PSYC 430
Team Case Evaluation
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
PSYC 430: Abnormal Psychology
Team Case Evaluation
This is an evaluation of Carly Prochaski, a 15-year-old girl presenting with symptoms of major
depressive disorder. In this evaluation we will discuss her presenting problems, possible
diagnoses, final diagnosis, disorder etiology, and treatment recommendations.
Key Clinical Issues
Client Demographics
Carly is a 15 year old girl. She is of Navajo Native American descent. She was adopted by a
Caucasian family, Glen and Helen Prochaski, when she was an infant. She is currently a
sophomore at a large urban highschool in Michigan.
Presenting Problem
Before the past month or two, Carly was an A student in her honors classes, even won a perfect
attendance award. Now she is failing all of her classes, and has missed 8 classes in the last 41
days of school. Carly claimed that about a month ago “something snapped” in her, and that she
was “tired of pretending that everything was OK”. She presents with anhedonia, claiming that
the things she enjoyed no longer bring her pleasure. She is not motivated to attend classes or do
well in school, and she dislikes most of her teachers. She particularly avoids her history class.
She claims that learning is harder for her now, and that her head feels foggy when she does
schoolwork. She prefers to daydream in class instead of paying attention or working on
, assignments, often imagining she was born in another place or time. She says she would like to
time travel to the future, where there would be nor wars or terrorism, and that everybody would
be so biracial so that no one would put others down for their race. However, she claims not to be
sad or depressed, and says she feels good about herself and hopeful for the future.
Carly has also failed to make the travel soccer team, even though she was a solid player in her
freshman year of high school. She says that college recruiters mostly select players from the
travel team, and that she saw no point in continuing to play soccer since she didn’t make the
team. According to Carly, “there is always going to be someone better” than her at soccer, and
she decided that it just wasn't worth it to her to continue. Since quitting player soccer Carly has
not engaged in any regular exercise, saying that she is too tired to run. Carly is quite thin for a 15
year old, but she claims to be comfortable with her weight. According to her parents, she has
always been thin. However, she says that she “mostly quit eating” after she stopped playing
soccer, claiming that all her food tastes bland and doesn't interest her anymore.
Carly mentioned several friends from soccer, particularly one girl named Diane, who has
her best friend. However, she has not seen much of Diane of any of the other girls on the soccer
team since quitting soccer. Carly is vague about who she hangs out with now, and claims that no
one understands her.
Carly insists that she is not taking drugs, though becomes agitated when asked about it.
Carly seems ambivalent about suicide, saying that her motivation to live was a 7 or 8 out of 10,
and her wish to die was a 2 or 3 out of 10. She seemed uncomfortable and defensive when
discussing this. Later on however, she was found having overdosed on pain medication, which
was determined to be a suicide attempt. Luckily, she failed to take enough of the pain medication
to kill herself.
Team Case Evaluation
School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
PSYC 430: Abnormal Psychology
Team Case Evaluation
This is an evaluation of Carly Prochaski, a 15-year-old girl presenting with symptoms of major
depressive disorder. In this evaluation we will discuss her presenting problems, possible
diagnoses, final diagnosis, disorder etiology, and treatment recommendations.
Key Clinical Issues
Client Demographics
Carly is a 15 year old girl. She is of Navajo Native American descent. She was adopted by a
Caucasian family, Glen and Helen Prochaski, when she was an infant. She is currently a
sophomore at a large urban highschool in Michigan.
Presenting Problem
Before the past month or two, Carly was an A student in her honors classes, even won a perfect
attendance award. Now she is failing all of her classes, and has missed 8 classes in the last 41
days of school. Carly claimed that about a month ago “something snapped” in her, and that she
was “tired of pretending that everything was OK”. She presents with anhedonia, claiming that
the things she enjoyed no longer bring her pleasure. She is not motivated to attend classes or do
well in school, and she dislikes most of her teachers. She particularly avoids her history class.
She claims that learning is harder for her now, and that her head feels foggy when she does
schoolwork. She prefers to daydream in class instead of paying attention or working on
, assignments, often imagining she was born in another place or time. She says she would like to
time travel to the future, where there would be nor wars or terrorism, and that everybody would
be so biracial so that no one would put others down for their race. However, she claims not to be
sad or depressed, and says she feels good about herself and hopeful for the future.
Carly has also failed to make the travel soccer team, even though she was a solid player in her
freshman year of high school. She says that college recruiters mostly select players from the
travel team, and that she saw no point in continuing to play soccer since she didn’t make the
team. According to Carly, “there is always going to be someone better” than her at soccer, and
she decided that it just wasn't worth it to her to continue. Since quitting player soccer Carly has
not engaged in any regular exercise, saying that she is too tired to run. Carly is quite thin for a 15
year old, but she claims to be comfortable with her weight. According to her parents, she has
always been thin. However, she says that she “mostly quit eating” after she stopped playing
soccer, claiming that all her food tastes bland and doesn't interest her anymore.
Carly mentioned several friends from soccer, particularly one girl named Diane, who has
her best friend. However, she has not seen much of Diane of any of the other girls on the soccer
team since quitting soccer. Carly is vague about who she hangs out with now, and claims that no
one understands her.
Carly insists that she is not taking drugs, though becomes agitated when asked about it.
Carly seems ambivalent about suicide, saying that her motivation to live was a 7 or 8 out of 10,
and her wish to die was a 2 or 3 out of 10. She seemed uncomfortable and defensive when
discussing this. Later on however, she was found having overdosed on pain medication, which
was determined to be a suicide attempt. Luckily, she failed to take enough of the pain medication
to kill herself.
