Case Study for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Introduction of Client
William “Billy” Bonnie is a 39 year old, Caucasian male, married with one son, age 16. He has recently retired from the US Air Force, after serving twenty years on active-duty. The client states he was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following a combat deployment to Iraq in 2004, where he was a military working dog handler attached to a US Marine infantry unit. He had been receiving counselling and medication treatment since that time from the US Air Force. He has filed for Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) disability compensation and is awaiting their decision on disability benefits. Having retired from the US Air Force this past month, he has no immediate plans for pursuing work or relocating to another part of the country. Client states, “I just want to relax for a while before going back to the grind.” Billy does not claim any specific religious denomination; however, he identifies as a Christian.
Reason for Referral/Presenting Problem
Billy voluntarily self-referred himself to our agency in order to continue his therapy sessions and the treatment of his major depressive disorder, a common latent factor of PTSD (Contractor et al., 2014). He had been in one-on-one therapy, as his schedule permitted, for the last nine years with various military mental health specialists. Billy stated that various methods, to include Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Exposure Therapy, had been used during past sessions. He adamantly expressed his dislike for Exposure Therapy, as he believes it caused more problems than it addressed, by bringing up traumatic events and bad memories associated with them.

Summary of Presenting Problem
Billy states that following his return from a combat de...

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