Vignette Analysis; Formulate a Differential Diagnosis for Sara.

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keep your responses focused on what is presented in the  vignettes. Do not add information but use your creativity to support  what you see in the vignettes as written.  Avoid elaborations and  assumptions. This assignment MUST be typed, double-spaced, in APA style,  and must be written at graduate-level English.
Use the reading assignments thoroughly in an integrative discussion.  Remember to reference all work cited or quoted by the text author. You  should be doing this often in your responses. If you use outside resources, they should support the text information, but not replace the text.
You are encouraged to use the DSM-5 Level 2 Assessment Measure(s) to formulate your diagnosis:
http://www.psychiatry.org/practice/dsm/dsm5/online-assessment-measures#Level2
All discussions must take into account the legal and ethical  considerations, as well as issues of culture and human diversity that  may pertain to the vignettes below.  Legal and Ethical information  is in Chapter 16 of the course text. Cultural information is covered  throughout the course text and DSM 5. You may use alternative cultural  resources to enhance your work.
Your assignment should be 3-4 pages plus a title and reference page.
Sara is a 38 year old woman who was referred by her  employer for mandatory counseling. She presents as markedly underweight,  in baggy clothing.  She tested positive for amphetamine on a recent  random test at work and is on suspension. It is obvious that Sara does  not want to be there, but knows she must cooperate to get her job back.   Sara is currently taking anti-psychotic medication and mood  stabilizers.  When you ask her why, she tells you that “my shrink thinks  I’m nuts. OK, I admit that sometimes I think the devil is telling me to  kill myself, but I never do it. I just cut myself  instead. Nothing  serious, just a scratch here and there”. She admits that,  “a couple of  drinks or a line, calms the beast and the voices stop”.  She also admits  to loving excitement and risk taking.  “I love it when my mind races  and I just hop in the car and go.  Messes with my job sometimes, but who  cares”.
During your psychosocial assessment, you learn that Sara  was born in Japan.  Her father was a Native-American spirit-seeker.  He  came to Japan to study Eastern Religions where he met her mother, who  she describes as, “a meek and quiet little Japanese woman”. When Sara  was 8 years old, they left Japan and moved to the United States, living  with her father’s family. She appears nervous talking about this time of  her life, but does admit it was a dark and fearful time, except for her  grandmother, who she loved deeply, but died when Sara was age 14.
At age 15, she began seeing spirits of her deceased  grandmother. She wondered if this was a spiritual sign. It saddened her  so much, that she began self-abuse, strict dieting and substance use at  about that age. She believes that the devil tells that her grandmother’s  death, “was all my fault. I deserve to suffer”.  Her guilt and  self-loathing have prevented her from committing to a relationship. She  has been dating the same man for 15 years who she describes as, “too  good for me. I don’t know why he hangs around”.
1. Formulate a Differential Diagnosis for Sara.  What comorbid  disorders might you see?  Support your ideas by discussing what you see  in the vignette utilizing your course readings thoroughly in your diagnostic formulation.  What information would you look for to confirm your diagnostic impression and why?
2. Choose two (2) theoretical models to explain to explain Sara’s  clinical presentation and suggested treatment modalities.  Support your  ideas by discussing the models directly and specifically to Sara.
(Remember to consider culture, law and ethics when diagnosing and treating)
Assignment Outcomes:
Analyze the physical, cognitive, social and personality aspects of abnormal psychology and implications across the life span
Examine the major diagnostic domains and specific criteria associated with DSM-5 disorders.
Evaluate legal and ethical issues in mental health treatment
Develop an awareness of diversity and cross-cultural perspectives in abnormal psychology.
Explore available treatment and interdisciplinary services for community members experiencing mental health disorders.
Identify the barriers associated with seeking and receiving therapeutic services.

What are the three leading causes of death among older adults in the United States?

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What are the three leading causes of death among older adults in the United States? What steps can we take to prevent each of these causes of mortality?
What is the relationship between coronary heart disease, atheroschlerosis, hypertension, thrombosis, and excess body fat? What factors are thought to lead of these conditions?
What are the main causes of accidents among the elderly? What can be done to help prevent accidents of the elderly?
Explain the following theories of aging and the implications of these theories for delaying aging: programmed theories, immunological theories, damage theories, and theories of free radicals.
What physiological and sociopsychological factors compound nutritional problems for the very old?
Why is exercise important for the elderly? What kind of exercise helps the elderly?
List of the normal biological changes that occur with age. What lifestyle changes can counteract these changes? What can be changed?

Examine the impact that the lack of diversity has on the community meeting national public health initiatives

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Healthcare organizations face many unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Diversity is one of the major challenges that continues to overwhelm management teams. Gender, ethnicity, and race are most noticeably lacking in top leadership roles in healthcare. There is a documented need for diverse leadership teams with transformational leadership skills to successfully lead organizations. Remediation of this gap is critical to the advancement of healthcare delivery and systems. Senior management must consider the deficiency and develop a strategic process to invoke change.
Suppose you are the Executive Director of the hypothetical organization Better Health Today, LLC. The board of directors has informed you that the organization has missed out on major federal funding opportunities over the past three to five (3-5) years. The grant reviewer’s feedback describes the organization’s lack of diversity and community support to promote social change. The board of directors has asked you to review the issues noted in the reviewer’s feedback and provide recommendations to improve the reputation of the company.
Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you:
Based on your knowledge of leadership theory, specify two (2) key competencies needed to improve community relations. Provide support for your rationale.
Examine the impact that the lack of diversity has on the community meeting national public health initiatives. Analyze two (2) of the major challenges the organization faces in improving diversity.
As a senior level manager, compose at least two (2) strategies designed to minimize the impact that lack of diversity may have on the organization. Recommend one (1) approach for implementing each suggested strategy. Provide support for your recommendations.
Design the key resources and main communication efforts required to implement the minimizing strategies that you suggested. Justify your position.

literature review paper

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Utilizing the information you compiled for your literature review paper, and the feedback you received from your instructor about the literature review, prepare a 10-15 minute Power Point presentation on your topic, summarizing the key points and conclusions. Be sure to direct this presentation to an audience in the community. For example, if your paper pertained to a topic in developmental psychology, direct your presentation toward parents, or a parenting center. If your topic pertained to substance abuse, direct it toward a community service agency which may use this information for educating teens or parents about preventing drug use, or current clients about treatments and facilities available. Please state in your presentation the specific audience toward whom your presentation is aimed. Include a reference page in APA format, as well as speaker notes and an audio file with your presentation.
Your slides should provide answers to the following questions:

  • What was your topic?
  • What question did you hope to answer by completing this literature review paper? Explain the practical implications of the conclusions of the literature review and the audience to which they are directed.
  • Given the results of your literature review, what is/are the prevailing argument(s)? In other words, which of those is supported by the existing evidence? Be sure to include full coverage of the arguments, including strengths and weaknesses of each of them, supported by your findings from reviewing the relevant articles.
  • Did the researchers consider multicultural factors in their studies? If not, what factors may be involved? What multicultural factors should future studies include?
  • What ethical issues are related to your topic and/or discussed in the studies you reviewed?
  • How do the conclusions of your literature review relate to the various specialization areas in psychology? Tie them to as many as apply from the following areas: biological, cognitive, developmental, social, personality theory, psychopathology, and applied psychology.
  • How can the conclusions of your literature review inform the population towards whom your presentation is directed? How can they apply this information to their daily lives? What advice or ‘take home message’ can you provide to your audience based on the research you reviewed?
  • What research question could you ask in order to further develop this area of study?
  • Why is your research question important and relevant to the current work being done on your topic?

Your presentation should also follow these guidelines:

  • It should be approximately 10-15 minutes in length.
  • It should be clear, concise, and professional.  Writing should be free of spelling and grammatical errors; it should conform to current APA style (including any in-text citations).
  • It should include graphs, tables, figures, or images illustrating your ideas.
  • There should be a final slide listing references in current APA style.
  • The bulk of the text should be placed in the Notes pages of each slide. Keep the amount of text on the slide, itself, to a minimum.
  • You should record an audio file of your oral presentation. You should also type the text of the speech you would give while showing these slides to an audience should be typed into the Notes area.  If you are unable to use the audio feature, the Notes text will suffice.
  • You can refer to the Power Point tips document provided in the Doc Sharing section of the course.

Submit your presentation to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned..
Assignment 1 Grading Criteria   Maximum Points
Describes topic and explains the practical implications of the conclusions of the literature review with clarity and detail.
Describes the audience to which the presentation is directed.  20
Revises the literature review based on feedback from the instructor.
Presentation of information is clearly focused on the specific audience.
Explains the prevailing argument(s), including their strengths and weaknesses, supported by findings from relevant articles.
Synthesizes key points established in and through the literature review.  40
Elaborates on multicultural factors relevant to the topic and to the studies reviewed.
Discusses how the findings can be extended to a more diverse population or additional multicultural factors that should be included in future studies.  40
Discusses relevant ethical issues related to the topic and to the studies reviewed.
Describes how they were or could be addressed in the research.  20
Relates the conclusions of the literature review to at least two specialization areas in psychology.
40
Applies the conclusions from the literature review to specific populations or issues.
40
Provides well-reasoned conclusions, and pointed towards areas for future research.
Provides suggestions for future work that are appropriate and have an applied focus.  36
Introduction has an opening, provides come background information, and states the topic.
Transitions between slides are present.
16
Design of presentation (i.e. background, pictures, text etc.) is clear, appropriate for the assignment, balanced and compliments both the writing and speaking throughout the presentation.
16
Any written portion (including writing on the slides and in notes) follows conventions of spelling and grammar throughout.  Errors are infrequent and do not interfere with comprehension.
24
Using APA format, accurately paraphrased, quoted, and cited in many spots throughout when appropriate or called for. Errors present are somewhat minor.
8    Total:  300