Anxiety Disorder Case Study

Ella is a 24 year old college student at Utah State University. She will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in communicative disorders at the end of this semester as the valedictorian of her department. She will then will go to graduate school at Utah State. She has a job as a teaching assistant as well as one as a research assistant that keep her busy. She is studious in her school work and has a GPA above a 3.9.
Though Ella lives independently, her family lives a couple hours away and she has a good relationship with them. She is the oldest child and has three younger sisters and one younger brother. Her mother works part time as a nurse and takes care of Ella’s aging Grandfather the rest of the time. Her father is a market researcher and works out of their home. Her mother has a strong, outgoing personality while her father is more laidback and withdrawn. Ella sometimes has disputes with her mother who she feels is sometimes too overbearing, but for the most part she gets along well with her family. She likes living away from home and being independent.

Inevitably we all develop at least some basic hostility towards our parents since they are imperfect. Ella is no exception. Her basic hostility probably developed because her mother was sometimes too overbearing or controlling of Ella’s decisions. This in a small degree made Ella feel like her need for autonomy was not fulfilled. Of course, since she repressed this basic hostility, basic anxiety resulted. To combat this basic anxiety, Ella exhibits some neurotic needs. She most strongly expresses the need for independence and the need for prestige. Her desires to be self-reliant and also to be recognized for her accomplishments are an integral part of her personality. These particular needs probably originate because she did not feel like they were met in her