Diagnosis of a Fictional Character.
Instructions: Watch an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit of your choice and identify a fictional character in the episode that you feel meets criteria for a DSM-5 mental disorder. You may watch any episode but here is a list of possible episodes you may select from: • “Coerced” Season 5, Episode 6 • “Identity” Season 6, Episode 12 • “Starved” Season 7, Episode 8 • “Hothouse” Season 10, Episode 12 • “Witness” Season 11, Episode 16 Format Guidelines: Use APA formatting and (if necessary) citations. Times New Roman, 12- point font, 1 inch margins. Formal writing style (do not use “I” or “me” throughout the paper). Episode Synopsis: Provide a brief synopsis of the episode you have chosen for the assignment. Discuss main plot of the episode and clearly identify the fictional character you will be diagnosing. This part of the assignment should be no more than 1-2 paragraphs. Diagnosis: Identify the DSM-5 psychological disorder(s) for which you believe your fictional character meets criteria. You may choose to include ICD-10 coding, which you can find online. Coding is not mandatory. This part of your assignment should only be 1-2 lines (depending on your number of diagnoses), single-spaced and should follow this format: F41.0 Panic Disorder Without Agoraphobia F34.1 Persistent Depressive Disorder Rationale: What presenting symptoms does the fictional character display that meets criteria for a diagnosis? Each diagnosis in the DSM-5 has a list of set criteria that need to be met before a diagnosis can be made. Provide rationale for your DSM-5 diagnosis using specific evidence from the episode to support your claims. Use phrases such as “for example”, “as demonstrated/displayed/exhibited/evidenced by” to justify your diagnosis (e.g., Character X meets criterion A as demonstrated by her experience of panic following the attack). This part of your paper should be 1-2 pages. Differential Diagnosis: What would be the other related disorders a clinician may consider given the presenting symptoms? What possible differential diagnoses would you consider? What other information may be needed to make an accurate diagnosis? Identify possible differential diagnoses and discuss why these disorders were ruled out. This is the part of the paper that highlights your thought process of how you eventually came to decide on the aforementioned diagnosis. This part of your paper should be the most substantive portion of your paper.