PS360 Abnormal Psychology â Week 1 Assignment
Case Study â Treva Throneberry
At the beginning of Chapter 1 in your textbook you can find the case study for Treva Thorneberry. Read it and then complete the following assignment.
Review the Treva Throneberry case study (see attached document). Using one of the five models (biological, psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, or sociocultural), analyze this case, addressing the following items:
⢠Identify the model that you will use for this analysis
⢠Provide a summary of Trevaâs background that includes an exploration of the possible causes of the disorder
.⢠Explore possibilities that may have prevented or de-escalated Trevaâs behaviors and actions.
⢠Explain why you chose this model may as the best option for understanding and/or treating Treva.
⢠Explain how this model may not be the best option for understanding and/or treating Treva.
Please use your own words and complete sentences to write a paper (approximately 750 words) that incorporates the bulleted items above. Use your textbook as a source, and be sure to cite this source within your paper as well as listing it as a reference at the end of your paper, using APA formatting.
View your assignment rubric.
TrevaThroneberry
Treva Throneberry was born in Texas. Her sisters describe their family as a peaceful and loving one, but Treva paints a different picture. At age 15 years, Treva accused her father of sexual molestation. She later recanted her accusation but was removed from her parentsâ home and placed in foster care. At age 17 years, Treva ran away from her foster home and was found wandering alone by a roadside before spending time in a mental hospital. A year later, Treva moved into an apartment but soon vanished from town. Years later, she was charged by Vancouver police with fraud and forgery. Her fingerprints matched those of Treva Throneberry, who was born 30 years before, but Treva said she was an 18-year-old named Brianna Stewart. She had been attending Evergreen High School in Vancouver for the past two years, where everyone knew her as Brianna Stewart. This was the basis for the fraud and forgery charges.
Since her disappearance from Texas, Treva had been known by many other names in places across the country. In each town, she initially presented herself as a runaway 15- or 16-year-old in need of shelter who then left suddenly before her new identity turned 18 years old. She would then move to another town and start again as a 15- or 16-year-old. Her foster care mother said Treva could not envision living beyond age 18.
Treva was examined by a psychiatrist and found competent to stand trial. At her trial, Treva represented herself. She would not plea-bargain because she insisted she was Brianna Stewart and not Treva Throneberry. She argued in court that she was not insane and did not have a mental disorder that caused her to distort reality or her identity. Despite her claims, however, Treva was convicted of fraud and sentenced to a 3-year jail term. She continues to insist she is Brianna Stewart.
You may think Trevaâs behavior is abnormal, but why? To address this question, we may consider one of three criteria commonly used to determine whether an emotion, thought, or behavior is abnormal:
1. deviance from the norm,
2. difficulties adapting to lifeâs demands or difficulties functioning effectively (including dangerous behavior), and
3. experience of personal distress.
PS360 Abnormal Psychology â Week 1 Assignment
Case Study â Treva Throneberry
Grantham University
Petra Garcia
12/18/2022
PS360 Abnormal Psychology â Week 1 Assignment
Case Study â Treva Throneberry
I would use cognitive-behavioral intervention to help her identify her deep-rooted issue. Sometimes when traumatic issues happen as a child, like she claimed to be molested by her father. This trauma can carry over to an adulthood. Since your mind is a powerful tool, you can control; ignore the pain and trauma you have suffered.
Cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI) is a process by which patients learn to become experts of their own behavior. Through CBI, patients learn to examine their thoughts, recognize when negative thoughts are increasing, and then apply several strategies to alter those negative thoughts and emotions.
The theory behind CBI is that if people can learn to better understand their thoughts and emotions, then they can also alter them through a host of strategies or exercises. The goal of CBI is to teach patients how to change undesirable emotions, such as anxiety and anger, that result in maladaptive or destructive behaviors.
CBI strategies, all of which are focused on increasing positive behaviors, reducing undesirable or inappropriate behaviors, and promoting self-control, include actionable goals that promote problem-solving, communication, relaxation, and self-awareness.
I do believe she suffered from sexual abuse at the hands of her father. This trauma caused her to suppress her mind and believe she was someone else and she stopped believing she was ageing almost like being stuck in a time capsule.
The possibilities I would explore that may have prevented or de-escalated Trevaâs behaviors and actions. One I would start by reinforcing positive emotional behavior to break down her negative behaviors. Itâs almost like reprograming her mind to think in positive behavior and release the trauma. Once she faces her trauma head on that become a breakthrough in her therapy.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Intervention? (appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org)