Lona is a 35-year-old mother who came to therapy feeling exhausted, irritable, and overweight. She had been the primary breadwinner while also taking care of her home and child. This led to poor self-care, relationship issues, and weight gain. The counselor's preliminary diagnosis is that Lona has moderate depression. Treatment goals include improving self-care, communication in her marriage, and returning to activities she enjoys. Homework assignments focus on journaling and relaxation. Future sessions will further explore her relationship and career goals.

1. PURPOSE:
In this activity, you will demonstrate your understanding of the
basic theories, assessment techniques and treatment approaches
in abnormal psychology.
CASE (Intake Report):
Lona is a married 35-year-old mother of one child (age 5). She
has been married for ten years. At the onset of their marriage,
Lona and her husband enjoyed their budding careers and great
income. They drove the cars they liked, lived in the home they
liked, and bought the material goods and services they liked.
For most of the marriage, Lona has been the primary
breadwinner (although both make six figures).
Lona became pregnant with their first child after five years of
marriage. She was a doting mother of a very healthy baby girl.
Her focus shifted from her career, but she tried to the best of
her ability to be a jack of all trades. She was a great mother,
housewife, and professional.
Soon, however, Lona became exhausted from her pace. She did
not eat as well as before. She did not sleep as well as before
(largely because she attempted to do all of her work while the
baby was in bed). She found herself making a tremendous to-do
list each day that never seemed to get done.
Lona arranged her schedule so that she did not need a
babysitter. She mothered during the day and worked long into
the night to meet the needs of her household. She endured this
schedule for four years almost flawlessly. However, she became

2. irritable, sickly, and seemingly "wilted." She continued to dote
on her child, but her marriage suffered. She was too tired for
intimacy and resented her husband for daring to state that he
was tired. He seldom helped around the house, and their
daughter was so attached to Lona that she could not be soothed
by her father for long periods of time.
Lona became sullen and very tired. Her allergies returned after
a ten-year hiatus. She stopped doing the things she enjoyed and
began to do whatever she could to simply stay awake. She
decided to quit her high-paying job to work for a lesser salary at
home. She stated repeatedly that it was her husband's turn to
pick up the slack.
Lona only spoke to her sister and mother of her anger,
resentment, and fatigue. She discontinued exercise due to her
inability to get up in the morning early enough to go jogging.
This has left her twenty pounds heavier than before.
Lona states upon meeting you that she feels she is going
downhill and needs some help to figure out a solution to her
problems. She is very cooperative and willing to work hard to
feel better for the sake of her child. Lona has not ever been in
therapy before, but several of her friends have found it
beneficial and enlightening.
Lona's aim is to keep her family intact and work on her
problems to feel better.
Applied Final Case Study Project--Paper Instructions:
Submit your paper as a Word Document in the Assignment
Folder. Check to make sure your paper was properly uploaded
(Attached) as late or missing papers will not be accepted. Your
paper should be: double spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 font Times
New Roman, 5 ½ -7 pages and should address Parts I-VIII. (In-
text citations and references should be written using APA Style)

3. Students are encouraged to use the following format throughout
the paper:
I. Demographic Information ( 1-1 ½ page;
paragraphs)
(Text)
II. Presenting Problem (1-1 ½ pages;
paragraphs)
(Text)
III. Mental Status/Functioning ( ½ -1 page;
paragraph(s))
(Text)
IV. Preliminary Diagnosis ( 1 ½ -2 pages;
paragraphs)
(Text)
V. Preliminary Treatment Plan ( ¾ -1 ½ pages;
paragraphs)
(Text)
VI. Homework (1/2-1 page)
(Text)
VII. Goals and Objectives for Future Psychotherapy
Session (1/2-1 page; paragraph(s))
(Text)
VIII. References
(Text)
*Please proofread your paper prior to submission to avoid
excessive spelling, grammar and organizational errors and loss
of points. *
Part I: Demographic Information (10 points)
Refer to information in the In-take Report to make inferences
and/or use your imagination to address the following in the
Demographic section of your paper:
· Name
· Gender
· Race/ethnicity
· Age
· Educational background (high school, college,

4. professional degree)
· Occupation and current employment status
· Relationship status (e.g. single, married, divorced,
partnered etc.)? Include name and age if appropriate.
· Children? Include name(s) and age(s) if appropriate.
· Social class (e.g. middle class, affluent, working class,
upper middle class etc.)
· Prior mental health history (e.g. diagnoses,
psychotherapy/counseling, medication, family history of mental
disorders etc.)
· Additional relevant demographic data?
Part II: Presenting Problem(s) (15 points)
Write a summary of the concern(s) that led Lona to seek
treatment in the Presenting Problem(s) section of your paper.
Summarize Lona’s concerns and her goals/objectives for
therapy.
Part III: Mental Status/Functioning (5 points)
Use your imagination or make inferences from the Intake Report
or other case examples to address how Lona might “present” in
an in-take (initial) psychotherapy session.
Briefly describe your observations(assessment) of Lona’s
appearance, activity, mood/affect, speech/language, thought
process, thought content etc.
Please visit the following
website: http://aitlvideo.uc.edu/aitl/MSE/MSEkm.swf if you
need more clarification or ideas for this section.
Part IV: Preliminary Diagnosis (40 points)
DSM 5 requires clinicians to provide both categorical and
dimensional information as part of a proper
diagnosis. Categorical information refers to the name of the
category (disorder) indicated by the client’s
symptoms. Dimensional information is a rating of how severe a
client’s symptoms are and how dysfunctional the client is across
various dimensions of personality. (Comer, 2014, p. 85)
In addition to the other guidelines in question #1 below, be sure

5. to address the following in Part IV: Preliminary Diagnosis
section of your paper:
Categorical Information
Decide which one(s) the many psychological disorders in the
DSM that Lona is displaying. (Hint: Consider the most
frequently diagnosed disorders and consult research related to
comorbity if there is another diagnosis that you want to “rule
out” or further assess.)
Dimensional Information
Assess the current severity of the client’s disorder. In other
words, to what extent do Lona’s symptoms appear to impair her
overall functioning? According to Comer (2014), “the framers
of the DSM 5 have suggested various rating scales that may
prove useful for evaluating the severity of the particular
disorder(s).” (p.86). Given the current textbook does not include
severity rating information, you are encouraged to use
descriptors like: no-impairment, mild, moderate, severe etc. to
describe her overall functioning/diagnosis.
Additional Information
Provide useful information that relates to your diagnosis or
diagnoses. For instance, you might include information about
psychosocial, environmental or occupational challenge or
concern that Lona that might contribute to her diagnosis
(categorical information) and severity of the diagnosis or
diagnoses (dimensional information).
Based on the information provided in the In-Take Report and
Parts I-III, address the following in the Preliminary Diagnosis
section of your paper:
1. What is your preliminary diagnosis of Lona? (Include
:Categorical information, Dimensional Information and
Additional information described above). What are key
symptoms and other assessment information/observations that
led you to your diagnosis etc.? Refer to DSM 5 resources,
textbook, scholarly research etc. to provide a rationale for your
diagnosis.
2. What are 2-3 areas of improvement for Lona? List each and

6. your thoughts about how these areas can be changed to support
Lona in her treatment.
3. What are Lona's strengths as you see them? (Look for these
to assist you with being a good helper for her and to assist her
with meeting treatment goals). List each and your idea of how it
could be used to support Lona in her treatment.
V. Preliminary Treatment Plan (15 points)
Based on your Preliminary Diagnosis (including scholarly
research/theory, textbook readings etc.), discuss and describe
the following information in the Preliminary Treatment
Planning section of your paper.
What are 3 (potential) treatment goals for Lona? List each and
discuss separately in detail. Be sure to discuss your rationale
and to refer to a specific model (e.g. psychoanalytic, socio-
cultural; cognitive etc.) or area of research to provide context
for your treatment goals.
VI. Homework (10 points)
Based on your Preliminary Treatment Plan, discuss the
information below in the Homework section of your
paper. Consult your textbook and/or a reputable professional
website and/or scholarly research article for examples and
ideas.
What 2 homework assignments will you give Lona to work on
for her next appointment with you? How will they support Lona
in her treatment?
VII. Goals and Objectives for Future Psychotherapy Session (5
points)
Discuss 2-3 issues that you will explore next (e.g., Lona’s
relationship with her husband; professional goals etc.)? Be sure
to explain your rationale (e.g. objective for exploring issues
related to her relationship, career etc.) and how it is related to
your preliminary diagnosis and overall treatment goals
VIII. References (5 points)
APA Style required