Introduction
Adrian Monk, portrayed by actor Tony Shalhoub, is the main character in the USA Network series MONK. Monk is a former homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department, suffering from an anxiety disorder known as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as numerous phobias. After Monk’s wife was murdered, his disorder worsened leading to his suspension from the police force. When the series opens, Monk works as a private police homicide consultant and undergoes therapy to overcome his anxiety disorder and phobias. He is assisted by a private nurse who helps him cope with his disability on the job.
Part One—Case Study
Character Background
The episode “Happy Birthday Mr. Monk” shows that Monk, born October, 17,
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These symptoms never emerged in the series; rather, the viewer is led to believe that Mr. Monk had OCD since he was born. However, the viewer is also informed in conversations with the police sergeant and with Monk’s nurse and therapist that what triggered this disorder was the murder of his wife. Immediately after his wife died, his disorder worsened.
Outcome of Case
Monk’s treatment was to go to Dr. Charles Kroger for psychotherapy that would aid him to cope with his disorder. In the sessions, Mr. Monk talks about what he did during the day and the goals he accomplished. The treatment is not entirely effective, but it helps Mr. Monk relax and get all the stress out. In the long term, Mr. Monk cannot overcome his disorder because he cannot imagine that he can be cured. In addition, he is not a risk taker, meaning he could never do anything that would make him uncomfortable. Because of this, there is little hope that he will be able to completely overcome his disorder. This makes sense because his disorder is inherited, and not attributed to environmental causes.
Part Two—Disease
Diagnostic Criteria
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a pattern of recurring obsessions and compulsions that are severe enough to be time consuming and interfere with a person’s daily functioning. They must cause marked distress (such as pain or physical harm to the person) or significant impairment. Usually, they take more than
Dombeck, M., Hoermann, S., Zupanick, E.C. (2011). Personality Disorders: Problems with current diagnostic system. MentalHelp. Retrieved on 14th March, 2013, from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=569
What is OCD? OCD stands for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a psychological disorder that makes an individual have a great deal of anxiety due to unwanted thoughts. The individual will try to reduce it by engaging in repetitive behaviors or compulsions. OCD is a part of an individual’s everyday life, so it is natural to have some obsessive thoughts. However, when it interferes with your every day lifestyle, then the individual knows that it’s a disorder. An example of the most common OCD that someone may encounter are contamination, accidental harm to others, perfection when it comes to washing, cleaning, or arrangement of things. Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms can change over time. It is most common
Top researchers and clinicians from around the world to be members of our DSM-5 Task Force, Work Groups and Study Groups. These are experts in neuroscience, biology, genetics, statistics, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, nosology, and public health. These members participate on a strictly voluntary basis and encompass several medical and mental health disciplines including psychiatry, psychology, pediatrics, nursing and social work. (“Who was involved,” para. 6)
Monk’s thought process is very different than it was in his childhood. He still has his remembering and even has excelled in his problem solving. But his decision making has been veered off track. Because of his OCD Monk is not able to make easy decisions. Such as placing his keys in the right spot, or walking a certain way. Monk will never fully recover from his obsessive compulsive disorder.
About 60% of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients have multiple obsessions. Not only does Melvin display behaviors associated with his fear of contamination, but also he presents compulsions under the symmetry/exactness/”just right” symptom subtype. This subtype deals specifically with the need for symmetry, in which things are put in a certain order and rituals are repeated. Melvin has very specific expectations of order in his daily routine. Every
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V) explains the criteria for OCD. OCD is considered to be an anxiety disorder in the DSM V. Obsessions are defined as experiencing recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses and urges, and can be invasive and unasked for which then cause noticeable distress and anxiety for the individual. The individual will try to ignore the unwanted thoughts and urges or they may try to neutralise them via
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), “the essential feature of
Imagine feeling like a slave in your own body. Being forced to do ridiculous rituals and having constant compulsions to do things that you know don’t make sense. This is what it is like to live with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In the United States alone, over 2 million people suffer from OCD (Parks, 2011) but no one has found the cause of this disorder. It affects people of all races, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds (Parks, 2011). Since it’s discovery and modern conceptualization, there has been an ongoing debate whether OCD is caused by environmental factors or if it is inherited through genetics. However, since both sides of the debate raise a solid argument and there is not enough hard evidence, the source of the disorder
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is currently the most frequently used way of standardizing and defining psychological disorders. However, the classification systems such as DSM have advantages and disadvantages. The major weakness of DSM is that it judges symptoms superficially and ignores other possible important factors. The major strength of DSM is that it enables categorization of psychological disorders.
I have always been fascinated with behavioral disorders, especially OCD. I learned about OCD a few years ago when I was reading a medical journal. At first, it seemed like something very odd. The idea that otherwise normal people can do such strange things, and not be able to control themselves was fascinating. I wanted to know more about this topic, which is why I chose to write my paper on it. I thought that by knowing more about the subject, I will be able to better understand how these people’s lives can be literally taken over by their constant worries and anxiety. Also, I think a lot of people exhibit these behaviors and aren’t even aware that they may have a severe problem, and more importantly, that they can be getting help to
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a common psychological disorder that is often associated with misconstrued stereotypes. OCD is considered an anxiety disorder consisting of obsessions that are often combined with compulsions. These obsessions are usually recurrent and persistent specific thoughts and be urges. Compulsions make up the second part of OCD. They are repetitive behaviors performed according to rigid rules that are completed in an attempt to help prevent obsessions from becoming true. The compulsions are maintained by negative reinforcement meaning that the patient continues to perform the compulsions because the obsessions are prevented. This idea forces the patient to continue the vicious cycle of performing compulsions to prevent
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).Arlington, VA: Author.
disorder it is not just that one person that has to learn to deal with it, the
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has a number of features. First of all, every disorder is identified using a name and a numerical code. In addition, the manual provides the criteria for diagnosing each disorder as well as establishes subtypes of a disorder and examples that would illustrate the disorder. The manual goes further by addressing the typical age of onset, culturally related information, gender-related information, prevalence of a disorder, typical clinical course of a disorder, typical predisposing factors of a disorder and genetic family patterns of a disease (Summers, 2009). The DSM-IV is a tool that is used by mental health practitioners and social service workers. As has been demonstrated