Background Information You are a caseworker in the emergency room of a large urban hospital. You work the day shift from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Several hours before you came to work, the police brought the...

Background Information

You are a caseworker in the emergency room of a large urban hospital. You work the day shift from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Several hours before you came to work, the police brought the client to the emergency room in restraints. The following information was gathered from the police at intake.

Intake Information

 The police state that Helen Stonewall, a 32-yearold African-American woman, was found dancing half naked in the middle of a busy intersection in the center of the city at approximately 2 a.m. She appeared to be high on drugs when the police approached her. She told the police that she hadn’t taken any drugs and that she was “just high on life.” She said she wasn’t doing anything wrong, just “having a party.” Witnesses stated that Helen had started the evening at a local restaurant and bar. She had been with a couple of gentlemen who seemed to know her. She began telling jokes and buying everyone at the bar drinks. At first, she seemed like a person just having fun, but she kept getting louder and more rowdy as the night progressed. The two men left, but she stayed at the restaurant telling them loudly, “I’m just getting warmed up here.” She sang and danced and finally ended up shoving all the glasses onto the floor and standing on the bar talking as fast as she could. Customers got irritated, and the bartender asked her to leave. She ignored his request and started singing at the top of her lungs. Finally, the bartender had to force her off the bar and push her out the door. At that point, she began dancing and singing in the street. The bartender told police that she had no more than two drinks throughout the evening. When the police attempted to get Helen out of the road, she became belligerent and began swearing at the officers. They had to take her out of the middle of the intersection by force and handcuff her to get her into the police car. Lab tests indicated no evidence of excessive alcohol or other drugs. The physician on duty had prescribed a sedative, and Helen went to sleep at approximately 5 a.m.

1. Based on the intake information alone, which psychiatric disorders seem most likely? What type(s) of information will you be interested in during the initial interview to help you narrow down the choices of diagnoses?