Evaluating Case Study Essay: The Abuse Of Ms. D

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Ms. D is a young woman in her thirties working as a substitute teacher in New York City. Throughout the day, Ms. D experiences recurring episodes involving time lapses and disturbing memories of childhood trauma. As a child Ms. D was what every child should be: curious, bubbly and naïve. Ms. D, however, was treated with neglect and abused by her mother. Her mother, whom suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, would physically, verbally, mentally and sexually abuse Ms. D. and she eventually started to become more anxious and fearful of her. Much of the abuse Ms. D faced happened in her kitchen, where her mother would perform heinous acts such as giving her enemas, burning her hand on the stove, and slamming doors in her face. Her mother also would lock Ms. D in a storage bin upstairs in the barn, pulling her up by a rope to get there. The abuse lasted her entire childhood and the memories of her torment stayed with her until adulthood. These distressing memories that Ms. D has cause her to experience blackouts, and when she comes to, she is unable to recall what had happened. Ms. D’s symptoms become more frequent, and during one of her episodes she smashes a window, causing self-inflicted injuries (GAF = 30). When receiving medical care, a psychiatrist suggests that Ms. D’s blackouts are a type of hysteria brought on by fear. During the Dr. Wilbur’s examination of Ms. D, began speaking like a child and throwing tantrums, but later stopped and behaved as normal. Ms. D also has a fear of hands and …show more content…

D invites her over for dinner, in which Ms. D decides to spend the night in his apartment. Ms. D experiences a frightening nightmare about a headless cat that causes her to transform into her highly suicidal personality, in which she attempts to throw herself off the roof (GAF = 1). The psychiatrist quickly rushes to Ms. D’s aid, and this eventually scares off her significant other into leaving