Neurobiology Considerations Case Study: SuzySuzy is a 27-year-old Caucasian woman with no children. At age 8, she witnessed her mothers overdose of prescription pain medication. Her mother subsequently recovered but was addicted to prescription pain medication throughout Suzys childhood. Suzys father did not live with them. Suzys mother suggested that this was because of his alcoholism. Rage-filled fights between her parents were commonplace for Suzy since she was an infant. Over the last several years, Suzy has become increasingly anxious. It seems that she is always on edge and worried. In fact, her doctor suspects she may have generalized anxiety disorder. She has been referred to your counseling clinic in hopes of getting better. During the first session, you learn that Suzy abuses alcohol frequentlysix to seven drinks at least three times per week. Suzy believes she will have trouble coming to counseling if she does not have medication to help calm her down enough to sit still. Developing appropriate pharmacological treatment plans requires medical and mental health profession
als to consider all potential factors that may be contributing to the clients psychopathology. Contributing factors may include family history of mental illness (Preston, ONeal, & Talaga, 2010), personal history, life circumstances, and drug abuse. Additionally, neurotransmitter malfunctions (genetic or self-induced) may manifest as diagnosable mental illnesses. Mental health care teams (e.g., counselors, medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and support teams) need to consider all of these factors in diagnosing and treating psychopathology. For this Discussion, review the document Neurobiology Considerations Case Study: Suzy found in this weeks Learning Resources and consider the recommendations you might make to treat Suzy. a brief description of the possible pharmacological recommendations for treating Suzy. Explain any neurobiological considerations that inform your recommendations. Explain the benefits and limitations of your recommendations. Justify your recommendations based on the Learning Resources and current literature.