Which DSM diagnosis does the client have?
The diagnosis chosen for Sam is the Schizotypal personality disorder. From the case study, the following symptoms have been displayed by Sam to make the diagnosis: Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behaviour and is inconsistent with sub-cultural norms, unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions, odd thinking and speech, suspiciousness or paranoid ideation, inappropriate or constricted affect, lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives and excessive social anxiety that does not diminish with familiarity.
Sam is 23 and lives with his mother and sister, his mother described him as always being the odd child. Sam also spent lots of time alone as he had difficulty relating to peers. Because of this, Sam felt as if he had never fit in social situations as they provoked anxiety. This resulted in Sam rarely socializing and spending most of his time on online chat-rooms and games. The context of Sam’s behaviour and background has been provided. Therefore, this assignment will now list the behaviours (from the case study) displayed by Sam, which shows signs and/or evidence of the symptoms mentioned in
…show more content…
Sam’s father died from a heart attack when he was seven years old. Sam was alone at home with his father at the time and was helpless when his father collapsed in front of him. His mother reports that Sam felt that his father’s death was his fault and that he should have done something to help his father. Because of the feelings of guilt and anxiety from the above mentioned, it can be inferred that the death of Sam’s father greatly increased Sam’s chances of being diagnosed with Schizotypal personality