Separation Anxiety Disorder Case Study

Amanda was a young girl whose daily functioning differed greatly compared to other children her age. Amanda was raised in a strict household by overprotective parents who often set rules that hindered their child’s ability to express herself in social settings. This authoritarian parenting style led Amanda to the therapy room where she was diagnosed with social phobia. Initially, I had predicted that Amanda suffered from separation anxiety or social anxiety. The symptoms Amanda displayed such as anxiety when she is away from her mother for an extended period of time and physically making herself sick from the thought of separation led me to believe that she had separation anxiety. Symptoms such as the fear of socializing and making friends and not being allowed to play outside can lead to Amanda’s social anxiety.

My predictions were almost accurate, although Amanda does not suffer from Separation Anxiety Disorder she was diagnosed with Social Phobia. Many similarities existed between my observations and the author’s including Amanda’s response to social fear, and the strict rules Amanda was told to follow which interrupted her daily

According to class notes, anxiety disorders are on the Diathesis-Stress Model meaning individuals have a genetic predisposition to anxiety disorders. In therapy, Amanda’s parents admitted they as children they grew up in a very strict household which over time affected their peer interactions. Amanda’s parents may have a high genetic predisposition for anxiety disorders. According to the Psychiatric Times, “Family-association studies have found anxiety disorders to be elevated in children of parents with anxiety disorders and, conversely, in parents of children with anxiety disorders” (Heritability of Childhood Anxiety, 2002). This biological predisposition may have been a causal factor for Amanda’s Social