Case Study
Mrs. Maria Perez is a 53-year-old Puerto Rican female who presents today due to a rather ” embarrassing problem”. Mrs. Perez admits she had ” problems” with Alcohol since her father died in her late teens. She reports that she has struggled with alcohol since her 20’s and has been involved with Alcohol Anonymous ” on and off” for the past 25 years. She states that for the past 2years, she has been having more and more difficulty maintaining her sobriety since the opening of the new ” Rising Sun” casino near her home. Mrs. Perez states that she and a friend went to visit the new casino during its grand opening at which point she was” hooked”. She states that she gets ” such a high” when she is gambling. While gambling, She “enjoys a drink or two” to help calm her during high-stake games. She states that this often gives way to more drinking and more reckless gambling. She also reports that her cigarette smoking has increased over the past 2 years and she is concerned about the negative effects of cigarette smoking on her health.
She states that she attempts to abstain from drinking but she gets such a “high” from the act of gambling that she needs a few drinks to “even out”. She also noticed that when she drinks, she doesn’t smoke “as much”, but she enjoys enjoy smoking when she is playing at the slot machines. She also reports that she has gained weight from drinking so much. She currently weighs 122lbs., which represents a 7lbs. weight gain from her usual 115ibs weight. Mrs. Perez is quite concerned today because she borrowed over $ 50,000 from her retirement account to pay off her gambling debts, and her husband does not know,
Mental Status Exam: The client is a 53-year-old Puerto Rican female who is alert and oriented to person, place, time, and events. She has dressed appropriately for the weather and time of the year. Her speech is clear, coherent, and goal-directed. Her eye contact is somewhat avoided during the clinical interview. When you make eye contact with her, she looks away or looks down. She demonstrates no noteworthy mannerisms, gestures, or tics. Her self-reported mood is “sad”. Affect is appropriate to the content of the conversation and self-reported mood. She denies visual or auditory hallucination, and no delusions or paranoid thought processes are readily appreciated. Insight and judgment are grossly intact, however, impulse control is impaired. She is currently denying suicidal or homicidal ideation.
Review the resources, including the medication, and reflect on the psychopharmacology treatment you might recommend for the assessment and treatment of the patient requiring Impulsivity, Compulsivity, and Addiction.