Psychological Report

Collateral Information

Lisa M. Buentello

PSY 303: Abnormal Psychology

Instructor: Yolanda Harper

April 4, 2016

Collateral Information

Collateral Information

Collateral information in psychology refers to the information about a patient from those close to the patient like friends, employer or family members (Hersen & Thomas, 2009). This type of information helps to identify whether what the third parties will say about the client is similar to the clinical information gathered during the patient interview or other clinical tests. Collateral may assist in identifying other areas about the patient that may require further investigations.

I interviewed friends and family members of Joan, who described her as a person who for some time has been suffering from alcoholism and mood swings. They noted that Joan usually consumes alcohol after being in conditions of sad or angry feelings. However, these third parties could not state or identify the reasons why Joan engaged in excessive alcohol consumption. They also described her as being abusive to all people who are close to her at some point in time. Joan is also very obsessive with certain things like cleanliness and would highly insist until the things were done the way she thinks they should be done to perfection.

The information collected also showed great commonalities between the collateral sources and the original diagnosis. The commonalities include experiences of abuse as a child, suffering from bipolar disorder and sudden and extreme changes in feelings and moods. Joan's mood swings were shaped by the conditions of her mother when she was a child where the mother would treat her with mixed emotions. Joan's daughter shared this information.

There is no evidence from the information collected from the collateral sources that provide any new psychological issues that could have an effect on the patient’s problem. From the collateral sources, Joan’s problem arose from the need to feel wanted and successful. She needs constant attention and confirmation of her successes.

References Hersen, M., & Thomas, J. C. (2009). Handbook of Clinical Psychology Competencies, Volumes 1-3. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media.