rule out physical factors like inflammation. She may also suffer from the obsessive-compulsive disorder with a strong attachment to her family members.
Assessment Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
Mental Status Examination: M.J. is a Caucasian American female aged nine years old. She attends the consultation in the presence of her mother, a primary caretaker. Additionally, she is self-aware in her analysis of her mental health problem’s Impact on other aspects of her life. She reports an anxiety disorder and OCD, which has led to a loss of appetite and thus may eventually impact her physical health. There’s no evidence of drug abuse in the attempt to mitigate her health problems. Additionally, the patient does not depict any evidence of delusion thinking. However, it does not report any
Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD Differential Diagnoses:
- Anxiety disorder is a cluster of mental health problems that involve uncontrollable and significant feelings of fear and anxiety. This disorder can cause cognitive and physical symptoms like chest pain, increased heart rate, abdominal pain, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and easy fatiguability (Freire et al., 2020). This is the most probable diagnosis in the case of M.J.
- On the other hand, it develops due to exposure to a traumatic event, leading to behavioral and mental disorders. This could be a case where an individual develops anxiety after something linked to a traumatic event (Freire et al., 2020). This is the least probable diagnosis in the case of M.J.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a behavioral and mental disorder where the general functional impaired functioning occurs due to intrusive feelings and thoughts (Freire et al., 2020). This is a plausible diagnosis for M.J.
Reflections Psychological Assessment of Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD:
After a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, it is evident that the patient could be suffering from an anxiety disorder. Her symptoms become more evident in the absence of her mother. Other than her lost appetite, there is no report of any changes in her physical health. Additionally, her anxiety is not like any adverse events occurring in her life. It would be important that she be treated for anxiety disorder and OCD. She has continued to work indicates that her condition is moderately severe. Her support system is expected to play a critical role in her recovery (Symptom Media, 2017).
In conclusion, M.J. may be experiencing an anxiety disorder linked to the obsession with having a family member around. It would be irresponsible to assume that the client has OCD because of her anxiety in her mother’s absence. She has no prior physical or mental health problems. It would be necessary to find the cause of her anxiety or the various factors that cause it.
References
- Freire, R. C., Cabrera-Abreu, C., & Milev, R. (2020). Neurostimulation in anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Anxiety Disorders, 331-346.
- Symptom Media. (Producer). (2017). Training title 55
