Psychological Report

Psychological Assessment

Lisa M. Buentello

PSY 303: Abnormal Psychology

Instructor: Yolanda Harper

March 28, 2016

Psychological Assessment

Identifying Information

Name: Joan Crawford

Gender: Female

Sexual orientation: Attracted to males

Age: 72

Race: Caucasian

Occupation: Actress

Location of residence: U.S.A, California, Western Region

Chief Complaint/ Presenting Problem

Joan is a 72-year-old Caucasian lady has a history of poor work performance and anger management. She has been diagnosed with three mental disorders, one of them being Bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a serious mental heal issue diagnosed during adolescence and early adulthood. It is defined as a disorder where an individual experiences episodes of maniac and alternating with major depression. It involves a sudden change in one’s moods from high peaks to low depths (Kiesbye, 2010). Bipolar disorder has been associated with alcohol abuse and in the last two decades there have been numerous clinical and epidemiological studies that have proved this relationship.

The order disorder that Joan is suffering from is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which is an anxiety disorder where an individual experiences persistent, unwanted, intrusive impulses or thoughts.

The last disorder is alcoholism whereby Joan became a heavy drinker. Alcoholism is a mental and physical condition that changes behaviors and reactions (Borowski, 2013). Those that become alcoholics use alcohol as a means to cope with or distant themselves with reality.

Symptoms

There are various symptoms that Joan exhibits which show the mental disorders she is suffering from. Joan’s daughter Christina remembers her mother dragged her from bed at night when she was just nine years old. Her mother beat her with a can of scouring powder simply because she left streaks of soap on the bathroom floor (Lowe, 2007). This is a symptom of OCD in that Joan was obsessive with cleanliness. Her mindset is fixed on perfection and ultra-cleanliness. The bizarre behaviors like cleaning hands and scrubbing clean floors assist Joan in reducing her anxieties and fears. One result of these behaviors is over-reaction to minor issues that she faces (Kiesbye, 2010). This tendency expects an individual and others around him or her to be perfect. She always wants things to be done in a particular way or her way.

Joan also exhibits some symptoms of Bipolar disorder. There are several occasions when Joan’s moods would just change out of nowhere. An example is when she was kissing her children goodnight and then looks at Christina’s closet where she finds a dress that's hanging on a wire hanger. She is overcome with rage and begins ripping all the cloths off the hangers. She then hits Christina with the wire hanger and tells her to pick up the mess. Joan’s tantrums are wild and violent for instance when she is fired by her studio boss from MGM after the theatre owner branded her as box office poison (Lowe, 2007). In the middle of the night she forces her children to watch her and flies into a bitter rage. She goes ahead to hack down her prize rose garden and goes ahead to chop down a tree dressed in a ball gown.

Joan was a very heavy drinker and as an actor she went to many parties and this is most likely where her addiction begun. After drinking, she would at times become violent, a common characteristic of alcoholics. An example of a scene in the movie is after going to a party with her boyfriend at that time. She goes on drinking at home and they get into a fight. Her boyfriend ends up breaking up with her and she becomes very furious. However, when she realizes that the relationship is coming to an end, she begins to seduce him into staying. This is an example of OCD where Joan shows the desire to control her boyfriend and bipolar where she exhibits an abrupt change in moods (Johnson, & Diamond, 2008). These two disorders are enhanced by the alcohol that she is taking.

Personal History

Joan Crawford whose real name is Lucille Fay Lesueur was born in San Antonio. This is where she was born and brought up where she experienced the Caucasian culture. Joan came from a dysfunctional family where her parents had separated before she was born. Her mother ended up getting married again to the theatre owner Harry Cassin. However, this relationship did not last long as her mother and step father ended up splitting. Joan’s school life was quite interesting, she attended two private schools. She ended up working on the premises in order to be able to pay for her tuition and also got harsh treatment. She received corporal punishment for any perceived misdeeds. She had a huge workload which made it difficult for her to attend classes that made her scholastic record to be faked.

Family history

Joan did not grow up in a stable home because first, her parents separated before her birth. Secondly, after her mother remarried, that marriage did not last. This shows that Joan did not grow up in a good environment where she could be brought up with good guidance. This is among the factors that contributed to the development of the mental disorders that she suffered in her adulthood. When it comes to her medical history, it is reported that Joan had difficulties in breathing during her infancy stage. Joan also suffered from migraine headaches that would have been linked with the development of Bipolar disorder. Joan also suffers from alcohol abuse whereby she started drinking at a night out in a party in Hollywood. After this experience, she ended up being addicted to alcohol. Her drinking started as a social thing and then escalated to a regulatory source.

When interviewing people who were in contact with Joan, they described her as an alcoholic who is abusive, obsessive with cleanliness and seemed to also suffer from bipolar disorder. There are some common things between collateral sources reports which are Bipolar disorder, child abuse, and OCD. Christina shared a childhood memory, whereby it was shaped with violent mood swings of her mother. This ranged from one moment being bought extravagant dresses and the next minute getting a hard spanking. There is no evidence from collateral sources that indicate any psychological issues that might have increased the patient’s problem. From the evaluation, we can conclude that Joan’s lacked attention when she was growing up from her parents as well as the constant reminder that she needs to be accepted and have some sense of belonging.

References

Borowski, M. (2013). Psychological Sciences; Addiction as a Disease. European Researcher, 55(7-2), 1945-1964.

Johnson, D. L., & Diamond, C. (2008). Mommy Dearest. Dale City, VA: Reluctant Press.

Kiesbye, S. (2010). Bipolar disorder. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press/Gale Cengage Learning.

Lowe, C. (2007). The everything health guide to OCD: Professional advice on handling anxiety, understanding treatment options, and finding the support you need. Avon, MA: Adams Media.