Andrea Yates Paper
Andrea Yates Paper
Linda J. Hernandez
PSY 303: Abnormal Psychology
Professor Lisa Prince Rutsky
August 21, 2011
Andrea Yates Paper In 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in a bathtub in her home. This was very disturbing news. I am a native Houstonian. I was at home that day. The television was on and will never forget the news breaking announcements that broke the story of a homicide in Clear Lake. All the information the reporters had was a mother killed all her children then called the police to report it. The full story and the details that lead to this tragedy did not unfold until years later. It was sad because as details unfolded if Andrea Yates had been treated properly and followed her doctors recommendations the whole situation might have been avoided. Andrea Yates had a history of mental illness in her family. It has been written that her father, a brother and a sister have suffered from depression. Andrea also has another brother that has been diagnosed with a bipolar personality disorder. With this type of history of mental illness in her family it really is not a shocking revelation that Andrea would develop a mental illness. Andrea Yates’s first display of mental illness was just after the birth of her first child in February of 1994. She stated after her arrest that she had “visions” of someone being stabbed with a knife. She was said to have been suffering from post partum depression in 1999 when she was admitted to the psychiatric unit of The Methodist Hospital after a failed suicide attempt. While in the psychiatric unit Andrea Yates was found to have been non-verbal and severely depressed. There are times that she would take her medications and then she would refuse to take them a day later. She was prescribed medications like Zoloft and Zyprexa. Andrea attended group therapy sessions during her stay there and was said to have days that displayed some slight improvement and then she would revert to
Linda J. Hernandez
PSY 303: Abnormal Psychology
Professor Lisa Prince Rutsky
August 21, 2011
Andrea Yates Paper In 2001, Andrea Yates drowned her five children in a bathtub in her home. This was very disturbing news. I am a native Houstonian. I was at home that day. The television was on and will never forget the news breaking announcements that broke the story of a homicide in Clear Lake. All the information the reporters had was a mother killed all her children then called the police to report it. The full story and the details that lead to this tragedy did not unfold until years later. It was sad because as details unfolded if Andrea Yates had been treated properly and followed her doctors recommendations the whole situation might have been avoided. Andrea Yates had a history of mental illness in her family. It has been written that her father, a brother and a sister have suffered from depression. Andrea also has another brother that has been diagnosed with a bipolar personality disorder. With this type of history of mental illness in her family it really is not a shocking revelation that Andrea would develop a mental illness. Andrea Yates’s first display of mental illness was just after the birth of her first child in February of 1994. She stated after her arrest that she had “visions” of someone being stabbed with a knife. She was said to have been suffering from post partum depression in 1999 when she was admitted to the psychiatric unit of The Methodist Hospital after a failed suicide attempt. While in the psychiatric unit Andrea Yates was found to have been non-verbal and severely depressed. There are times that she would take her medications and then she would refuse to take them a day later. She was prescribed medications like Zoloft and Zyprexa. Andrea attended group therapy sessions during her stay there and was said to have days that displayed some slight improvement and then she would revert to
References: O’Hare, P., Lezon, D., Ellison, D., Markley, M., Ruiz, R., & Villafranca, A. (2006). The Andrea Yates Case: Not Guilty, But Not Free. Houston Chronicle.com. Retrieved August 21, 2011 from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=9&sid=2&scrchmode=1&vinst Ruiz, R. (2006). The Andrea Yates Case. Houston Chronicle.com. Retrieved August 21, 2006 from http:// proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=5&sid=2&srchmode=1&vinst=PROD&... Sarason, I., & Sarason, B. (2005). Abnormal psychology: The problem of maladaptive behavior. (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.