Patient Analysis
Arleen has been a police officer for ten years. Currently she is on paid medical leave for three months and has three weeks left before she is due back at work. Arleen’s parents have been divorced for sixteen years. She still keeps in touch with her mother, and talks to her on a regular basis. Her father is an alcoholic with a history of physical and mental abuse towards his children. Arleen has two brothers, one that she keeps in contact with and one that she does not. She stated that her aspirations to become a police officer originate from her not being able to protect her family from her father when she was a child.
On her first visit, Arlene seemed very tense and said that she had been
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She also has even worse recurrences while intoxicated. Avoidance of stimuli related to event is another characteristic, in Arleen’s case; seeing coworkers, her gun, badge, uniform, even the thought of going back to work, anything remotely relating to her profession. Another set of characteristics for PTSD demonstrated by Arleen is hyperarousal; sleep disturbances, angry outbursts, hypervigilence and difficulty concentrating. Odds of developing PTSD are twice as greater for females if traumatized by assault violence, and even greater if previously traumatized (CCU 2). Arleen’s past with her family, especially her abusive alcoholic father leads me to believe Arleen had an even greater risk for developing this disorder.
Physical, Psychological, or Social/Environmental conditions predispose patient
As stated before, Arleen has come from a broken home. PTSD development can be increased if the individual has been abused and/or traumatized in the past, before the event causing the disorder happen. The prevalence for PTSD can also be increased with what could be considered “high stress” professions. In which, Arleen’s choice of professions can also be said increase her predisposition for this disorder. Being in any type of law enforcement can become extremely stressful. Dealing with traumatic events on a daily basis can wear on anybody and especially increase their predisposition for a mental disorder.
The details
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