Which pharmacological treatment would you prescribe?
Instructions: 500 words, formatted and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources. APA format (references no later than five years).
Remember to answer these questions from your textbooks (Basic psychopharmacology for Mental Health professionals, Sinacola 2019) and clinical guidelines to create your evidence based treatment plan. At all times, explain your answers.
1. Summarize the clinical case.
2. Create a list of the patient’s problems and prioritize them.
3. Which pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Include the rationale for this treatment.
4. Which non-pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Include the rationale for this treatment.
5. Include an assessment of treatment’s appropriateness, cost, effectiveness, safety, and potential for patient adherence.
Case study:
Trisha is a 28-year-old, unemployed white female. She is no stranger to therapy, having seen counselors for most of her teen and adult years. Her friends would describe her as a “wild woman” who takes no crap from anyone. She has held various part-time jobs for the last few years because she usually gets angry at her boss or coworkers and quits. While she has had a string of boyfriends over the years, she has been seeing one man for the last year or so. He too is unemployed and has both an alcohol and methamphetamine problem. She describes the relationship as “addictive and dysfunctional, yet exciting and hot.” Trisha is back in treatment at the urging of her parents, who describe her behavior as erratic and unpredictable. They also claim that she has periods where she “sleeps little and parties lots.” There were also several occasions in the last five years when she was so depressed she didn’t eat or want to leave the house. Her father also admits to periods of depression, and Trisha’s grandfather was diagnosed with manic depression, resulting in numerous hospitalizations in the 1950s and 1960s. Trisha’s only brother died in a car accident several years ago. He was drunk at the time, but she claims he had a long history of depression. Recently Trisha was arrested for disorderly conduct at a friend’s party. She had not slept for nearly 24 hours and was drunk and combative. When she was first approached by police, she solicited them for sex. They report that she was rather hyperverbal and hyperactive. They later had to investigate a complaint from local storeowners for bad checks she wrote in excess of $7,000.
Here are some answers that might be helpful to answer:
Diagnosis: Patient suffers Bipolar disorder type I (F30.13).
After consultation with a Psychiatrist she starts taking: Valproate 750 mg by mouth daily (as a mood stabilizer) and Seroquel 300 mg by mouth at bedtime to help with sleep/restlessness at night.
– After placed on those medications, patient feels better and has been able to return to her part time job. She is not longer seen her boyfriend, and attends therapy twice per week. She also helps in a support group.