Life with Depression - Essay Example

Case formulation

Introduction

Elizabeth is a seventeen year old female living with depression. As a child, she experiences several complications arising from familial, especially poor parenting. Her mother, Mary, and her father are Lewis, both unemployed and full-blown alcoholics. Due to alcoholism, the parents are unable to cater to their daughter's personal and emotional needs. Due to low income in the family, Elizabeth's family resides in the council houses, and she is enrolled in a nearby middle-class school. There is a possibility depression is a result of child neglect, coupled with the issue of child abuse. Elizabeth is unhappy about her family's living conditions; she lacks financial support from her family and cannot afford the same things that her friends have at school. The condition is very detrimental to the mental health of Elizabeth and hence needs urgent attention.

History of Depression

Ever since when Elizabeth was growing, the attention of her parents had drifted away from her. Some issues that may have caused depression on Elizabeth can be categorized into four hierarchical environments; microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. Microsystemic problems refer to the more immediate issues to victims of depression (Schiamberg & Gans, 1999). Elizabeth was diagnosed with anorexia, which might have been the reason for her developing depression. Mesosystem refers to the interconnection of various microsystems that affected Elizabeth's mental state, leading to depression; this entails the multiple problems that Elizabeth is experiencing from her family. The issue of drug abuse by both parents, negligence, and unsupportive parents might have been the reasons for Elizabeth’s depression. Exosystemic problems refer to problems that affect the individual indirectly. For instance, low income and the menace of drug abuse in the family may be traumatizing to the individual. The parents cannot cater to the financial needs of the family. The neighbors are also negligent in reporting the parents for child negligence. Both parents are unemployed, something that has led to low income in the family. Finally, macro systemic factors refer to social, political, and economic factors contributing to the unstable state of mind, such as depression. Lack of employment opportunities in the neighborhood might be why the parents are unable to provide for Elizabeth adequately. Another possible issue is illiteracy; the parents may miss employment opportunities because they lack the necessary education credentials to qualify for the available jobs.

Assessment

The state of depression in an individual can be assessed as mild, moderate, or severe according to the extent of the symptoms. Assessment of depression in an individual can be conducted through a combination of physical examination and laboratory tests. First, the psychiatric doctor begins by examining the individual's medical history to track the elements of depression in the family lineage of the individual. Secondly, a physical examination and laboratory tests are conducted to determine whether there is a medical condition causing depression in the individual. Lastly, the depression patient is scheduled to see a psychologist who is required to converse extensively about how they feel about their family, friends, and even school. Through the assessment, the real cause of depression in Elizabeth will be determined, and the problem addressed. Elizabeth's level of depression is moderate since, unlike severe depression patients, she can still carry out cognitive activities such as personal hygiene and schooling.

Treatment

Treatment for depression is not available in a one-fits-all basis. Elizabeth will, therefore, be required to undergo various forms of medical and psychological therapy until the favorable treatment with the best result if found. Elizabeth's depression symptoms include isolation and socially distancing herself from friends and family, excessive appetite for food, anorexia, sadness, confusion, and aggressiveness, which leads to her getting into a lot of fights both at home and in school.

A doctor will prescribe medication upon assessment. This treatment will be purposely administered to suppress the symptoms and allow the mental state of Elizabeth to recover naturally. The primary medicines prescribed for depression patients include; antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood-stabilizing drugs, and anti-anxiety medication (Dixon, Holoshitz & Nossel, 2016). The second form of treatment is psychotherapy treatment. Elizabeth will be expected to undergo a series of scheduled meetings with a psychologist. In the meeting sessions, Elizabeth will be required to open up about her feelings, experiences, thoughts, and ideas concerning her family and life in general. After a full assessment, the psychologist will advise Elizabeth on the various methods that can help her to cope with her family situation and, hence, overcome the symptoms. Private or hospital treatment sessions may also be recommended if the psychiatrist deems necessary. This form of therapy will require Elizabeth to under series of brief periods of intensive care in a health facility where she will be under round-the-clock supervision, but this is mainly recommended for patients with severe depression levels.

After Elizabeth has completed her treatments, a psychologist will assess her for the second time. This time, to determine if the treatment was effective. The therapists will evaluate to see if there is an improvement in the mental state of Elizabeth. The post-treatment assessment would also entail asking the patent how they feel about their life situations and how they can overcome depression in the future. On her side, Elizabeth is required to stay focused and maintain regular visits with the therapist to avoid reoccurrence of depression. At the end of the treatment session, Elizabeth will be once again happy and less depressed. She would be in a stable mental state to continue schooling, and there is a possibility that her grade at school will improve.

Conclusion

Elizabeth is unhappy about the living conditions in her family; she lacks financial support from her family and cannot afford the same things that her friends have at school. Some issues that may have caused depression on Elizabeth can be categorized into four hierarchical environments; microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. Assessment of depression is conducted through a combination of physical examination and laboratory tests. The level of depression experienced by Elizabeth is moderate, since, unlike severe depression patients, she can still carry out cognitive activities such as personal hygiene and schooling. Some of the medications likely to be prescribed to Elizabeth include; antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood-stabilizing drugs, and anti-anxiety medication. Elizabeth will also be expected to undergo a series of scheduled meetings with a psychologist. After treatment, the therapists will assess to see if there is an improvement in Elizabeth's mental state. At the end of the treatment session, Elizabeth will be in a stable mental state to continue schooling, and there is a possibility that her grade at school will improve.