Abnormal Psychology - Diagnosis & Treatment

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Another possible good approach is biological model. After considering all the factors of her parents, there’s a chance that her mental illness might have been inherited from her mother who had a history of alcohol abuse and depression. Abnormalities in brain anatomy or chemistry are sometimes the result of genetic inheritance and studies suggest that inheritance also play s a part in mood disorder, schizophrenia, and other mental disorders (Comer, 2014). Robin’s family has a history of those behaviors so there’s a possible predisposition to it. She’s been treated with anti-depressant for several months but eventually, she ended her life committing suicide so other method of biological treatment may be suggested such as neurosurgery.

Both treatment models may be involved in Robin’s mental illness treatment. However, studies suggested that depressive disorder, eating disorder, and mood disorder are associated disorders of Borderline Personality Disorder. I think that Robin’s depressive disorder, eating disorder, and anxiety disorder are associated with her Borderline Personality Disorder as well. Drug therapy has only been proven to be constructive in treating attached symptoms to BPD including anxiety and depression. However, drug therapy has been unsuccessful in treating the core personality and trait problems (Mulhollem). Therefore, I would suggest going with humanistic & existential treatment. She might have predisposition inherited from her mom but, more likely, she deals with critical personality disorder that might have been caused from sexual and physical abuse in childhood. It might be the primary cause of her Borderline Personality Disorder and its associated disorders, such as depressive disorder, eating disorder, and mood disorder. She needs to know her worth as a person and find her true strength she might have and know that she is not worthless and powerless person anymore so she could be a survivor of sexual and physical abuse and establish interpersonal relationships at healthy level.

Reference

- Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology, 2014, Comer, 7th edition, Page.36 & 214

- http://llmcounseling.com/research-and-book-reviews/research-papers/overview-borderline-personality-disorder-treatment/