Human Behavior Psychopathology Human Behavior Term Paper

Case Study

Modified Gestalt theory would support the idea that Chris has a strong genetic predisposition for developing schizophrenia, given his brother's illness. He was raised in an unstable home environment, because of his father's alcoholism that may have exacerbated the young Chris' sense of constant stress and his difficulty to perceive the world in a hostile, non-threatening fashion. Chris is rational at times, other times he is paranoid, and goes through various degrees of awareness about his state of rationality (hence the usefulness of the Gestalt stress on the 'present point in time' to describe sanity). A resumption of medication may be necessary, although this may not be necessary for throughout the duration of Chris' life.

Chris has been disturbed by a shift in the relationship of his marriage. His wife wishes to have another child and he has just unexpectedly re-encountered a threatening individual from his past. Psychotic episodes can be trigged by negative life events, and Christ perceives his wife's request as a negative stress. He has also suffered a mild physical trauma to his ankle which disturbs his state of physical homeostasis. The fact that his authoritarian role models at home who did not present him with a good example of coping with stress may explain why his paranoia manifests itself against doctors. His sense of physical vulnerability, hostility, and sexual desire all conspire to motivate him to express his vulnerability to having his physical and emotional barriers crossed through suspicion, violence, and sexual 'acting out.'

Chris may benefit with drug treatment, but given that he is able to rationally connect with the world, therapeutic counseling to help Chris interpret and distinguish harmless vs. threatening social cues would also be advised. This would give Chris a better sense of when his boundaries were truly being threatened, as opposed to when he merely perceived them to be threatened. With the addition of medication, Chris will hopefully be able to become more rational, and better able to cope with irrational impulses. The stress upon dealing with physical trauma, and using the body in positive ways would also be helpful for Chris, as he has reacted with sexual and hostile acts of violence in the past. These reactions may be the product of his illness, but also may be learned behavior from his childhood, where his parents and brother lacked respect for the young Chris' own sense of physical, emotional, and social boundaries.

Works Cited

Latner, Joel. (1992). "The Theory of Gestalt Therapy." From Gestalt Therapy

Perspectives and Applications. Cleveland: Gestalt Institute of Cleveland (GIC) Press. Nevis, Edwin C. Ed. Retrieved 14 May 2007 at http://www.aagt.org/html/character__psychopathology__an.html