Psychodiagnosis*

Psychodiagnosis*

Case Study: Follow Pacific Instruction/Examples…Use 4 steps-1. Problem identification, 2. Thematic Grouping, 3. Theoretical Inferences, 4. Narrow Inferences. Use 4 D’s and Make sure you diagnosis the client according to the DSM-5. Do A Client Map, Sum up the information, One long-term goal and 3 short-term goals are required…Cite all information…DSM-5, Theory, Therapy and all other scholarly articles.

Introducing the Character

Lieutenant Commander Data is the android character on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, which aired on CBS for 178 episodes between 1987 and 1994. The television series also was made into several full-length motion pictures, including Star Trek: Generations (Carson, 1994), produced by Paramount Pictures. Star Trek was originally created by visionary Gene Roddenberry and ran for 78 episodes on television in the early 1960s. Although the original show (Star Trek: TOS—The Original Series) was short-lived, its legacy has endured to include numerous successful spinoff television series, movies, television cartoons, and books. In the original series, Leonard Nimoy played the half-human, half-Vulcan Mr. Spock, who was forever at odds due to his hybrid origins. In that tradition, in The Next Generation series, Lieutenant Commander Data functioned as a powerful vehicle for the discourse surrounding what it takes to be truly human. Lieutenant Commander Data is continually presented with challenges that lead him and his crewmates to question the meaning of “being real.” In the following basic case summary and diagnostic impressions, we picture Data’s depressed mood, the effects of a medical procedure on his memory, and his pressing concerns about identity and faith.

Basic Case Summary

Identifying Information. Data is an android who identifies himself as biracial with both machine and human ethnicities. He is the science officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise space vessel with the rank of lieutenant commander. He and his ship have been assigned to a mission exploring deep space for the past 5 years. Data’s appearance features pale skin, golden eyes, and ship officer’s uniform.

Presenting Concern.

Data was referred to the ship’s counselor, Deanna Troi, on the recommendation of Captain

Jean-Luc Picard, who reported that “Data has been acting very sluggish lately and I’ve grown concerhis ability to function effectively at his post.” The Captain reported that for about the past 2 or 3 weeks, Data appears to “feel empty” much of time; no longer seems very interested in intellectual jousting or visiting the holodeck for virtual recreation in his off hours; seems to move slowly about his everyday tasks; and has mentioned several times that he has mused about “just shutting off.” In addition, the captain noted that Data has had large gaps in memory ever since a neural-network procedure was performed on him in the year 2324.

Background, Family Information, and Relevant History.

Lieutenant Commander Data’s origins were quite different from those of his crewmates as he was created rather than born. In telling his story, Data spoke with affection of Dr. Noonien Soong, a brilliant cybernetic evolutionist with a specialty in the creation of sentient androids. Data was created in the year 2314 A.D. on the planet Omicron Theta by Dr. Soong, who had been performing cutting-edge experiments with the “positronic neural-network”—which was a near perfect duplicate of the human brain and nervous system. Dr. Soong’s achievement, the creation of Data along with his brother Lore, brought Dr. Soong much adulation but also raised concerns that, according to the Star Fleet panel of ethics, “He was trifling in the shadow of God.”

According to health and mental health records, because Data was created, rather than born, he did not have a childhood in the conventional sense of the word. Available files show that during that early period, his favorite story, one read to him by Dr. Soong’s wife Dr. Juliana Tanna, was Pinocchio. Data was particularly enamored with Pinocchio because, like the mythical wooden puppet, he too wanted to be real. Data recalled believing that “As long as I could store the entire compendium of human knowledge and observe humans in all facets of their existence, I too could become real.” In the year 2336, Data was deactivated by Dr. Soong because he had broken into the laboratory to steal an “emotion chip,” a complex, highly unstable microchip capable of processing complex human emotions. Disappointed in his “son,” Dr. Soong stripped clean Data’s neural network so that he would forget his act of defiance and shipped him anew to Star Fleet Academy to be reprogrammed as a science officer. Data appears to have lost all previously remembered knowledge regarding his earlier existence, previously learned information about the pursuit of the human experience, and learned material about his identity formation.

At Star Fleet, Data rose quickly through the ranks by virtue of his vast intellect, ability to translate any language, his fearlessness, and great strength. He won the admiration and respect of his fellow cadets and became fast friends with Geordi La Forge, who would later be assigned with him to his first commission aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, Star Fleet’s flagship. Data enjoyed the camaraderie aboard the Enterprise, embraced each opportunity to visit new planets and new people in hopes that he could somehow learn what it meant to be truly alive. Although all traces of the earlier theft and reprogramming were taken from Data’s memory, he had “neural flashbacks” and dislocated fragments of memories of the story of Pinocchio. During such moments, Lieutenant Commander Data sought out the company of his friend, La Forge, and the two would have long conversations about the differences between man and machine. He often asked his friend if he thought that “I would ever be real?” On the 15th anniversary of Data’s successful reprogramming, Captain Picard received an order from Star Fleet to return his science officer for reprogramming and redeployment on a deep space science lab. In a bold act of defiance, Captain Picard argued that Data was not real and, instead a machine, the property of the U.S.S. Enterprise. This came as a surprise to Data who always considered the captain to be his friend; however, Data had failed to realize that the captain’s efforts to dehumanize him were really designed to keep him aboard the Enterprise. In a court trial aboard the ship’s holodeck, a virtual platform, Data’s Star Fleet attorney argued that by virtue of having earned the Star Fleet Command Decoration for Gallantry, a Medal of Honor with Clusters, the Legend of Honor, and the Star of Cross, as well as by virtue of befriending the crew of the Enterprise, he was as much human as anyone else. Data lost the battle, but won the war, and he was declared human by the virtual tribunal and given his choice of where to serve. He chose to remain aboard the Enterprise as a member of its crew. Although Data initially thought that this was the best decision, he was not convinced by the tribunal’s ruling that he was indeed human and began to experience difficulty carrying out his daily functions without feeling what crewmate Geordi La Forge later noted to be “sadness.” Unfamiliar with this strange emotional experience, Data welcomed the visit with Counselor Troi.

Problem and Counseling History to Date.

Data punctually presented himself to Counselor Troi. On arrival at the interview, Data did appear to be moving and thinking sluggishly; he agreed that lately he has been ruminating about shutting off but has resisted his temptation to act on these self-harming ideations. He expressed concern that “I’ve felt similarly slow before, but never like this, and it has been going on for almost 3 human weeks now.” He expressed concern that his diminished ability to concentrate, think, and act decisively might harm his effectiveness in his assigned post. Further, because his energy levels seemed low, he was worried that La Forge and other crewmates would abandon him since he “just cannot drag myself to the holodeck or the recreation chamber to relax with them.” Data said that if he knew what the experience of human crying was like, he might engage in it forthwith. On the topic of memory, Data candidly admitted that the neural procedure performed on him left him with the inability to recall previously available information. He believed this was “greatly interfering with my self-advancement and very worrisome.” He added that he also was using excessive neural energy trying to “solve some important questions about who I am and what I believe about God and the universe.” He expressed a desire to talk about these two issues in counseling but said, “I don’t know if I have the energy or inner resources.”

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