Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe mental disorder that affects the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others. While uncommon as compared to other mental disorders, it is often the most chronic and disabling. This chapter contains three cases of schizophrenia spectrum disorder and other psychotic disorders, including delusional disorder of two types. These cases highlight disorders that cause various degrees of distress and dysfunction in three adult males. Questions for consideration are included.

While the occasional experience of anxiety is a typical part of life, people with anxiety disorders often have intense and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. This chapter contains three cases of anxiety disorders in two adult males and one adolescent female. Generalized anxiety disorder is highlighted in this chapter as well as the less common, selective mutism diagnosis. While the clients in these cases have symptoms that lead to a DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition) diagnosis in the same category, these cases highlight how cultural factors and family of origins issues may exacerbate anxiety-related symptoms. Questions for consideration are also included.

A paraphilic disorder exists when recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors cause distress and/or impairment to the individual. In some individuals with paraphilic disorder, their sexual satisfaction has entailed personal harm or the risk of harm to others. The cases in this chapter represent studies of sexual sadism and voyeuristic disorder and how each of the men diagnosed with these conditions respond to court-appointed therapy. Questions for consideration follow each case.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a disorder in which people have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas, or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do something repetitively (compulsions). This chapter contains three cases of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders in three adolescent males. While the clients in each of these cases have symptoms that lead to a DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fifth Edition) diagnosis in the same category, this chapter highlights how the disorder often presents in different ways and with different obsessive thoughts (e.g., sexual orientation obsession). Obsessive-compulsive disorder may co-occur with Tic disorder and a case that demonstrates this link is included. Questions for consideration are also included.

The elimination disorders in this chapter involve the inappropriate elimination of urine or feces and are the result of trauma in a midlife female and an adolescent male. This group of disorders includes enuresis, the repeated voiding of urine into inappropriate places, and encopresis, the repeated passage of feces into inappropriate places. Questions for consideration follow the case conceptualizations.

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, concentration, and the ability to perform daily tasks. This chapter contains three cases of bipolar disorder in adults. These cases illuminate how the same disorder manifests in different people with different backgrounds, including an African American woman, a Caucasian man, and a young Caucasian woman. Discussions of intersectionality, substance use/abuse, and questions for consideration are also included.

Personality disorders are a type of mental disorder in which individuals have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning, and behaving. The three individual case studies presented in the following chapter have trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people, causing significant problems in relationships, social activities, and the workplace.

Depressive disorders are characterized by sadness severe enough or persistent enough to interfere with function and often by decreased interest or pleasure in activities. This chapter contains three cases of depressive disorders in adults, including major depressive disorder and dysthymia. These cases illuminate how depression manifests in different people with different backgrounds, including a young Caucasian woman, young biracial man, and a middle-aged woman. While the clients in these cases have symptoms that lead to a DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) diagnosis in the same category, the cases highlight how medical concerns may complicate symptoms, as well as family of origins issues that may exacerbate symptoms. Questions for consideration are also included.

This chapter features five cases from across the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) and may be used as a final review. There is diversity in clientele, diagnosis, and treatment modality and may help students demonstrate their skills in diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders.

Neurocognitive disorders describe decreased mental function due to a medical disease other than a psychiatric illness. In this chapter, cases related to substance-induced major neurocognitive disorder and major neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease are presented. Questions for consideration follow each case.