Description of the Client Denise Holcomb is a 55-year-old African American female. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Holcomb is a single mother of four children, three girls and a son. Ms. Holcomb has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder I. She is also the founder of Removing the Stigma, Mental Health Paraprofessional. Her current income is undetermined.
Mental status Examination Ms. Holcomb is a 55-year-old woman of average weight and height. Ms. Holcomb was compliant during the course of the interview. During the time of her evaluation, she appeared well mannered and dressed well. In this sessions, Ms. Holcomb’s affect and mood was consistent with the questions being presented. Ms. Holcomb is familiarized time and place. She is also aware and knowledgeable about her mental illness. In the interview Ms. Holcomb’s did not present symptoms of tremor or abnormal movement. She also did not show signs of suicidal ideations, hallucinations or delusions. Ms. Holcomb responded to all of the questions very clear and automatically. Throughout the interview Ms. Holcomb maintained eye contact, her speech was very clear and she articulated her thought process very clear. When Ms. Holcomb addressed that her brother and her son both committed suicide she did not seem overwhelmed. From observation Ms. Holcomb appeared to be in good physical and mental health.
Presenting Problem Ms. Holcomb is a 55-year-old African American female whose presenting problem is being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder I, Alcohol use Disorder severe in maintained remission and Tobacco use Disorder. She is receiving therapy for her mental health concerns. Ms. Holcomb accepted her mental health concerns she also explained that her current treatment permits her to maintain and have control over her mental health issues.
Psych History Trauma In 1973, Ms. Holcomb had her son and during this time she started experiencing symptoms she described them as being very angry, unsettled and abusive towards herself. As time went on, Ms. Holcomb, noticed her symptoms were uncontrollable and decided to give her children away to protective services until she recovered and was stable to take care of her children. Once Ms. Holcomb received treatment for her mental health concerns, she was able to get her children back. Ms. Holcomb’s brother and son committed suicide due to severe mental illness. Her mother also suffered from a mental health concerns (not identified). Due to Denise’s long family history of mental health conditions, her doctors believe that it is possible that Bipolar Disorder is genetic.
Substance Abuse During the onset of Ms. Holcomb bipolar disorder symptoms, she started feeling depressed, very angry, unsettled, and abusive towards herself. Ms. Holcomb started using substance such as alcohol and tobacco. She also expressed that she that she was “spending a lot of money.” Two other disorders she was diagnosed with is Alcohol use disorder and tobacco use disorder.
Legal
During the initial interview, Ms. Holcomb’s legal information was not presented.
Medical
Ms. Holcomb’s stated that when she started experiencing her bipolar symptoms she would shake a lot, she often had nightmares, and a constant chest pain that seemed as if they were heart attacks. She mentioned that because of her chest pain she was in the hospital at least 25 times but doctors told her that they were just anxiety attacks. Ms. Holcomb started to receive treatment she was misdiagnosed with clinical depression and was prescribed the wrong medication; she became addicted to this medication.
Family
Ms. Holcomb is the mother of four children, three girls and one son who committed suicide. The client mentioned that her son and her brother most likely suffered from bipolar disorder, although they were never diagnosed. Ms. Holcomb also expressed that her mother would wash the floors and walls at night and suffered from nervous breakdowns. She said that her mother was often hospitalized when Denise was a child. Denise did not mention her relationship with her father, and only talked about one sibling.
Current Living At the present time, Ms. Holcomb is now receiving the proper treatment for her mental health concerns and they are being controlled by the correct medications.
Work/Education
In the interview, Denise did not speak about work or educations. However, I looked into the client online and found that she is the founder of Removing the Stigma, Mental Health Paraprofessional.
Social
In the interview, Ms. Holcomb did not mention her relationship with friends. However, she did express that she maintains a health relationship with her children.
Diagnosis
Ms. Holcomb has a Co-occurring illnesses were Generalized Anxiety Disorder 300.02 and Panic Disorder 300.01 (F41.0) for Bipolar disorder. Ms. Holcomb is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder I in full remission 296.56 (F31.76), Alcohol use Disorder severe in sustained remission 303.90 (F10.20) disorder in remission, Tobacco use Disorder on maintenance therapy 303.1 (z72.0). The types of medication Ms. Holcomb is taking to control her medical conditions are unknown.
Impressions