| Summary: | In this session, Gayle Y. Iwamasa conducts an intake interview with an African American client who was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The client is a married woman with two adolescent children, and she is attending graduate school full-time as well as working part-time. She presents with anxiety and a range of stresses in her life, including potential job layoff, health issues, school stress, and several deaths in her family. The client reports past hospitalization for depression and previous drug therapy with Thorazine and Seroquel, but has been medication free for several months. The client's main concerns revolve around her label of bipolar disorder. The client disagrees with this diagnosis and is concerned about its stigmatizing implications for her life. Iwamasa assesses whether the client 's present and past symptoms meet diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder, paying careful attention to the situational context surrounding the client's behavior. She explores the client's functioning across the school, family, and occupational domains. Based on this assessment, Iwamasa concludes that the client's reactions appear appropriate to her situation and suggests that the client's previous diagnosis may reflect cultural bias. Throughout the session Iwamasa takes a cognitive-behavioral approach, gently challenging the client's assumptions, encouraging the client to place her own reactions in context, and highlighting the client's strengths and coping strategies.
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