Diagnostic Skill Application II: A Case Study

Abstract

Based on the case description of Kimi, one of the central issues accounting for her distress or danger entails separation from her husband. Such a state of separation causes sadness, anger, and emotional struggle. For Kimi, additional insights from the case description point to an individual who is likely experiencing an eating disorder. As described, self-consciousness from high school (such as the need to wear a form-fitting uniform) to the college account for additional distress, a situation exacerbated by her Danish parents’ preference for privacy in which they (the parents) remain unaware of their daughters’ situation. Such a lack of adequate communication regarding an individual’s private life in relation to challenges surrounding proper eating patterns pose a danger of deteriorating one’s physical and emotional health, besides the formation of healthy relationships and the realization of productivity. Overall, Kimi is experiencing two major problems whereby she is struggling with a poor eating pattern (due to self-consciousness since high school) and also a marriage breakup, with the situation becoming direr due to her parents being troubled by Robert’s behavior. Particularly, she eats a lot then “throws up” or vomits as a coping mechanism for her distress and also a remedy to curb against gaining weight, which is also her dislike in life (due to the aforementioned state of self-consciousness). In summary, it is worth contending that Kimi’s problems lie within systemic or mental health-focused view of psychopathology because poor eating patterns and issues surrounding divorce have been documented to account for dramatic psychosocial imbalances in the affected persons’ lives.