Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders include conditions involving problems in the self-control of emotions and behaviors. Unlike other cases in this book, the two cases highlighted in this chapter are unique in that these problems are manifested in behaviors that violate the rights of others such as aggression, and/or that bring the client into significant conflict with societal norms or law enforcement. Questions for consideration follow each case.

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is usually a reaction to trauma as a way to help a person avoid bad memories and is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality identities. This chapter highlights the detailed case of an adult woman diagnosed with DID. The case offers an in-depth description of the client’s identities and takes the reader on a journey through her treatment. Questions for consideration are also included.

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 includes a case on narcolepsy as experienced by a college-aged female. Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to control sleep–wake cycles. The client in this case felt rested after waking, but then feel very sleepy throughout much of the day.

Narcolepsy greatly affected the daily activities and may impact the future of the client who had hoped to be a typical college student. Questions for consideration follow the case study.

For a sexual problem to be considered a sexual dysfunction, the symptoms must be present for at least 6 months, cause significant distress, and cannot be caused exclusively by a nonsexual mental disorder (e.g., substance use, depression), significant relationship distress, medical illness, or medication. The three cases in this chapter represent various sexual dysfunctions, such as female sexual interest/arousal disorder and erectile dysfunction disorder, and their respective treatment. Questions for consideration follow each case.

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.

Feeding and eating disorders are characterized by eating behavior that results in health and/or psychosocial problems. This chapter includes two cases of diagnosed eating disorders—anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by restrictive eating that leads to dangerously low body weight and disturbances in self-perceived shape or weight. Bulimia nervosa is a disorder that includes episodes of binge eating and compensatory behaviors (e.g., purging, exercising). Questions for consideration follow each case.

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.

Somatic symptom disorder is characterized by an extreme focus on physical symptoms (e.g., pain, weakness, fatigue) that causes major emotional distress and problems functioning. This chapter features two cases of somatic symptom disorder in two adult women. While their symptoms may not be traceable to a physical cause, they do cause excessive and disproportionate levels of distress and dysfunction.

Neurodevelopmental disorders are conditions that affect the functionality of the brain. With many neurodevelopmental disorders, the signs and symptoms most often begin to show when a child is young, usually around preschool years. This chapter follows this pattern and includes three cases of neurodevelopmental disorders in children, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. Family dynamics and school considerations are also included with these cases given the ages of the clients. Questions for consideration are included.

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.

Gender dysphoria is the feeling of discomfort or distress that might occur in people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics. The cases in this chapter include two cases of adolescent gender dysphoria. In the first case, the adolescent is considering future transition against the backdrop of family acceptance and cultural issues while the other adolescent highlighted in this chapter has transitioned and manages depression and a history of child abuse. Questions for consideration follow each case.

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 misuse and abuse of substances such as alcohol and drugs put people at risk for short-term and long-term harm. This chapter highlights the cases of four individuals and one family who have diagnosed substance-related disorders such as alcoholism or opioid addition. Questions for consideration follow each case.

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.

Trauma and stressor-related disorders are a group of emotional and behavioral problems that may result from traumatic and stressful experiences such as exposure to physical or emotional violence or pain, including abuse, neglect, or intense family conflict. This chapter contains five cases related to trauma and stressor-related disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, reactive attachment disorder, and adjustment disorder. The clients in this chapter also includes a broad range of ages and demographics, ranging in age from 8 to 68, and they are urban, rural, and suburban dwellers with a variety of family constellations, strengths, and challenges. Specific traumas related to child sexual abuse and neglect as well as questions for consideration are also included.

Race, ethnicity, and culture influence client identity and life circumstances. Other factors, such as gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, religion, and ability may also play into the context of a client’s mental health or personal issues. The four cases in this chapter feature cultural aspects that have a significant role in the treatment and conceptualization by their clinicians. Culturally competent clinicians practice cultural humility and understand that clients’ backgrounds influence the ways in which they view the world and that the clinician’s role must change to accommodate these perspectives.

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.

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.