Sally Case Study Summary

Case Study Analysis of Sally
Sally is a young girl suffering from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder, or a group of disorders represented by a severe impairment of individual thought process, and behavior (TheFreeDictionary, 2012). According to Meyer, Chapman, and Weaver (2009) “it may be more accurate to refer to schizophrenia as a family of disorders rather than a singular disorder.” (p. 90). Untreated patients suffering from schizophrenia are normally unable to filter various sensory stimuli, and exhibit enhanced perception of color, sound, and other environmental factors. In most cases, a patient suffering from schizophrenia will gradually withdraw from personal interactions, and loose the ability to
The main subtypes include the classifications of paranoid, disorganized, and catatonic, and each of these subtypes displays unique characteristics or symptoms (Hansell, & Damour, 2008). Patients suffering from paranoid schizophrenia will usually display symptoms of hallucinations or delusions. Patients suffering from disorganized schizophrenia are subject to an inappropriate effect, and disorganized speech patterns. Patients suffering from catatonic schizophrenia display symptoms of strange or bizarre sensory motor function (Hansell, & Damour, 2008). Individuals who display symptoms of schizophrenia but lack any symptoms of the three primary classifications are likely to be diagnosed into one of two alternate classifications: residual or undifferentiated schizophrenia (Hansell, & Damour, 2008). Symptoms of schizophrenia are classified into two primary categories. These two categories relate to positive and negative symptoms. Patients displaying positive symptoms exhibit pathological excesses including hallucinations, irrational thinking, and irrational behaviors, whereas patients displaying negative symptoms will exhibit pathological deficits including withdrawal and isolation from social interactions, and poverty of speech capabilities ((Hansell, & Damour,
However, biological factors resulting from her mother’s illness and smoking during pregnancy, and a genetic predisposition related to her grandfather 's eccentricity are viable underlying factors resulting in the patient’s illness. In addition to the primary stressor, and the underlying genetic and biological factors, it is possible that the emotions of the patient also contributed to her condition. Further documentation indicates that interfamilial expressed emotion, and communication deviance are probably contributors that appear to be operative in the patient’s case (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). The first of these factors, expressed emotion would be explained by the turbulent relationship, combined with her mother’s over protective nature conflicting with her father’s over critical reactions to the patient’s behavioral issues (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). The second of these factors, communication deviance resulted from the patient’s inability to focus and maintain normal dialog with others (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver,