unit 8 assignment

CASE STUDY: Maria

Welcome to this treatment team meeting about my client, Maria. I’d like to get your consultation on this case. Maria is a 33-year-old Hispanic female with a strong Catholic background. As a freshman in college, she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The diagnosis was reaffirmed3 years ago by one of my colleagues. Maria has had difficulty coping with her mental illness. She abruptly quits jobs when she feels they become too stressful. Due to uncontrollable feelings of stress and symptoms of depression and anxiety, she has self-medicated, abusing alcohol, opiates, and other prescription medications. She admits to having numerous sexual relationships with men since age 20. One of these encounters 6 years ago resulted in an unwanted pregnancy and the birth of a son. Her 5-year-old child is now being raised by her parents. Recently, after a difficult breakup with a boyfriend, Maria attempted suicide by overdosing on her prescription medications. Her mother found her unconscious and called 911. While Maria was in the hospital, the staff psychiatrist changed her diagnosis from borderline personality disorder to posttraumatic stress disorder. Maria was then discharged from the hospital and referred to a substance abuse treatment facility. At the substance abuse treatment facility, she was assigned to me as her primary counselor for substance abuse problems. At the time of the referral from the hospital, I had little information about her other than that her previous borderline personality disorder diagnosis had been changed to a posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis. After observing her mental health symptoms, I concurred that this was her correct diagnosis. When Maria was informed about her misdiagnosed mental illness, she became upset and angry about how her life had been ruined by wrong treatment. She vowed to sue the counselor who misdiagnosed her. During counseling with me, Maria informed her counselor that when Maria was 9, her mother divorced her father and left the family home. Because her father was an alcoholic, she was placed by CPS with her aunt and uncle. While staying at her aunt and uncle’s house, she was repeatedly sexually abused by her uncle from age 9 to 14. She confides in you that her uncle took her virginity at the age of 14. She reported the abuse to her aunt after the final sexual encounter with her uncle, but her aunt became extremely angry and dismissed the allegations due to the “taboos” surrounding sexual abuse in their culture. Maria also once discussed the sexual abuse with me in therapy. She says that she feels comfortable discussing her issues with me; however, at times, her manner toward me is flirtatious, and she also wears provocative clothing to sessions. Since being released from inpatient treatment, she has found employment with a local agency as a Spanish interpreter and rented a one-room apartment in town. She has been prescribed Wellbutrin for her depressive symptoms and says that she is no longer using opiates and alcohol. She reports feeling fearful sometimes with men who physically remind her of her uncle. At this time, she feels that she is stable enough to gain partial custody of her son and now states that she wants to resume the responsibility of raising her son. She has asked me to testify in court on her behalf and to also dispute her misdiagnosis of borderline personality disorder. She is currently filing a malpractice suit against my colleague who diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder. We are currently scheduled to appear in court in a week. Any feedback or guidance about this case would be appreciated.