Native American Elderly Case Study

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Diagnosing Depression in a Native American Elder Robert O. Moore Walden University Diagnosing Depression in a Native American Elder The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR) standardizes the diagnosis of mental disorders in the United States for medical doctors, psychiatrist, psychologists, and other professionals in the mental health field (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). This system is a 5 Axis system including Clinical Disorders (Axis I); Personality Disorders (Axis II); General Medical Condition (Axis III); Psychosocial and Environmental Problems (Axis IV); and Global Assessment of Functioning (Axis V). This week’s assignment is to create a five-axis diagnosis for…show more content…
Upon reviewing JGH’s presentation there appears to be moderate signs of a personality disorder but not enough criteria to warrant a diagnosis. Therefore on Axis II the diagnostic code is 799.9 Diagnosis deferred on Axis II. Axis III Medical Disorders In the case of JGH, a physical examination, a review of his systems, and laboratory tests did not reveal any medical conditions that are potentially relevant to the understanding or management of JGH’s mental disorder. However; taken consideration for his age I would defer this diagnosis pending further test. Axis III: Deferred Axis IV Psychosocial and Environmental Problems Age is a consideration in diagnosis JGH. Adults born between 1940 and 1950 have a higher lifetime risk of depression than those born prior to 1940 (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The additional factor is alcohol abuse. Although JGH reports over 20 years of sobriety, substance abuse is one of the greatest faced by Native Americans. In his current depressive state, low self-esteem, cultural identity conflicts, and hopelessness about life may be a catalyst for him to return to drinking. In addition, JGH described himself as a “recovering alcoholic” (Butcher, Neal & Hooley, 2004; p. 9). Axis IV: Psychosocial and Environmental Problems: Recovering…show more content…
The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) Scale is used to measure symptom severity, and client functioning. On an one hundred point scale devided into 10 ranges of functioning. Given the information presented by JGH, he is demonstrating moderate symptoms in social and occupational difficulty. Considering his overall presentation JGH’s GAF = 50
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