CASE CONCEPTUALIZATION

Student Name: Case Name / #: Joanne

1. Problem identification & definition: [1–2 paragraphs]

[Primary and contributing concerns for the client]

 Patient concerns: Extended grief

 Patient concerns: Feeling “anxious,” associated with being accepted by others

 Patient concerns: Interpersonal isolation

 Patient concerns: Self-devaluation, feelings of no purpose

 Patient concerns: Depressive-related signs

2. Contextual considerations: [1–2 paragraphs]

[What ethical, legal, cultural, or other key considerations need to be considered with this client

when creating a treatment plan?]

 Joanne has a family, and this support system should be included in her treatment plan to

help her better manage the loss of her spouse. The family consists of her two sons and

siblings and even friends.

 Joanne retired from her work to travel more, and this will affect her daily progress since

she is no longer engaged and has no sense of what she should do.

 From Joanne’s attempts at effecting change, and self-referral, it seems as though she

might have the capacity to restore her life to normal and move on in a healthy manner.

3. Diagnosis

4. [be sure to provide full title and code]

 CASE CONCEPTUALIZATION

Axis I: F43.21 Complicated grief disorder

Axis II: No diagnosis on Axis II

Axis III: Is slightly overweight, diabetes and hypertension

Axis IV: Death of spouse

AXIS V: GAF = 41-50 Severe symptoms of impaired social and interpersonal

relationships and normal day to day functioning

Diagnostic Comments: [1 paragraph]

[Here, provide a brief—no more than 1 paragraph—comment on the justification for your

diagnosis]

 Complicated grief disorder- Has difficulty imagining a meaningful future without the spouse,

problems taking care of basic and inability to report to her part-time job. Isolates herself from

the family and friends for fear of being a burden, intense yearning, longing, or emotional pain.

 Disruption of moods/ Mood swings- Lack of energy, exaggerated feelings of self-depreciation,

poor sleeping pattern and poor eating habits.

5. Theoretical Conceptualization: [1–2 paragraphs]

[How would your selected theoretical orientation explain the primary issues for this client, and

thus which interventions / treatments would be best suited for this client?]

6. Treatment Plan

Presenting Issue #1: F43.21 Complicated grief disorder

Strengths: Part-time employment helps her maintain reality. By recurrent and unsuccessful

attempts at looking outside of self for the help thus her approach of the pastor shows that the client

wasn’t to get help and get better.

 CASE CONCEPTUALIZATION

Barriers: Birth order, poor relationships with the youngest sibling, anxiety overburdening

family and friends—all of which suggests long-standing issues with the way the patient relates to

different groups.

Goals: Reducing her symptoms and particularly the depression symptoms are one of the goals,

develop a coping mechanism or plan for the patient to be better placed accepting the loss of the

loved one, and restoration of a normal life.

Interventions: Complicated grief therapy is a treatment approach that will be used. According

to Wetherell, (158), complicated grief therapy is a new treatment plan that can be used on patients

with observed success. Complicated grief therapy (CGT) is developed to help address symptoms

relating to complicated grief. This intervention has a background in interpersonal therapy (IPT)

and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Modality / Duration: Utilization of long-term psychotherapy focusing on the

psychotherapeutic relationships. This modality will be utilized because humans are biologically

preset to seek, form, and maintain close relationships.

Three weekly 30-minute sessions for up to 2 years

A measure of Progress: Observe progress of therapy sessions is assessing transference and

“uncovering.”

References from Empirically Supported Research

Cozza, Stephen J., et al. "Performance of DSM-5 Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder Criteria

in a Community Sample of Bereaved Military Family Members". American Journal of

Psychiatry, vol 173, no. 9, 2016, pp. 919-929. American Psychiatric Publishing,

doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15111442. Accessed 28 Jan 2019.

 CASE CONCEPTUALIZATION

Shear, M. Katherine. "Complicated Grief." New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 372, no. 2, 2015,

pp. 153-160. New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM/MMS), doi: 10.1056/nejmcp1315618.

Accessed 28 Jan 2019.

Wetherell, Julie Loebach. "Complicated Grief Therapy As A New Treatment Approach.". Dialogues in

Clinical Neuroscience, Vol 14, no. 2, 2019, pp. 159-166. NCBI,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384444/. Accessed 28 Jan 2019.