“I loved him very much”
S. is very unhappy that she isn’t in a relationship. She was abused by her ex-husband and has a pattern of meeting and dating men who eventually abuse her. She states that her last relationship was very good, however; the man was not abusive and “I loved him very much”. The relationship ended for reasons that S. doesn’t understand, although she does report many arguments that ended in “scenes” such as her throwing chairs, stomping out of the house, making crank phone calls to his family, and calling the police with false reports. But S. also reports that she “couldn’t have loved him more and I showed it”. She gives examples of going to her boyfriend’s place of work with flowers, buying him expensive presents, surprising him with tickets to Mexico at the last minute – she was very upset that he wasn’t willing to drop everything and go with her. S. reports asking him why he didn’t love her and what she was doing wrong on a regular basis. When the boyfriend asked to break up, S. reports sitting outside his house for weeks, crying; she called his mother, called his boss, and called and texted him until he filed a restraining order. This occurred about 4 months ago.
S. admitted herself to the mental health unit when she felt suicidal. She reports that she had stopped her individual psychotherapy 3 months ago and stopped going to DBT. She also stopped her anti-depressant at that time, as she felt it wasn’t working, and missed her last two psychiatrist appointments.
Questions:
Read the case study about Borderline Personality Disorder and answer the following questions in your initial posting:
1. How would you use therapeutic communication and the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy with the client?
2. Describe your assessment process. What are some likely co-morbid conditions? List one nursing diagnosis and appropriate nursing intervention.
3. What interdisciplinary referrals might be appropriate?
