Case Study Assignment

For the case study assignment, you are to take on the guise of either a psychotherapist (for those of you interested in counseling or clinical psychology) or a consultant (for those of you interested in social or industrial-organizational psychology). In this role, you may select one of the books provided under Case Studies in the Psychology Learning Tool, or from a list provided by your instructor (or another book with the approval of your instructor).

The following outline is for an Individual Case Study and may be helpful as you begin to plan and create your case study.



Title page


Background history

This section includes information about your client’s background including details about their past family situations, the educational experiences, and their social relationships.


Presenting problem

This section contains a description of the presenting problem, or the reason the client might be seeing a therapist. It includes an explanation of the symptoms that the client is experiencing, along with the results of any assessment tools that have been administered.


Diagnosis

In this section you should provide a diagnosis for the client. Also include an explanation of how you reached the diagnosis; how the symptoms are indicative of the diagnosis and any potential difficulties you had in reaching the diagnosis. If you are writing the case study as a clinical psychologist you should include a complete DSM IV diagnosis.


Treatment strategy

This section of the case study will highlight the strategy used to help the client. In your role, you should choose a particular theoretical perspective (i.e., psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, etc.) and discus s the client’s presenting problem from that viewpoint. Include a discussion of the basic background your chosen theory (including appropriate reference) and explain how the theory would be used to treat the client, specific techniques that would be used, and how the client might be expected to respond to therapy.
References