Child psychopathology - Essay Example

Child Psychopathology Presenting Problem Mr Peter Henderson is accompanied by his father for an evaluation at Boston University’s psychological centre. His father, Mathew Henderson claims his son, 15, has had problems of sleeping and loss of appetite for the previous six months to a point of not sleeping at all within 48 hours, distracting his study patterns. He claims that he, Mathew, had been summoned to school by Peter’s teachers on the grounds of inattentiveness of Peter in his studies and development of weird response to questions.

They, teachers, claim that Peter has had emaciated and change of his eye’s colour suggested he could have been introduced to drugs and other toxic substances. Furthermore, his father reported that the teachers claimed of deterioration of Peter’s relationship with his fellow students to be characterised with violence weakening his studies and his overall school-life. History of the Problem Peter’s father claimed to have seen his change of behaviour at the age of 14 but he could not suspect more about his child since he was on adolescence.

He had never noticed any funny behaviour with his son’s childhood but several summons by the school principal made him realize there was something amiss. For his emaciation, he claimed that him and his mother, Charlie Henderson, were not somatically big and Peter could have inherited their genes. Developmental/Medical history According to Mathew, Peter did not have medical problems as he grew up neither did he had any malnutrition and/or condition that could have affected his appetite. He claimed that his son was bright in school then but when he attained 14 years, his academic excellence was downgrading.

He also noted that unless in the cold winter mornings that peter was reluctant to waking up and getting ready for school, he had recently changed to a lazy student with a “don’t care” attitude. On his side, Peter’s response was “okay” in that he did not find anything amusing with his change of behaviour and he added that he was developing to adulthood which he claimed to come with unseen circumstances like low concentration in his studies. His father noted that peter’s relationship in the neighbourhood had deteriorated more so his relationship with female friends and everyone who seemed serious with their activities.

Family History Mr Mathew Henderson stated that Peter was his biological son, the last born in a family of two siblings, him and his older brother Patrick Henderson. He stated that he has had a good relationship with his family more so on evaluating the satisfaction of his family members by fulfilling their needs. As his sons’ closest friend, he claimed to assist him and his brother on technical and personal issues that could not be handled directly by their mother. He said despite his work related needs, he has never abandoned his family neither has he been presented a problem by Peter or his brother, that he was not able to solve holistically.

Education/Social History Mr Henderson confirmed that Peter was in fourth grade at Boston High School and that Peter had not received any special admission and/or referral to a special school or any special needs. Academically, he confirmed that his son has had the best grades throughout his education process and that his relationship with neighbourhood was really good. On his side, Peter admitted deterioration of socialization with his peers and observation of his studies as “heading nowhere”.

His teachers claim that his motivation of leading the class in majority of assignments and tests had dropped and in their quest, Peter responded unethically to a point of summoning his parents to the institution. Furthermore his relationship with classmates and the school administration had deteriorated to a point of him skipping classes and moving around the school compound at the wrong time. Special Considerations Peter reported to have had a good relationship with his family and from his medical history; he did not have psychological problems and/or chronic diseases that could have resulted to loss of appetite.

He confirmed that he did not have any history of socio-cultural harassment or discrimination and abuse. His father claimed that his family’s upbringing was on average and at no time did they struggle for basic needs, and that he did not have a history of peter’s need of special attention. Mental Status and Client’s strengths Peter is a 15-year old boy of average height and weight which had depreciated in the last previous six months. During the session, he appeared confused and concealing information more so that touched on his friends and the section of his schoolmates that the teachers claimed not to be in good terms with him.

His attention was severally distracted over the session and there was a common diversion/change of topic in his explanations. He seemed friendly and cooperative on issues that touched his academic excellence, supportive activities in school and collaborative activities with his peers. He explicitly demonstrated listening skills and comprehension power throughout the session. Clinical Findings As a 15year old boy with no medical history of diseases that could affect his eye colour and appetite; no abuse history, low class concentration and a sudden change of behaviour and moods swing, Peter seems to meet the criteria of drug abuse and alcoholism, at an early stage but not addicted.

Diagnostic Impression Axis 1: Drug abuse and alcoholism Axis 2: Psychological stressors: Teachers and students who do not understand his sinister lifestyle and who are not ready to accommodate his need of freedom. Tentative Treatment Recommendations It is recommended that Peter receives a 9-month rehabilitation program in the juvenile centres in three phases of three months each. It is also recommended that his parents terminate their affluence support until he reaches the age of 18 years (Fisher & Roget, 2009).

Reference Fisher, G. L., & Roget, N. A. (2009). Encyclopedia of substance abuse prevention, treatment, & recovery. Los Angeles: SAGE.