History of Presenting Complaints:
- Patient, Ms. Clara Davies, a 34-year-old female, presents with a 6-month history of persistent low mood, anhedonia, significant weight loss (7kg), and severe insomnia. She reports feeling overwhelmed, tearful daily, and has lost interest in her previously enjoyed hobbies, such as painting and hiking. She states her symptoms began shortly after being made redundant from her marketing executive position.
- Associated symptoms include chronic fatigue, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness, and occasional passive suicidal ideation, though she denies any specific plans or intent.
Past Medical & Psychiatric History:
- Past psychiatric history includes a single episode of moderate depression 5 years ago, treated with Sertraline 50mg daily for 12 months, with full remission. No prior psychiatric hospitalizations. Denies history of mania or hypomania.
- Chronic medical conditions: Well-controlled hypothyroidism, diagnosed 2 years ago, managed with Levothyroxine 75mcg daily.
Medications:
- Current medications: Levothyroxine 75mcg daily. No known drug allergies.
Family History:
- Maternal aunt diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Paternal grandfather had a history of recurrent depression.
Social History:
- Occupation: Currently unemployed; previously a marketing executive. Level of education: Master's degree in Marketing.
- Substance use: Denies smoking or recreational drug use. Reports occasional alcohol consumption (1-2 units per week), but states this has decreased recently due to low mood.
- Social support: Lives alone but has a close relationship with her sister and a few friends, though she has been isolating herself recently.
Mental Status Examination:
- Appearance: Ms. Davies is neatly dressed in casual attire, with fair hygiene. She appears visibly tired with slightly dishevelled hair.
- Behaviour: Psychomotor slowing observed; she speaks softly and maintains limited eye contact. She fidgets with her hands throughout the interview.
- Speech: Speech is soft, slow in tempo, and reduced in volume. Coherent, but with prolonged latencies.
- Mood: "Miserable, hopeless, utterly drained."
- Affect: Restricted and congruent with reported mood. Reactivity is blunted.
- Thoughts: Thought process is linear, but content is preoccupied with feelings of failure and self-blame. No evidence of delusions, paranoia, or obsessions.
- Perceptions: Denies any hallucinations or perceptual disturbances.
- Cognition: Oriented to time, place, and person. Concentration is mildly impaired, reporting difficulty focusing on tasks. Memory appears intact.
- Insight: Partial insight into her condition, acknowledging she feels depressed but attributes it primarily to her unemployment rather than an illness.
- Judgment: Impaired judgment, evidenced by recent financial decisions (e.g., impulsive online purchases) and difficulty making everyday decisions.
Risk Assessment:
- Endorses passive suicidal ideation (wishes she wouldn't wake up) but denies active plans, intent, or access to means. No history of self-harm. Denies homicidal ideation or aggressive impulses. Assessed as moderate risk for self-harm given chronic low mood and passive ideation; protective factors include supportive family and no intent/plan.
Discussion:
- Patient was engaged in a discussion regarding treatment options, including antidepressant medication and psychotherapy. She expressed reservations about restarting medication due to past side effects (nausea) but was open to exploring therapeutic approaches. She inquired about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Patient acknowledged the importance of social support and agreed to try to reconnect with her sister more frequently.
Summary:
- 34-year-old female presenting with a major depressive episode, severe, without psychotic features (DSM-5 criteria met for 5 of 9 symptoms for over 2 weeks, causing significant distress and functional impairment). Relevant psychological scales (e.g., PHQ-9, GAD-7) were not administered during this initial assessment but are planned for follow-up.
Treatment Plan:
- Investigations: Baseline blood tests (FBC, U&Es, LFTs, TFTs, B12, Folate) to rule out organic causes.
- Medication plans: Discussed initiating Sertraline at 25mg daily, titrating up to 50mg after 1 week, with close monitoring for side effects and efficacy. Provided prescription and explained potential side effects.
- Psychotherapy plans and strategies: Referral to a psychologist for CBT. Encouraged daily light exercise and structured routine.
- Planned family meetings & collateral information, psychosocial interventions: Encourage reconnecting with social support network. Consider collateral information from sister if patient consents.
- Follow-up appointments and referrals: Follow-up psychiatric review in 2 weeks (1 November 2024) to assess medication response and side effects. Referral to local employment support services.
Safety Plan:
- Detailed safety plan developed. Patient to contact her sister or attend A&E if suicidal ideation escalates or becomes active. Provided crisis helpline numbers. Agreed to remove access to excessive funds for impulsive spending. Regular check-ins with her sister were arranged.
History of Presenting Complaints:
- [Describe current issues with all available details, reasons for visit, and complete history of presenting complaints.] (Only include if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- [Describe any other associated symptoms with details.] (Only include [associated symptoms with details] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Past Medical & Psychiatric History:
- [Describe past psychiatric diagnoses, treatments, hospitalizations.] (Only include [past psychiatric diagnoses, treatments, hospitalizations] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- [List chronic medical conditions.] (Only include [chronic medical conditions] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Medications:
- [List current medications and allergies.] (Only include [current medications and allergies] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Family History:
- [Note any psychiatric illnesses within the family, specifying the relationship to the patient and the nature of the illnesses.] (Only include [psychiatric illnesses within the family] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Social History:
- [Occupation, level of education.] (Only include [occupation and level of education] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- [Substance use such as smoking, alcohol, recreational drugs.] (Only include [substance use such as smoking, alcohol, recreational drugs] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- [Social support.] (Only include [social support] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Mental Status Examination:
- Appearance: [Describe the patient's clothing, hygiene, and any notable physical characteristics.] (Only include appearance details if they have been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- Behaviour: [Observe the patient's activity level, interaction with their surroundings, and any unique or notable behaviors.] (Only include behaviour details if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- Speech: [Note the rate, volume, clarity, and coherence of the patient's speech.] (Only include speech characteristics if they have been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- Mood: [Record the patient's self-described emotional state, using their own words if possible.] (Only include self-described emotional state if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- Affect: [Describe the range and appropriateness of the patient's emotional response during the examination, noting any discrepancies with the stated mood.] (Only include [emotional response] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- Thoughts: [Assess the patient's thought process and thought content, noting any distortions, delusions, or preoccupations.] (Only include thought process and content if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- Perceptions: [Note any reported hallucinations or sensory misinterpretations, specifying type and impact on the patient.] (Only include perception details if they have been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- Cognition: [Describe the patient's memory, orientation to time/place/person, concentration, and comprehension.] (Only include cognitive observations if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- Insight: [Describe the patient's understanding of their own condition and symptoms, noting any lack of awareness or denial.] (Only include insight observations if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- Judgment: [Describe the patient's decision-making ability and understanding of the consequences of their actions.] (Only include judgement observations if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Risk Assessment:
- [Assessment of suicidality, homicidality, and other risks.] (Only include [Assessment of suicidality, homicidality, other risks] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Discussion:
- [Insert explanation about treatment options and responses by
patient.] (Only include [what is said about treatment options, medications, therapy, social support and patient responses] explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Summary:
- [Insert the brief summary from transcript including diagnosis, relevant DSM-5 criteria, psychological scales/questionnaires.] (Only include diagnosis details if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Treatment Plan:
- [Planned investigations.] (Only include [investigations] if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- [Medication plans including changes, continuing medicatins, prescriptions, medications ceased or any other medication related plans.] (Only include medication plans if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- [Psychotherapy plans and strategies.] (Only include psychotherapy plans if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- [Planned family meetings & collateral information, psychosocial interventions.] (Only include family meetings and psychosocial interventions if they have been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
- [Follow-up appointments and referrals.] (Only include follow-up plans and referrals if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)
Safety Plan:
- [Detail safety plan including steps to take in crisis.] (Only include safety plan details if it has been explicitly mentioned in the transcript, contextual notes, or clinical note, otherwise omit completely.)