Adjustment Disorder: The Interview

Adjustment Disorder: The Interview
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
Date
Date of Interview:
Interviewer: Hi, good day. I am (state your name), the psychiatric nurse in this institution. I will be conducting an interview and mental status examination. May I know who the patient is?
Mother: The patient is my daughter.
Interviewer: May I know your relationship with the patient, ma’am?
Mother: She is my daughter.
Interviewer: The interview and mental status exam consist of questions that may or may not be comfortable for the patient and the guardian. It is a necessary process to understand the patient’s condition and provide the appropriate treatment. If you are uncomfortable or you want to stop the assessment at any time, please let me know. Now, may I ask if you would like to proceed for both the patient and the mother?
Mother and patient: Yes.
Interviewer: Before we proceed, I would like to confirm some of your details. May I know the patient’s name, age, birth date, and birthplace?
Patient: I am Z.N. I am 13 years old, born on January 9, 2009, in Manila, Philippines.
Interviewer: Where do you currently live?
Patient: We live in Ontario, Canada.
Interviewer: What are your race, nationality, and religion?
Patient: I am a Filipino by race and nationality and Roman Catholic.
Interviewer: Ma’am, may I ask if all the provided information is correct?
Mother: Yes.
Interviewer: Before we proceed, I would like to explain some things. During the first part, I will interview the patient alone, and you will have to wait outside for a while, ma’am. This is important so that the patient can tell everything to me without hesitation. For the second part, I will invite you here inside to ask you about a few things. Would that be okay for the both of you?
Mother: Yes, no problem. I will just step outside. Will you be okay alone, dear?
Patient: Yes, Ma.
Interviewer: Hi, Z.N., I would like to ask about the problem.
Patient: I miss my family and friends in the Philippines, making me extremely sad. I do not want to participate in family gatherings here in Canada because I do not really know them and have had difficulty sleeping since we moved here.
Interviewer: That is understandable. What happened before you moved to Canada?
Patient: Our life in the Philippines was hard, financially speaking. We had debts due to the schooling of my two college sisters. When our relatives offered a new life full of promises in Canada and told us that they will help us financially and for all the papers, my parents agreed without consenting with their kids.
Interviewer: When did this happen, and what happened afterward?
Patient: It happened three months ago. Then, we processed all the papers. I was shocked and did not have time to say goodbye or have a Despedida party for my close friends and relatives, especially cousins. Everything went well with the processing, so I and my parents and siblings withdrew from our schools and flew to Canada. The problem is, I do not like the weather in Canada. Of course, it is good that it is cold and snowy, which I saw for the first time, compared to the Philippines, but something is different. I miss my home. I do not like wearing multiple jackets just to keep me warm. And at first, it was tough to communicate with people. I, what do you call this. I am not… I cannot remember the word. But it is hard to be talkative. Ahh, I remember. I am not fluent in English and am not used to their accent yet. So, most of the time, I cannot understand them.
Interviewer: Then what happened after a month of stay?
Patient: I started attending the local community school, where I was bullied by my classmates because of my appearance and accent, calling me names like “a poor Asian,” “shorty-shorty,” and “ugly short black girl.” But I really wanted to make friends.
Interviewer: What do you do when you are sad?
Patient: I call my friends and cousins in the Philippines and tell them about everything, how much I miss them, and how much I hate this place because the kids are not as loving and caring. They knew that I could not adjust well, which made me lonely.
Interviewer: How did you cope with the bullying?
Patient: I just ignored them, but I still tried to make friends. I made a few, but we are not close yet. No one invites me to go out, so after class, I go straight home and lock myself in my room, play games, browse the internet, watch movies, and listen to music. This continued every day, and to be honest, it makes me really sad. But that does not make me sad the whole day. I feel the loneliness whenever I think about it, so I just brush it off and move forward. The following month, I neglected my parents’ orders or my responsibilities at home, like doing household chores. Since I was shy at school, or maybe I just could not adjust to the fact that I could not speak the way my classmates do yet, I remained silent and did not recite in class. The next thing I know, my grades are already low.
Interviewer: How about during group activities at school?
Patient: Well, I try my best to participate, but I think they see me as distant.
Interviewer: How did your parents react to this?
Patient: Well, I tried to hide it because I knew they already had many problems. So, when they noticed it, I kind of feel… what do you call that? Something was bothering me. Oh, I meant guilty. But this already happened before when we moved to another town, so I know it is temporary.
Interviewer: Do you have any thoughts, intent, or actual plans to hurt yourself and others?
Patient: Those things have never occurred to me. I am not suicidal. I am just lonely for being far from my true friends.
Interviewer: Alright, are you feeling okay, and would you still like to continue?
Patient: Yes, no worries.
Interview: Ho...