Final Project Analysis

Final Project Process Analysis

On the first day of working on the project my partner, Dr. Issac Winchester and I decided that the we want to do our project on the Zoo Story. We chose this one act play because of the complex character Jerry who we thought we could come up with a lot of ideas.

The next meeting we decided what form of multimedia we wanted to use. We ended up going with a Prezi presentation because we both have experience using that particular program.

We also came up with the idea of created a Facebook page for Jerry to use as evidence that he had mental issues. We felt that incorporating Facebook would be a good way to include a different way of expressing information which is what we felt this entire english class was about.

Dr. Issac Winchester and I took a picture of a chalk outline and a knife to put in our Prezi to go with the part of the story where Jerry gets stabbed. We created Jerry’s Facebook account and posted statuses and quotes that would provide evidence that he was going through depression.We met at the library a few times in order to create our Prezi.

I feel that integrating social media was a good idea. It provided hard evidence of our case and gave a personal relationship with Jerry. We used our skills that we have acquired as psychologists in order to diagnose Jerry and get to the bottom of what happened to Peter and Jerry at the park.

Link to Final Project!

Sometimes All You Need Is An Ear

“Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are ready to meet with you Ms. Vega.” The main lobby buzzed my office.

A few moments later, I heard a knock on my office door. I invited in whoever was at the door. When my door opened two older looking women walked into my office.

“How can I help you two ladies today?” I asked.

“Well, one of your patients here is a dear friend of ours and we were wondering what exactly was wrong with her.” One responded. “I’m Mrs. Peters and this is Mrs. Hale.” She clarified. “We never got the details on her state of mind and we were just wondering if you could shed some light on the situation.”

“I understand how you two must feel but, I’m not allowed to share classified information of patients.  I can only share this information of the patient with immediate family, medical doctors, or lawyers.”

“But Ms. Vega,” Hale began, “Is there any possible way that we can help Minnie? Could you re-analyze her and see if she is doing better and shorten her days here?”

“I don’t think that I can do that either ma’am. Our institution runs on strict guidelines. Once a patient is analyzed here, they are immediately put on a plan and they have to stick to it until final evaluation.  The plan is only subject to change if the patient shows exceptional change, negative or positive, and from the looks of Minnie,” I paused for a moment to grab her file and skim through her records, “By the looks of it she’s nowhere near ready for an evaluation.”

“PLEASE!” Mrs. Peter’s exclaimed loudly. “Please reconsider. You don’t know what she’s been through. Her husband was a horrible man that kept her under his foot like an animal. She has been through so much and I can’t stand to see her sit in a place like this and rot because of something he did to her!”

 I sat there for a while before speaking. “I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise you two anything. When I am scheduled to meet with her for her weekly check-up I will take care to look for signs that could speed up her process here, but like I said earlier, nothing is promised.”

“Thank you so very much Ms. Vega! I am sure that you will do your best.” Ms. Hale seemed cheerful.

“Thank you both for your visit. Come back in a week or two for the update.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello Minnie, I’m back again to check on you, how are you feeling today?” I asked as I entered Minnie’s room.

“I’m feeling alright Ms. Vega. I’ve settled in quite nicely here. The staff is so kind to me.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Can I ask you a few questions? And I also need you to do a few things for me today.

“Well alright I’ll do them to the best of my ability.”

“Do you remember why you are here in this facility?”

“Yes I was going through some tough times and had an emotional breakdown. Many thought I was from my husband’s unexpected death….” She trailed off.

“Well do you remember why you had that break down? What changed? What caused your stress?” I asked and soon after, the room fell deafly silent. Time seemed to move slowly from that moment on.

“Well…” She started. “I was once a free spirit. A lively one that enjoyed all things, I was told that I always had a smile on my face. When I met my late husband everything seemed to be even better. He made me so happy, but soon after our marriage he completely changed. He didn't allow me to do anything to bring me joy. It was almost as if I were his dog. I couldn't even sing songs aloud anymore.”

“A had a song bird. It made me so happy… but he took that from me too, but in the worst way.” She stopped and sighed deeply. “He took my bird’s life with his own hands. I couldn't take it anymore; I was completely through with him. And then the best yet worse thing could have happened. A murderer killed him in his sleep, the same way he took my bird’s life…”

“Wow that was intense; you had no friends to confide in during your hard times?” I asked this because I wondered if Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale were there for her.

“No there wasn't  My husband cut off all contact with my friends and most of my family. I felt like a caged bird in that marriage, but now I feel… I feel so free.”

I felt like I was starting to understand her. She wasn't completely unstable; I was starting to believe she needed simple counseling services to work her through past experiences. It seemed as though those two women knew she only needed a friend.

“Well Ms. Minnie thank you for sharing your story with me. With some luck you might be able to get out of our institution a bit earlier than expected.” I gave her a small wink and a big smile. “I will see you at your next checkup.”

As I left the room I was starting to realize just how much work I was getting myself into. The paperwork wasn't going to be easy, but I believed that with time I could get Minnie out of this institution and back with a family that will love her, in spite of how her husband treated her.

Family Quarrel

I heard a little commotion in the main lobby of the institution as I returned from my lunch-break. There was a family disputing over their son with the secretary, but I had no time to snoop, so I brushed it off and returned to my office where I had a date with tons paperwork. About an hour had past when I got a call from my boss’s office. He was brief on the phone and told me to meet with him immediately.

“Yes Dr. Berman?” I asked as I closed his office door behind me.

“Ms. Vega I need you to put off all the work you are doing right now. I desperately need you to work with--” He paused and flipped through a few files, “Ah yes, here it is, I need you to work on this case. Your patient’s name is Hamlet and you will be meeting with his family today around--”

“Dr. Berman have you forgotten about the piles of paperwork you threw on my desk this morning? I don’t have time to meet with anyone today if you expect me to finish this by your deadlines.”

“I know what I said, but this needs tending to, NOW!” he emphasized.

I took the file and skimmed through it briefly then asked,” What time am I meeting with them?”

“This afternoon around 3:30.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The door slammed open as a young man stormed in followed by a group of people.

“Hello!” I stammered as I watched the young man walk about the room as if he were in deep thought and fueled by rage.

“Hello Ms. Vega.” an older woman replied. She reached out her hand to me and gave me a heartwarming smile as we shook hands. “I am Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother.”

“You aren’t my mother anymore! You married the man that killed my father!” yelled the young man, who I assumed to be Hamlet at this point. Gertrude looked over at him as if she could not believe he said that in front of me.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” I said trying to ignore the outburst,” I believe you all are here because you think Hamlet needs to be placed in our institution correct?”

“Most definitely.” One of the older males addressed. “This boy is claiming that he is seeing ghosts and trying to slander my good name!”

“And you are?” I asked.

“Claudius, I am his Uncle. How rude of me for not introducing myself earlier.” He pointed to the old woman. “You already know his mother Gertrude.” She smiled at me. “And this is Horatio, a friend from Hamlet’s youth.”

“Nice to meet you all. Hamlet can you please come sit down and join us?” I motioned for him to sit in the seat closest to me.

“Hamlet has been really angry lately and acts extremely irrational at times.” Gertrude explained with concern. “We think he has gone mad and we desperately need your help.”

“I have gone mad? You married your own husband’s brother! How could you disrespect him like that? How could you do that to my father even if he has left this world!?”

The room fell deathly silent after Hamlet’s remark.

“Okay,” I said breaking the silence, “I will do my best for you, is there anything else I need to know because I need you all to step out of the room while I go over some questions with Hamlet.”

“Alright.” said Claudius as the group stood simultaneously and headed for the door.

I turned to Hamlet and I noticed that he was as red as a tomato. “Are you alright Hamlet?” I asked in regard.

“It is hard to hold my tongue with that atrocious creature in the room. He killed my father and I have yet to come up with a plan to prove his guilt. I will prove it, even if it kills me.” Hamlet said in an awfully cold tone.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry for that.” I lowered my voice,” Okay I already know you don’t want to be here, and that’s fine, all I ask is for your complete cooperation so I can get results to your waiting family. Now if you could just answer a few questions and......”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour and forty-five minutes later I came out of the small room and found Hamlet’s family in one of the waiting rooms down the hall.

“Did you find the truth? That boy is mad isn’t he!?” Claudius screeched as he jumped from his seat.

“He is upset, but not mad sir.” I replied. I looked down at my clipboard and quickly skimmed through one last time. “I was unable to find any psychological problems with Hamlet. He is extremely upset over the death of the father though, so if I were you all I would try to avoid that subject.”

“But he claims to see ghosts! He thinks I killed his father. I will not allow that boy to come back to my kingdom, he will stay here.” Claudius screeched.

“Claudius can you please calm down, maybe if you guys could just sit down and discuss things with Hamlet, everything will be ok then. He is in mourning and doesn’t know how to handle the things that have taken place right now.”

“That’s absurd! I can’t believe you people. He must have deceived you, that kid is a no good--”

Claudius was becoming furious and raised his voice with each word he said, and they weren’t very nice words. I guess Hamlet heard him yelling because he stormed out of the room we were in earlier.

"You are crazy Hamlet! I should have gotten rid of you too!" Claudius yelled when he saw Hamlet.

"Gotten rid of me too? You did call my father! YOU MURDERER!" Hamlet screamed back, and he pulled something from his pocket and dashed toward Claudius. It was a pocket knife, and when I realized it I dashed for the security office down the hall. All I heard was Gertrude's voice pleading for Hamlet to stop as I reached the door......

[The rest of this story cannot shared due to the horrific content and for the sake of the families]

Goodman No More

I was going through the usually swing of work today when I got a call in my office. It was from my department head, asking if I would analyze a new patient that had just been admitted into the institution. Sighing deeply, I gathered my things and headed to the room where I would meet my patient. When I entered the room, there was a middle aged man in the corner. As I pulled out my clip board to scan over his records, I peeked over my notes and noticed that this man was extremely pale, as if he had been spooked by a ghost.

“They all have fallen to the devil! CAST DOWN YOUR WAYS NOW FAITH!” the pale man screeched randomly in my direction.

“Mr. Goodman?” I said shakily, trying to compose myself. “I’m not Faith, I’m Ms. Vega and I’m here to talk to you today.”

“By the Gods, I can’t go back; the sins of my people are overwhelming. The have condemned themselves to the pits of Hell where they will lift their eyes to the gods and beg for mercy! I relive that horrid night as the days pass on! I rebuke the madness, the pure evil of—“

I stood there in awe as he ranted on and on about his people and the sins they had committed. I was trying to calm him, but when I tried, he threw his chair and flipped the table that he was seated at. I instinctively ran from the room, slamming the door behind me so he could not follow and called security.

“Are you alright Ms. Vega?” the tall guard yelled from down the hall.

“Yes fine, I just need the patient restrained so he does not hurt himself or anyone else.”

“Yes ma’am.” He assured me as he entered the room followed by a second security guard.

I figured that my patient would need time to cool off and settle down after the commotion, so I decided to go to my boss’s office and ask him a few questions. When I entered his office I could already tell he knew what had happened by the expression on his face. We discussed the whole situation and that’s when I found out why he acted the way he did. Mr. Goodman had supposedly witnessed an evil ceremony where his wife was being converted into witch and had fallen into the devil’s hands. He supposedly had been in the ceremony too but resisted this devil; he has been startled by this event ever since.

I returned to the room where Goodman had been placed, and when I entered I saw that they had been fitted in a straitjacket, for his own safety.  

“Mr. Goodman, are you feeling better?”

“Yes, to a degree, but why must I be kept in these conditions? I am not the one who should be detained and locked away! Those devil worshipers back in my village should—“

“This is about you Goodman, not your town.” I interrupted.  “Tell me, do you always get worked up at the thought of your past experiences?”

“That’s absurd! I have been exposed to evil enchantments and you feel as though I am the problem? I cannot even sleep at night because of the ceremony that was performed that night.
Oh my poor Faith, how could she, HOW COULD SHE—“

Goodman was getting more worked up with each word he spoke and it was becoming clear to me what he could have been suffering from.  People who go back and forth between periods of a very good or irritable mood and depression usually suffer from bipolar disorder. Mr. Goodman had no previous records of this disorder so I pondered how he could have developed this issue now.

As I was thinking, I recalled our first encounter, where he mistook me for his wife Faith, and also how he said that he relived the night of his so called trauma day to day. My theory was that whatever had happened to him that night left him with PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. This disorder usually occurs when one is subjected to a very traumatizing experience. Based on Mr. Goodman’s stress levels, anxiety, and temper I had concluded to myself that he suffers from PSTD, and from this he has developed bipolar symptoms.

The entire time of my brain storming Mr. Goodman was still ranting.

“—the devil from that night shall pay for what he has done to me and my people! He will see justice—”

“Mr. Goodman that is enough.” I interrupted, “I believe you, and we will take care of this situation for you. All I ask is that you trust me and everything will be taken care of sir.”

This seemed to calm him because he stopped yelling aimlessly. I jotted my theory down quickly so I wouldn’t forget and called the moving staff to assist Goodman in getting to his room safely. As I left the room I had a good feeling that my boss would enjoy what I had to tell him later on in my board meeting that evening…

A Peculiar Rose

Work was very interesting this past week with all the casework I went through. One particular case was very bizarre. Since I can’t share the real names of the patients we analyze, I’m going to refer to this patient as Emily Rose. Emily was to be discharged from the Southern California Mental Institute but before a patient can be cleared they must be evaluated by “The Board”. The Board is a team of psychologists, including myself, that carefully analyze patients coming in and out of the institution.

Usually I tend to go through the motions of work and remain unattached to cases, but there was something about this one, about Emily, that stuck to me, like glue. She was an elderly woman, a frail soul at that, living in solitude for many decades in a home where only her housekeepers visited. I felt great sorrow for Emily, and now it was my job to either make her stay alone in this institution or send her back home where she had no family. I couldn’t allow myself to get caught up in personal feelings that would get in the way of the heated discussion that awaited me in the board meeting that afternoon.

I looked at the notes that I had jotted down from my personal time with Emily and I remembered how the subject of “death” was heavily on her mind. Emily had been put in this institution because of how she hid dead bodies in her home. If that doesn’t sound crazy enough, there was even evidence that showed she may have poisoned one of the deceased, but it had not been proven at the time. When I was talking to her I watched her responses. She was very soft-spoken, giving me very vague answers, almost as if she couldn’t answer my simple questions. Not only that but I could have sworn I heard whispers, as if she had to self-check herself before and after each response.

After Emily had been analyze and her behaviors were recorded, now all that was left was to debate on the case. I had already came to a conclusion that she still had issues and definitely needed more time in Southern California Institution. We pulled her medical records and the fact that she had been previously diagnosed with schizophrenia didn’t aid her chances. Dr. Winchester suggested that the disease could have led to the fact she lived alone and hid the bodies from her town.

After about a half-hour of discussion my panel finally came to a conclusion, Emily was not ready to go home. Her medical history could have led to her strange behavior and it could be a danger to not only herself, but to the public if we allowed her to leave the facility. Not only that but the fact that she was already very elderly led to the outcome also. Even though I felt that the right decision was made for Ms. Rose I couldn’t help but still feel horrible about the entire case. Did I feel a connection with this woman because I too was once alone, having been adopted into a home? Either way, I plan to visit Emily from now on in her final years. She could really use a friend, and I think that’s one thing she missed out on in her life.

The Journey Begins

Hello all!

My name is Karliah Vega and I am starting this blog to document some of my stories in life. For those of you who would like to know more about me, I am 29 years young and I am a psychiatrist working at the Southern California Mental Health Institute. I earned my undergrad at Harvard University and then went to Stanford for my Masters in psychology  My profession consists of being on a panel with other psychiatrists as we analyze patients to make sure that they are ready or not to leave our facility.

I hope to keep a lively audience as I post my findings and share some details of the work I do!