Major Depressive Disorder Case Study

Case Study 2

Client History Janet is 30 years old, she initially reached out to therapist in regards to her son and his issues with his sleeping patterns. Janet’s son was waking up in the night and would sleep in her bed. This was occurring following divorce from her husband David. She was at first gentle with her son, but then reported as he would continue to come to her at night she lost patience with him she would argue with him and then ultimately give into his wants. She would then feel guilty about giving in to him. Janet feels that she loses control of her children and when discussing the bedtime situation with her youngest child she feels overwhelmed. Janet was an only child who had a stable upbringing. She spent most of her time

Janet reports depression, feeling sad and withdrawn. She reports feeling sad post-divorce from her husband. She has gained weight rapidly at a rate of 3 to 4 pounds a month. She was at first able to improve her mood through activity, however that has recently changed. She changed her daily activities by dropping out of school. She did so because she was feeling overwhelmed by her daily tasks.

She has excessive guilt around the end of her marriage and constantly worries about it. Janet also expressed feeling guilt about her parenting and giving in to her son’s demands in the night so they can get sleep. Janet has trouble focusing and thinking about tasks that are in front of her. She is distracted by the worries or thoughts of her husband or finances.

The depression has caused her to drop out of school. She has also stopped seeing her friends often. She sees her children as burdens. She does not have any other medical conditions and does not use any substances that could cause depression (DSM-5,

As to not expect too much, too fast. Janet could benefit from the use of a daily automatic thought record (Beck et. al. 1979). This would help Janet become more mindful of the thoughts she is having. Janet would also be able to use this to begin to see the cognitive distortions she has and what could be causing the thoughts and distortions. Once Janet sees the distortions for what they are therapy can work on assisting in re-framing her thoughts. Setting realist goals for Janet is important so that she will be able to obtain and achieve the goals. Starting small like having her take that walk with her children to then contacting those friends she has been out of touch with will help with her depression. Janet could also benefit from relaxation and grounding exercises to help improve her focus and worry when they start to get out of hand. Working with Janet to accept disappointment as a part of life and help her to see things as they are and not to catastrophize would be a big part of therapeutic