Psychological Evaluation of Peter Griffin

Psychological Evaluation of Peter Griffin Free Online Research Papers Name: Peter Griffin Date of Birth: 12/25/1970 Sex: Male Date of Assessment: 6/29/2010 Age at testing: 39 Psychologist: Timothy Remmert Confidential Psychological Evaluation REASON FOR REFERRAL Mr. Griffin is a 39-year-old white male who works on an assembly line in a beer bottling plant. Mr. Griffin’s supervisor, Sydney Wick, referred Mr. Griffin for a psychological evaluation due to frequent alcohol abuse and erratic behavior that is disruptive to the workplace. Mr. Griffin reports that, while he drinks â€Å"regularly†, he does not believe his drinking affects his productivity at work, and feels he is being persecuted by his superiors. ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS AND EVALUATIVE PROCEDURES Clinical interview with Mr. Griffin on June 29, 2010 for approximate 1  ½ hours. MMPI -2: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 CPI: California Psychological Inventory BACKGROUND INFORMATION or RELEVANT HISTORY Mr. Griffin was born and raised in Quahog, Rhode Island. His father, Liam Griffin, worked as a welder in a playground equipment factory, and his mother, Mary Griffin was a housewife. Peter is an only child, and both parents are deceased. Mr. Griffin is married to Lois Griffin, age 37, with 3 children, Christopher, 16, Meg, 15, and Stewie, age 1  ½ yrs. Griffin attended James Woods High School in Quahog, R.I., but left after failing to complete his sophomore year at age 17. He held a number of menial jobs before a friend of his helped him find employment at the Pawtucket Patriot Brewery, where he has been employed for 5 years. BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS and MENTAL STATUS EXAM Mr. Griffin appeared oriented to person, place and time, but seemed confused as to the circumstances surrounding his referral and evaluation. Mr. Griffin seemed friendly and attentive until asked about his alcohol consumption. He vehemently denied any excess consumption and insisted that he drinks â€Å"just like everyone else I know.† Mr. Griffin became visibly upset when informed of the reason for his evaluation, and repeated claims of persecution by his superior(s) at work. When asked relatively common judgment questions, he appeared somewhat impaired. For example, when asked what he would do if he came home and the toilet was overflowing, he replied that he would go to the neighborhood bar and have a few beers until â€Å"Lois got home and fixed it.† His short term and long term memory appeared to be relatively intact, but his attention span is very limited. He would often play with objects on my desk, and when these were removed, he would be looking around the office and at the window while we were talking. Toward the end of the interview, Mr. Griffin seemed nervous, and made the comment, â€Å"I sure could use a beer. How about you, Doc?† When asked if he had ever considered â€Å"taking a break† from drinking alcohol, he replied, â€Å"Doc, I’m telling you, I got no problem. I drink. I get drunk. I fall down. No problem.† Mr. Griffin was administered the MMPI-2, and the CPI, the results of which showed significant levels of emotional upset which may interfere with memory, concentration, abstraction and judgment. Mr. Griffin does not appear to be very reflective or thoughtful, which can limit insight and judgment. Concentration difficulties were evidenced by Mr. Griffin’s distractibility and inattentiveness. Peter’s intellectual level is in the lowest range of normal, and borders on mild mental retardation. He likes clear-cut solutions and has trouble dealing with ambiguity, novelty, and change. He is cognitively very rigid and has fixed ideas from which he has trouble deviating. Mr. Griffin is severely cognitively impulsive in a way that may be pathologically indicative of alcoholism. A lack of cognitive mediation and evidence of impulsive behavior often result with Peter acting without proper consideration of the consequences. Peter’s clinical profile indicates the following characteristics and symptoms: Clinical Assessment Symptomology Impulsiveness, emotional volatility, agitation, poor judgment, excitability, confusion, disorganization, stress (work problems), possible delusions, occasionally tenuous grasp of reality, generalized anxiety, self-absorption, unrealistically demanding of others (particularly those in authority), prone to substance abuse. DSM-IV DIAGNOSTIC IMPRESSION Axis I Alcohol dependence Axis II Dependent personality disorder Axis IV Environmental and social support issues Axis V GAF : 40 CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS 1.Peter is being referred to a certified addiction professional for further evaluation and/or treatment. The dependent personality disorder and environmental and social support issues will be addressed in future therapy sessions with a trained psychologist concurrent with any recommended alcohol abuse treatment and/or therapy. Upon initiation of treatment(s), Peter will be cleared to return to work with the understanding that his continued employment will be contingent on his ongoing participation in treatment and his acceptable behavior in the workplace. Peter should be considered for further testing and evaluation at a future time to be determined by treating professional(s). REFERENCES Littlefield, A.K., Sher, K.J., Wood, P.K. (2010). Do changes in drinking motives mediate the relation between personality change and â€Å"maturing out† of problem drinking? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119(1), 93 – 105. McKillop, J., Miranda, R., et al. (2010). Alcohol demand, delayed reward discounting, and craving in relation to drinking and alcohol use disorders. 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