Personality Disorders and Diagnostic Assessment Essay

Major Psychiatric Disorder(s): F40.10 Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)

The client is a 21-year old not-employed female who reports that she is fine. Still feeling worried about her child, the mother gave her a ride to a hospital. She had problems with the development of relationships with guys. Her longest relationship lasted three weeks. She did not let people close to her. She could have sex and forget about the guy the next day. She has only one close friend to talk to. Her mother is the second person for communication. The client meets criterion A because she feels fear and anxiety of being abandoned by everyone. Therefore, she tries to avoid such social situations when she can be abandoned and never let people close to her except her friend and mother, meeting criterion D of social phobia. Criterion F is met because the cases of anxiety and fear repeat regularly during the last several years. Criterion H is met because her anxiety is not caused by some substance use.

Developmental Disorder(s): No diagnosis

Developmental diagnoses usually originate in childhood and are based on serious impairments. The client does not report possible impairments and childhood problems such as learning or language disorders. Therefore, no diagnosis is given in this section.

Personality Disorder(s): F60.30 Borderline Personality Disorder

There were several accidents when the client cuts herself. The first time was because she thought that her mother could kick her out of the house. After all, she dropped her college education and did not know what she had to do with her life. The second time was when her boyfriend broke up with her after several weeks of dating, and she was feeling numb. The next times were observed during a couple of years just because the client wanted to feel something. Regarding such problems and personal experience, the client meets certain criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder: frantic efforts to avoid abandonment (criteria 1) because she does not want to feel alone or meet new people because of her fear to be abandoned, unstable interpersonal relationships characterized by extremes of idealization (criteria 2) because she gets upset and angry in case a friend does not respond to her quickly, unstable self-image (criteria 3) because of her feeling numb, empty, and insecure about her weight, potential self-damage in the form of numerous cuttings with no suicidal behavior (criteria 4), affective instability (criteria 6) when she gets mad without any reason, chronic feeling of emptiness (criteria 7) because she may feel nothing at times, inappropriate anger and anxiety through the day (criteria 8), and stress-related paranoid ideation that no one wants to be with her or can leave her (criteria 9) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). All these situations promote the development of this diagnosis.

Medical Disorder(s): No diagnosis

Medical disorders include some damage to the body. The client, as well as her mother, does not mention any physical damage or health problems during the assessment. Therefore, no diagnosis is given.

Client Strengths

1. The client can make decisions for herself.
2. The client is not suicidal.
3. The client develops trustful relations with her mother.
4. The client has a good friend.
5. The client finished high school.
6. The client has meetings with a therapist.
7. The client has fun with her friend.
8. The client wants to feel something.
9. The client goes on dates with boys and has sexual relationships.

Comments/Differential Diagnosis

The evaluation of the client’s condition makes me think about the possibility of separation anxiety disorder as one of the differential diagnoses because she does not find it necessary to leave her house and feel comfortable being at home with her mother, who never leaves her. In addition to borderline personality disorder, the client may have an antisocial personality disorder and dependent personality disorder because of her loss of interest and fun without the presence of particular people.

Reference

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5^th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.