This case study examines the most effective treatment for a client with severe depression. A community-based social worker office made the recommendation. According to reports from the social worker, her suicide thoughts escalated until she couldn’t do everyday chores.
Miss Emma, 27, a Caucasian customer from Canada, reported that she experiences recurring sadness episodes followed by sobs. It is rare that she sleeps well at night and, during such episodes, she eats excessively. She sleeps for a minimum of three hours most nights, with the remainder of her day filled with anxiety and complicated thoughts. She is concerned about her perception of her incompetence and the lack of support from her boyfriend. She feels isolated because her family, especially her mother, are not supportive.
Client admits to having been depressed for seven months after the birth of her second baby. It was “her all-or nothing moment” and she regrets having had a baby. Because no one has come to her rescue after her birth or helped with her housework, she feels anxious. She acknowledged that she was socially excluded and marginalized. She resented social interaction and prefers to be alone. She’s in dire financial straits and wants to escape any unpleasant situation, rather than seek the right tools.
Many of her depression episodes have had a profound impact on her daily life. It has irreparably affected her relationships with her family and her boyfriend. Because she had chosen a life in seclusion, she couldn’t attend family gatherings. The family has fallen into deep financial difficulties due to her inability to work at the convenience store. She admits to being depressed and is willing to go through a review.
Histories on Family and Relationships
Her husband, her baby, and their nine-year old son live in a unit. According to her, the couple’s relationship with each other deteriorated after pregnancy. This woman no longer feels loved and is more isolated in this home. After achieving mental stability, she admits to wanting a divorce. Her extended family doesn’t seem to be concerned about her current situation. Her family’s burden is solely hers.
Her entire family, her siblings (20 and 25-year-old brothers), as well as both her parents (both are alive and well), she states. Her early years of school were filled with disorder, she recalls. Domestic violence was common in the dysfunctional family. Her father was able to fight with her mother and defend her mother due to her alcoholism. Emma lived with her mother a lot. According to Emma, her entire life collapsed after her mother died for two years. Although she loved them and cared for them, her father was not an expressive person.