Depression: A Case Study

Case Study # 1

A hospital was encouraged strongly by a husband that his wife mental status warren assessment. Therefore, the woman was hospitalized voluntarily for depression. The husband provided information to the hospital on the women’s current state because the woman has failed to display coherent behavior and effectively communicate with personnel at the time of admission.

At the onset of assessment by a staff-counseling psychologist, the woman seemed to relax and share some of her thoughts and feeling. As the assessment process continued, the psychologist was able to ascertain that the issue with depression appeared to be a relevantly recent development. Additionally, the depression appeared to be the result of heighten conflicts between the woman and her husband pertaining to alleged extra material affairs. In conversation with the psychologist, the woman claimed to feel “overwhelmed”; her husband filing for divorce triggered the feelings she inferred, which reportedly lead to her breakdown. However, the psychologist has since discovered that the husband denies the affairs and attributes this to the depression. Additionally, the husband claims that the termination of the marriage is a result of the deterioration of his wife’s mental state.

Further, tests conclude that the woman is suffering from major depression and avoidant personality disorders. She has displayed serve shyness and alarming high sensitively, as well as she appears intimated easily by others. Moreover, it appears the woman personal affairs have been managed by her husband, which seems to have affected her abilities to function. Because of this data, the psychologist concludes that he does not believe the woman and does not mak...

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...nsent and the psychologist has an ethical duty to provide the best care to the client. The psychologist cannot be dishonest, make false and inaccurate statements; therefore, not putting the proper assessment data in the wife’s file, would be unethical, but also breaking the law. A psychologist is responsible for abiding by the law when there is conflict with the code of ethics and resolution cannot be resolved (APA, 2002, 1.03)

In short, to make an ethical decision it appears that a professional is should consider a mixed methodology process to ethical reasoning. A process that first looks at reasonable and logical thinking, to determine what is best for the client, but also including a resolution process that recognized the reality that conflicts are expected and must be addressed in terms of what is right, legal and in the best interest of the client.