Clinical Case: The patient was a 15-year-old Puerto Rican adolescent female living with both her parents and a younger sibling. Her parents presented with significant marital problems had been separated several times and were discussing divorce. Her mother reported having a history of psychiatric treatment for depression and anxiety and indicated that the patient's father suffered from bipolar disorder and had been receiving psychiatric treatment. He was hospitalized on multiple occasions during previous years for serious psychiatric symptoms.
The patient was failing several classes in school, and her family was in the process of looking for a new school due to her failing grades and difficulties getting along with her classmates. She presented the following symptoms: frequent sadness and crying, increased appetite and overeating, guilt, low self-concept, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, hopelessness, and difficulty concentrating. In addition, she presented difficulties in her interpersonal relationships, persistent negative thoughts about her appearance and scholastic abilities, as well as guilt regarding her parents' marital problems.
The patient's medical history revealed that she suffered from asthma, used eyeglasses, and was overweight. Her mother reported that she had been previously diagnosed with psychiatric illness 3 years ago and was treated intermittently for 2 years. This first episode was triggered by rejection by a boy for whom she had romantic feelings. Her most recent episode appeared to be related to her parents' marital problems and to academic and social difficulties at school. (Reference: Jimenez-Chafey et al. Depression and Anxiety 2009. Cited by the American Psychological Association.)
a. In Psyc1000, you learned the different theoretical perspectives (schools of thought) used in understanding psychological disorders (e.g., psychodynamic psychoanalytic, behaviourist, Gestalt, biological, etc.). Using the case study above, compare one of these perspectives with the biological perspective in their explanations for the root causes of the patient's symptoms. What do you think is the patient's diagnosed disorder Why?