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Introduction
John Nash, the protagonist in the chef-doeuvre film, A Beautiful Mind, stands out as a victim of paranoid schizophrenia. This fictitious character is based on a real person going by the same name. This paper entails a case study of John Nash, which creates a personal profile based on what is presented in the film, and a psychological assessment based on the information given in the case study.
Case study
The characters demographics
In the movie, John Nash is a male character of an unknown age. However, given that the movie is based on a true story, it suffices to conclude that the character was born in 1928. Therefore, given that the events in the film take place in 1947, it suffices to conclude that the character is 19 years old. At the time he appears in the movie, he is a mathematics graduate at the Princeton University. As the movie starts, it becomes clear that Nash is a genius.
For instance, he sees issues differently from his peers like the idea of approaching women as a group. He works with Princeton University and MIT, albeit for a short time. Later on, he works with the Pentagon to decrypt telecommunication information from the USSR operatives. Nevertheless, as the movie progresses, it becomes clear that Nash is suffering from split mind whereby most of what happens to him is a creation of his beautiful mind.
The presenting problem
After getting a job with the United States Department of Defense, the character starts showing schizophrenic symptoms. One of the psychological problems includes the belief that someone is tracking him on his way to post his findings in a secret mailbox (Capps, 2003). In another occasion whilst giving a speech at the Harvard University, he thinks that he has seen some suspicious faces from the USSR operatives. Therefore, he tries to flee by hitting Dr. Rosen in the face. Moreover, the majority of the people that the protagonist interacts with are his personal creations, as they do not exist in reality. Some of these imaginary characters include his roommate, Charles, and Marcee, his niece.
Socially, Nash cannot keep a job for long. For instance, he decides to desert his duties at MIT after a short stint simply because he thinks that the students are boring. In addition, he has a problem relating with the people close to him. He cannot reason with his wife, Alicia, in several occasions, and thus they end up disagreeing. Even from the beginning at Princeton University, he stands out as a socially inept person, who prefers to spend time in seclusion trying to figure out mathematical problems. The movie does not highlight any biological problem with Nash.
Background information
Nash is married to Alicia and they have a son together. However, the relationship is constrained due to Nashs hallucinations and disordered thought patterns. For instance, Alicia thinks that her husband works with the Department of Defense, but these are creations from Nash. The majority of the events unfold in Nashs mind, and thus his interpersonal relationships are poor (Capps, 2005). He creates relationships of fear. For instance, he thinks that someone is out to kill him for working against the Soviet agents. The character does not have a history of substance abuse or mental health history. The mental health problems include delusions, hallucinations, psychosis, and disordered thinking patterns.
Psychological Assessment
Problems and Behaviors
Biological symptoms from the character present
The character does not show any biological problems connected to schizophrenia. He comes out as a normal genius person.
Psychological symptoms
Psychologically, the character is disturbed. He suffers from hallucinations and delusions. At first, he thinks that he has a roommate known as Charles. Afterward, he allegedly meets Parcher, who is a detective from the United States Department of Defense. Nash thinks that he has a job of decrypting communication information from the Soviet operatives. At one point, he imagines himself on a mission to thwart nuclear bombing attempts by the Soviet Union. In class, he is haunted by images of individuals stalking him, which makes him paranoid. At one point, he hits Dr. Rosen because he is allegedly one of the Russian mobsters who are out to kill him. In another instance, he almost kills his son on the premise that Parcher is out to hurt the family.
Social symptoms
Socially, Nash is withdrawn from the time he appears in the film. At Princeton University, he rarely associates with other people, and thus he spends most of his time trying to crack mathematical codes (Capps, 2011). After marrying, he cannot have a functional relationship with his wife, because he thinks he is right and she is wrong. In addition, he cannot keep one job for long, due to his delusions.
DSM-5 Function
The diagnosis of the character based upon the DSM-5
The character is suffering from Paranoid Schizophrenia
The appropriate DSM-5 code for the diagnosis
295.3 because it is Schizophrenia associated with paranoia
DSM-5 Criteria
The specific symptoms displayed by the character that support DSM-5 criteria for the diagnosis
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Delusions
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Hallucinations
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Disorganized behavior
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Dysfunctional relationships
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Prolonged symptoms (over 6 months)
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Psychosis
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The disturbances are not caused by substance abuse
Treatment
The possible treatment options for the character
The treatment of schizophrenia involves the use of a combination of therapies and the process takes a long time even after the symptoms have subsidized. The different types of the combined therapy include, antipsychotic medication, psychosocial treatments, rehabilitation, family education, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, and self-help groups (Carlin, 2006, p. 445).
Antipsychotic medications are drugs used to reduce psychotic symptoms in individuals suffering from schizophrenia and other mental conditions. After getting these drugs, an individual can function normally. It is important to note that these drugs are not curative, and thus they only subdue the severity of the symptoms. The administration of such drugs requires the involvement of qualified doctors and especially specialized psychiatrists.
Examples of such drugs include clozapine, olanzapine, and risperidone among others. However, it is important to note that such drugs have side effects including drowsiness among other common side effects like restlessness. Other drug therapies can also be used in the management of schizophrenia. In the film, Nash undergoes this treatment therapy by being given antipsychotic drugs after being admitted to a psychiatric hospital following the Harvard University incident.
In cognitive behavioral therapy, the patients are introduced to novel ways of thinking by creating different thinking patterns. Therefore, the individual ends up creating new thinking patterns, which divert the focus from the psychotic tendencies to normal and functional behaviors. Psychosocial treatment therapies also play a critical role in the management of schizophrenia. However, this management approach is applied to individuals with mild symptoms of the condition. Specifically, psychosocial treatment plays a central role in helping patients with social problems like Nash in the film. Given that such patients have social problems, this therapy is important because it helps in the integration process as the individual tries to reestablish functional relationships in society.
Rehabilitation entails interventions that do not include medical interventions. In this approach, the patient undergoes a series of training programs in the quest to change perceptions and integrate back into the society. Under this approach, family education is important as it equips family members with skills on how to handle and relate with schizophrenic patients. In addition, community, social support, and self-help groups come in handy as they all work towards equipping the patient together with the community on the best way out of the condition. The community, just like the family, needs education on how to relate with patients of schizophrenia.
In the movie, Alicia plays a critical role in helping Nash to overcome his condition. Even though she does not get any specialized education, she stands by her husband even when he does not make sense. In addition, Martin plays a key role in Nashs rehabilitation program by allowing him to use the library at the Princeton University after coming out of the hospital.
The benefits to the character receiving certain treatments for his diagnosis
By receiving certain treatments, Nash is in a position to lead a normal life. Unfortunately, Nash decides to discontinue his medication and thus he relapses to the hallucinations. If Nash had continued taking his medications coupled with following the different rehabilitation programs, he would have recovered quickly (Gil, 2002). The benefits of getting specified treatments include the fact that the patient resumes normal living. Antipsychotic drugs reduce the severities of the condition and when used together with other therapies, the patient recovers quickly to resume normal living.
History
The DSM-5 changes effects on the diagnosis of the characters disorder
The DSM-5 has introduced some changes in the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia in a bid to enable early detection of the condition. The new requirements state that an individual must show at least two symptoms as opposed to the early requirement of at least one symptom, in a bid to be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. In addition, the DSM-5 allows for diagnosis without the problem of overlapping subtypes, because the subtypes have been eliminated in this new diagnostic manual.
DSM-5 changes effects on the treatment of the characters disorder
The changes in DSM-5 ensure that patients get better treatments based on specific information. For instance, the inclusion of subtypes in the earlier version created overlapping diagnoses, which would lead to wrong or ineffective treatment approaches.
Ethical Components
Several ethical issues might arise in the process of administering treatment to Nash, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. For instance, for some treatment approaches to be implemented, the medics have to obtain consent from the patient. However, most schizophrenic patients cannot make informed decisions and this issue creates an ethical dilemma. In addition, patients may not follow prescription directives, due to their mental condition, which might lead to abusing the drugs. Finally, some of the prescribed drugs have severe side effects like weight gain.
References
Capps, D. (2003). John Nashs Predelusional Phase: A Case of Acute Identity Confusion. Pastoral Psychology, 51(5), 361-386. Web.
Capps, D. (2005). John Nash: Three Phases in the Career of a Beautiful Mind. Journal of Religion & Health, 44(4), 363-376. Web.
Capps, D. (2011). John Nash, game theory, and the schizophrenic brain. Journal of Religion and Health, 50(1), 145-162. Web.
Carlin, N. (2006). The Evolution of John Nashs Male Melancholia: From Honor to Hope to Humor. Pastoral Psychology, 54(5), 439-456. Web.
Gil, R. (2002). Beautiful Minds: A movie raises questions about schizophrenia. Web.
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