Project instructions:
This assignment requires that you write a case summary on an individual who meets the criteria and characteristics of a particular disorder or behavior pattern.

DIRECTIONS
Identify an individual in your life who may meet some, or all, of the criteria and characteristics of a particular disorder or behavior pattern. This may be a person with whom you presently have daily contact or someone that you haven?t seen or spoken to in many years. Although frequent and direct contact with this person will likely enrich your experience, it is not necessary for you to have direct contact with this person or to communicate with them about this assignment. If you choose to communicate with this person about this assignment, be sure to tell them that you are not conducting a psychological assessment, providing an official diagnosis, or making treatment recommendations.
Rather, tell the person that the purpose of this assignment is to help you think critically and systematically about human behavior in the context of the course material.

After you have identified a subject, prepare a detailed case summary. Please be sure to protect the anonymity of your case subject by not using his or her name or any identifying information in your summary. Your case summary should include the following sections:

1. Demographic Information: Include salient demographic information on case subject, such as age, gender, race or ethnicity, grade level or occupation, marital status, etc.

2. Symptoms: Include any symptoms, abnormal behavioral, and characterological manifestations (i.e., what they do and/or say that you think is ?abnormal? or ?atypical?). Be sure to use specific, objective descriptors of their behavior, and avoid qualifiers (i.e., subjective judgments and opinion statements, such as ?I think he?s crazy,? ?She acts weird, bizarre, strange, etc.,? ?Timmy is cute, but he?s like the devil?s child, etc.?

3. Diagnosis: Provide a multi-axial diagnosis using the DSM-IV classification system. Include a detailed differential diagnosis to rule out other disorders and diagnoses that are similar but not as close a match. If your subject does not meet the criteria for any diagnosis, then discuss the additional criteria that would be necessary for a more definitive diagnosis. Your grade on this section of the paper is going to be based upon your ability to display logical and critical thinking, so be sure to state the rationale for your diagnosis as well as your reasons for eliminating competing diagnoses. Also be sure to include a statement regarding the severity of his or her symptoms (e.g., are any aspects of social, educational, or occupational functioning impaired?).

4. Treatment: Include information on potential treatment options. Potential treatment options will be based upon your differential diagnosis and your rating of severity. Be sure to provide a rationale for the particular treatment you recommended as well as your reasons for the treatment you chose not to recommend.

5. References: Include a reference section for any material that you cite in the body of your paper. Provide appropriate citations throughout the case summary to support your conclusions. Your case summary should be a minimum of five typed, double-spaced pages with 1 inch margins on all sides and formatted in the style dictated by the APA publication manual.