Ellen Farber Borderline Personality Disorder

Psychopathology is the very diverse study of mental disorders. The various causes and treatments of these disorders are constantly changing and expanding as technology and knowledge develop. After reading about Ellen Farber’s thoughts and actions, there are several disorders that she could be diagnosed with. First, Ellen matches the criteria for major depressive disorder. She experiences increasingly persistent sadness and lack of energy and pleasure. This prevents her from carrying out activities in her daily life, since she spends 15-20 hours per day in bed. She also has thoughts of death and suicide, as seen in the idea of driving her car off of a cliff. Another criteria for major depressive disorder requires that a person must be in a major

Next, Ellen could potentially be diagnosed with binge-eating disorder. The DSM-5 describes the criteria for this disorder as recurrent episodes of binge eating, which Ellen describes as daily episodes, eating anything she can find in large amounts or quantities. Ellen explains that she is not pre-occupied with thinness and does not force herself to vomit to compensate for her binging, which also matches binge-eating disorder criteria. Ellen’s actions provide enough evidence for diagnosis of this disorder. Last, Ellen likely has borderline personality disorder based on the various symptoms described. Borderline personality disorder is characterized by a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships, identity disturbance, impulsivity, recurrent suicidal behavior, chronic feelings of emptiness, and difficulty controlling anger. These are all seen in Ellen’s explanations, from failed relationships due to fights and impulsive spending habits. She feels unsure of what she wants to do with her life, and feels empty. Therefore, Ellen likely has these three disorders after assessing her

These could consist of her debt, her relationships, or lack of motivation for example. It would also be beneficial to know how Ellen learns best, since behavior therapy focuses on learning normal behaviors again. The best way to treat Ellen would be through modeling or systematic reinforcement. In modeling, the client learns new skills by imitating another person (Hooley, et al., 2017). Ellen would work with a therapist to get rid of her maladaptive behaviors by imitating the therapist. The two could work on decision making in stressful situations, which would help Ellen quit her impulsive spending habits and frequent arguments in relationships. Systematic reinforcement could also help Ellen by eliminating the negative reinforcers in her life. This process involves response shaping, which is positive reinforcement used to establish a response that is not initially an individual’s typical behavior (Hooley, et al., 2017). Overall, behavior therapy has favorable approaches and can achieve quick results, which would help