Clinical Case Reaction Paper Due: Thursday, October 11th at 10:00am (hard copy handed in) Case examples,

or an individuals experience with a disorder, are one way that psychologists gain insight and understanding of psychopathology. Unlike empirical research, case examples often offer a much more intimate look into the personal experience of a disorder. The memoir An Unquiet Mind, by Kay Redfield Jamison, offers a unique perspective of what it is like to live with bipolar disorder and discusses many of the issues facing individuals with a serious psychological disorder. For this assignment you will be writing a 5 page reaction paper on this book. Your reaction paper will be divided into two parts: Part I Symptom presentation: Clinical psychologists are often asked to connect the experience of an individual to a specific diagnosis. This is done by assessing the behaviors and experiences (mood, thoughts, and physical feelings) that an individual reports and mapping those on to the DSM-IV-TR criteria of a disorder. In this section briefly review the symptoms of bipolar disorder (refer to your text book and the DSM-IV-TR as references) and describe how these symptoms were expressed for Dr . Jamison. Dr. Jamisons bipolar disorder included episodes of mania with and without psychotic features, episodes of major depression, and mixed episodes (refer to page 349-365 of DSM-IV-TR for symptoms of these types of episodes and page 414 for a description of psychotic features). You should comment on her presentation (what she was doing, her thought process, and her physical experience) in each of these states using specific examples from the text. I strongly recommend that as you read you keep the symptom criteria with you so that you can take notes as you go along. Part I should be approximately 2-3 pages. Part II Implications: Case examples can provide us with personal accounts of what it is like to live with a psychological disorder. Reading first-hand accounts allows us to think beyond the symptoms in the DSM-IV-TR and to consider how the experience of a disorder affects the individuals life (their friendships, career, sense of self etc.). Dr. Jamisons account has implications for stigma of mental health, access/barriers to treatment, and even directions for new research questions. In this section you should discuss what you take away from her account of the disorder. This section does not have to be exhaustive (meaning you do not have to write about every possible implication). Instead you should construct a well written and organized account of what you think are the important implications of this story. This should not be written as a stream of consciousness. You should start with a short opening paragraph that includes a thesis statement that states the focus of what you will talk about. Each paragraph should be organized around a specific idea and the paragraphs should build upon one another. You should close with a concluding paragraph that sums up what you have discussed. To support your ideas you should refer to specific examples from the book. Part II should be approximately 2-3 pages.

Clinical Case Guidelines Page Formatting: Your paper should be approximately 5 pages, stapled, and double-spaced with Times 12-point font and 1-inch margins. Please include page numbers and put your name at the top of the first page. Part of clinical and scientific writing is to communicate ideas clearly and succinctly, therefore your paper cannot exceed 6 pages. Writing Style: You should strive to make you writing clear and concise. Because this is a reaction paper, it is fine to write in the first person (e.g., I, me, my). You can use short quotes when referring to the book if this helps to illustrate your point but you should choose these very thoughtfully. Often ideas can be summarized rather than directly quoted. It is always a good idea to have someone else read and critique your paper before you turn it in (e.g., a friend, roommate, a writing tutor, etc.). Your final grade will also be based on writing style (organization, sentence structure, spelling and grammar, clarity of ideas); therefore you should proofread your paper for spelling, punctuation, and grammar.