Case Summary
Introduction
Lola, age 28, is a dog groomer in a large city in Nevada. She has worked in the same pet shop for the last eight years. Although Lola isn’t married and does not have children, she enjoys family activities such as attending the local zoo, trampoline parks, circuses, amusement parks and bowling. In her free time, she knits and bakes. Lola loves the outdoors. So, she walks to work every day. On the weekends, Lola also volunteers at a local nursing home.
Clinical History
Lola still lives with her “parents.” She has childhood memories of domestic violence between her biological mother and father which resulted in Lola being raised by her great aunt and uncle who eventually became her adoptive parents.
Since she was a toddler, Lola has had intense fear of storms. Whenever she sees or hears loud rain, thunder and lightning, Lola panics. Last week, there was flooding and storms in her area. Lola slept in the closet all night until the rains stopped. She experienced difficulties breathing and a fear of dying until the storm stopped.
Lola described experiencing dizziness, chills, stomachaches, and chest pains associated with the storm. Lola sweats and shakes uncontrollably. She also described a rapid heartbeat and choking which made her feel like she was “dying” or “drowning.” When the storms are over, Lola’s symptoms suddenly stopped.
Occasionally, Lola will experience these symptoms if she’s watching tv news reports about storms anywhere in the world.
She refuses to move out of her parents’ home due to irrational fears that she will die in a storm. Lola has no history of MH treatment. She refuses to talk to anyone about her fears except her parents.
As a result, Lola’s general practitioner only treats Lola for eczema, seasonal allergies, and reoccurring ear infections. The doctor is unaware of the episodic fears. Lola thinks it’s “silly” to bore the doctor with such trivial matters.
Use the Case Study Worksheet to answer the following questions:
• What are Lola’s signs and symptoms? (Include the intensity, frequency and duration)
• Does Lola have any medical conditions or concerns?
• What psycho-social stressors (e.g., risk factors) are present?
• What are Lola’s protective factors (e.g., resiliency factors)? Forexample, what hobbies, strengths, supports and abilities does she have that might support healing and recovery?
• What MH diagnosis best describes Lola’s distress and why?
• Using insights from the textbook, what are the treatment (tx) recommendations for Lola?
