Lamont Harrison Case Study

Lamont Harrison is a 36-year-old African American male from Chicago, IL living in Madison, WI, for the last ten years. He worked in the food service industry as a prep cook. Over the years, Lamont has spent about ten years in prison for drug possession, domestic violence, and a misdemeanor assault. Harrison often feels depressed due to his low income and few friends. Lamont's father passed away recently, and he began showing abnormal behavior.

Fired from his job, Lamont faced arrest by local police several times for exhibiting erratic behavior in public; he also pulled a knife on a fellow customer at a local bakery. As a result, officials placed Harrison in emergency custody. He spent three days in a mental health facility for evaluation.

He usually visits Chicago for family functions, but his family has not seen him in three months. His apartment was untidy and unsanitary, and he wore layers of clothing during the summer. Lamont sometimes calls his cousin to talk, but she has trouble understanding him stating his words don't make sense.

His daughter says he is hallucinating and has emotional outbursts during their conversations. Although he lives in Madison, WI, Lamont returned to her home in Chicago unannounced. He appeared to be in a panic, sweating and insisting that his brother and nephew were attempting to kill him. He hadn't bathed or groomed himself, which is unlike him, according to his daughter. While his children made accommodations for his stay, they observed him as delusional, angry, and unpredictable.

Lamont is experiencing hallucinations and showing signs of paranoia. He is also convinced that men in a white van are following him and trying to kill him, causing him to be angry and uncontrollable. Afraid to reveal his diagnosis to his family, Harrison has isolated himself. Hallucinating, he sees his brothers in different public places, laughing at his condition. He shared with his daughter that he has barely left his apartment out of fear that he'd have to murder the man who has been following

Lamont grew up in a low-income environment for most of his childhood and adulthood and has experienced severe childhood trauma. His mother revealed that all four of her brothers have Schizophrenia. In a recent study by Bilecki and Maćkowiak (2023), genetic and epigenetic factors may contribute to structural and functional brain abnormalities in Schizophrenia. Lamont's family was Christian, associated mental illness with the devil, and used prayer to ward off the symptoms.

Feldman (2018) defines disordered behavior, such as hallucinations, delusions, and emotional extremes, as positive symptoms of Schizophrenia (p.508). Negative symptoms include a lack of concentration, abnormal sleeping patterns, and a lack of interest in relationships. Harrison showed negative signs before his father's death and showed positive symptoms afterward.

Lamont heard from friends and family that therapy was not an option for people like him. These social, cultural, psychological, and biological factors explain the cause of his behaviors. Consequently, Lamont has never visited a therapist to resolve his childhood traumas. Subsequently, unhealthy coping mechanisms and poor thinking patterns have also contributed to his