PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORT

I. Identifying Information

Name: “Lara”

Age/Sex: 19 ½ years old Female

Address: Imus, Cavite

Birthdate: April 9, 1990

Civil Status: Single

Religion: Roman Catholic

Educational Attainment: 4th year college student

II. Presenting Complaint

Bulimia Nervosa

III. Case Background

“Lara” is a 19 ½ year old female presenting with symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa.

She is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 112 lbs. with a small to medium frame size. She is

the only daughter of three children and has two brothers, ages 21 and 15.

The bulimia started in high school but her concern with weight started a few

years before that. Her symptoms of bingeing, purging and excessive exercising started

when she was 15 years old and a senior student in Imus Institute in Cavite. In the

beginning, she kept her weight in control by restricting on foods (no rice or any foods

rich in carbohydrates), counting calories and running 7 times a week for 2 hours. Her

daily intake is as follows: no breakfast, no lunch, snack (fruits), heavy dinner, and

bingeing all night. She throws up once before she goes to bed.

According to her, her view of herself is always in terms of what she’s not, what

she hasn't accomplished which she says are a sum of her failures, instead of a sum of

success. She is a high achiever and is known as the girl who could do everything and

was most likely to succeed. People around her always tell her how lucky she was but

she never really saw herself to be lucky.

Lara’s concern over with weight was a sum of other people’s influences, most

notably her mother’s. According to her, weight, appearance and overall self-worth was

an issue that troubled her mother most her life and so her mother was determined to

prevent that from happening to her. Whenever they go shopping for clothes or during

dinner, her mother would say harsh criticisms like “You are a pretty girl and you

shouldn’t be walking around with thighs like that”. Her extended family would say jokes

about the portion of food her mother used to give to her during occasions like” That

amount of food would fit a thimble”. After eating a large amount of food in during dinner,

she feels guilty about it and is disgusted with what she did and so she throws up before

she goes to bed. This started the cycle of bingeing and purging to control her weight.

IV. Observation

The client was properly groomed and was able to maintain her personal hygiene.

She was completely at ease and was able to make good social contact with the

interviewer. She showed interest and cooperation during the interview and in doing the

tests. She was able to establish rapport with the interviewer. She speaks fluently in

English with a medium volume of voice which the interviewer can understand what she

was saying. She was attentive to the interview and in taking the test. Though she

showed a general tendency to be over critical with herself when asked about how she

sees herself (weight, body image, self-concept).

V. Psychological Test and Interpretation

Draw-A-Person Test February 2, 2010

Sachs Sentence Completion Test February 2, 2010

In summary, test results showed that the client clearly rejects and depreciates

her mother while also feeling rejected by her own family. Based on the interview, the

client’s family especially her mother is very critical with her weight and keeps on

pressuring her to be thin. They would make harsh criticisms and jokes about her weight

during dinner or family gatherings. She has no control over her impulsive behavior ion

terms of eating and vomiting. According to her, when dinner is served she simply cannot

stop to eat though she already feels full. She can’t control either the need to vomit/purge

it before going to bed. She is overly concerned with her appearance especially with her

body shape. According to her, she worries about how others see her and is always

concern of looking attractive.

VI. Analysis

Lara’s assessment using the Draw-a-Person Test and Sachs Sentence

Completion Test provided a basis for understanding the client’s unconscious feelings

towards herself and others especially with her family.

The client feels pressured to conform with her mother’s desire to look good and

stay thin. She cannot handle the criticisms coming from her mother and family about her

weight. She admits of being a high-achiever and is always concern with her

appearance. She has never been overweight but because of other people’s influences

especially her mother’s comments about her body, it clearly affected her self-esteem

and how she sees herself now. After eating a large amount of food, she feels guilty

about it and is disgusted with what she did and so she throws up before she goes to

bed. This started the cycle of bingeing and purging to control her weight. It made her to

be self-critical with her body shape and weight and it lead to having Bulimia Nervosa.

VII. Diagnostic Impression

Axis I 307.51 Bulimia Nervosa

Axis II None

Axis III None

Axis IV Psychosocial problem: problems with primary support

group (family); criticisms from her mother about her body

shape and weight; jokes coming from her relatives

Axis V Current Global Assessment of Functioning: 60 ( Behavior

has considerable difficulty in social functioning and has

occasional impulsive behavior with eating and vomiting but

generally can function well in other areas like school)

Differential Diagnosis

Rule in Rule out

Bulimia Nervosa Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa Binge-Eating/Purging Type Binge-Eating/Purging Type

Eating Disorder NOS Eating Disorder NOS

Anorexia Nervosa Binge-Eating/Purging Type was disregard because the

client didn’t meet the criteria for this disorder. The client still has regular

menses and the binge-eating occurs for a discrete period of time (during

dinner) and vomiting occurs after a large amount of food has been eaten. The

client also has a normal weight unlike with individuals with Anorexia Nervosa

who are underweight of body weight is less than 85% of that expected. The

client’s BMI is 18.6 which is a normal weight for her age.

Eating Disorder NOS was also disregard because the client didn’t meet the

criteria wherein there is repeated chewing and spitting out, but not swallowing

large amounts of food and with the binge-eating disorder. The client is clearly

fixated on body shape and weight that why she engages both with binge-

eating (eating large amounts of food during dinner) and purging (throwing up

before going bed) to control her weight. She laso controls her weight by

counting calories, restricting on certain foods (no rice or food rich in

carbohydrates) and excessive exercise.