Based on the Bernice Case Study, identify the most relevant  psychological disorder associated with her symptoms and explain your  rationale.

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Step 1: Carefully read the following brief case study.

Bernice  was hesitant during her initial counseling session because she feared  what the therapist would think of her.  The therapist focused on  building a therapeutic alliance with Bernice by engaging in empathic,  nonjudgmental listening. Soon, Bernice shared that she feared  contamination. She was particularly upset by touching wood, mail, and  canned goods. She also disliked touching silver flecks. By silver  flecks, Bernice meant silver embossing on greeting cards, eyeglass  frames, shiny appliances, and silverware. She was unable to state why  these particular objects were special sources of possible  contamination.  Bernice became more distressed during the session, and  she started sharing what made her come for counseling.  Bernice shared  that disturbing images pop in her mind, and the images are mind’s eye  pictures of her “worst fear.” The images are so disturbing to Bernice  that she showed marked distress when talking about them.  She explained  that the images were in regards to her child, “The person I love most in  the world and would do anything to protect.”  

Bernice  explained that she feels compelled to do specific behaviors to try to  reduce her distress. Bernice engages in a variety of rituals that, when  taken together, take up much of her day. In the morning, she spends  hours washing and rewashing. Between each bath she has to scrape away  the outer layer of her bar of soap so that it will be free of germs.  Bernice said that although the decontamination rituals are tiresome, the  rituals she does to protect her child from harm are so detailed that  Bernice has to repeat them several times to get them “right.”  She said  that she feels a sense of urgency to do the rituals perfectly to protect  her child.

Step 2:  Based on the Bernice Case Study, identify the most relevant  psychological disorder associated with her symptoms and explain your  rationale.

(Hint: Bernice does *not* have a specific phobia; she does not have “fear of germs.”)

Step 3:  In your own words, explain what you have learned from the assigned  readings about the psychological disorder you identified for the Bernice  Case Study.

Step 4:  You  will need to select at least *one* academic journal article that  explains one treatment approach used for the psychological disorder you  identified for the Bernice Case Study.  To conduct your research on the  treatment approach, please use one of the following methods:

  • You can search the following:   Monitor on Psychology  (webpage, opens in a new tab). In the search box, type the disorder you  identified.  Then, you can locate an article about a treatment  approach.
  • You can also search the PsychArticles Database, which you can access using the following steps.  First click on:  SPC’s LibraryOnline   (webpage, opens in a new tab).  Then, click “Search Online.”  Next,  click “Databases by Subject.”  Next to “Social Sciences,” click  PsychArticles.  In the search box, type the disorder you identified.  Then, you can locate an article about a treatment approach.
  • You can also search Google Scholar  (webpage, opens in a new tab).  Google Scholar only provides an  abstract, which is a summary.  After you locate an abstract on Google  Scholar, you will need to locate the full article on SPC’s LibraryOnline (webpage, opens in a new tab).

In your own words, summarize the treatment approach you identified from the research you conducted.  Please avoid quoting the academic journal; instead, describe the treatment approach with depth and in your own words. Use APA style for in-text and reference page citations.