Lalitha Pieri INSTRUCTOR MANAGER

RE: DB 2.2 - Case study: Cooper

Hello Professor

Cooper has reported several symptoms such as stomach and back pain, feeling tired,

sleep disturbances, fatigue, constipation, weight gain, and feeling negatives. These symptoms are

associated with a wide range of disorders, and hence the human service professional should have

an appropriate assessment approach for accurate diagnosis. Other diagnoses that the human

service professional will need to rule out may include bipolar disorder, dementia, and diabetes,

among others. For instance, bipolar disorder consists of depressive and manic episodes with

mood swings (Wedding & Corsini, 2019). Its symptoms may include chronic pain, substance

abuse, irritable moods, sleep disturbances, inflated self-esteem, or feeling negative. Cooper has

reported all these symptoms. However, the counselor will need to perform a combination of

interviews, physical examinations and order lab tests to rule out this condition.

Another disorder that one will need to rule out is dementia. Although the condition is

expected in the elderly population, there are also rare cases of young adults suffering from

dementia disorder (Glass, 2010). It is another condition associated with mood swings and feeling

negative, and the human services professional will need to find out if Cooper is suffering from

this disorder. The counselor may order further lab tests to rule out dementia and carefully assess

the client’s medical history. Accurate diagnosis is essential because it determines the treatment

method to be adopted in the therapy sessions.

Cooper’s symptoms may also signify the presence of diabetes disorder and hence the

need for ruling out the condition. Cooper reported symptoms such as weight gain and loss of
energy which are much common in diabetes. There are also claims that depression increases the

risk for diabetes. The type of Cooper’s diet is another risk factor for diabetes. According to a

report by Mental Health America (2021), depression affects as many as 70% of the patients with

diabetic complications. In ruling out diabetes, the counselor will need to order for additional lab

tests.

References

Glass, R. (2010). Mental Health vs Mental Disorders. JAMA, 303(19).

https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2010.618

Mental Health America. (2021). Co-Occurring Disorders and Depression. Mental Health

America. Retrieved 12 September 2021, from https://www.mhanational.org/co-occurring-

disorders-and-depression.

Wedding, D. & Corsini, R. J. (Eds.). (2019). Current psychotherapies (11th Ed.). Boston, MA:

Cengage.