How to Approach Case Study 2 (Nancy)
Diagnosing Nancy correctly, pulling the right ICD-10 code, matching every DSM-5-TR criterion to a case example, finding peer-reviewed intervention support, and covering medication — here’s how to handle each section without losing points.
Five components. One case study. The challenge isn’t finding the diagnosis — Nancy’s presentation points clearly in one direction. The challenge is executing each section completely: matching every criterion to a specific moment in the case, finding scholarly support for both interventions, and covering the medication section with enough detail to hit the Target column on the rubric. This guide walks through each part.
What This Guide Covers
Assignment Requirements at a Glance
Before you open a blank document, map the rubric to your paper. There are five scoreable components. Missing one gets you a zero on that section. Here’s what the rubric is actually asking for:
Paper Requirement Checklist
Identifying the Correct Diagnosis
Nancy is a 34-year-old woman who reports worrying constantly — and has for her entire life. She describes worrying about things she admits are objectively “silly.” She can’t control the worry. It bleeds into her sleep, her concentration at work, her marriage, and her parenting. She has no history of substance use and no medical conditions.
That profile points to Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Not Social Anxiety Disorder — her worry isn’t limited to social situations or performance contexts. Not Panic Disorder — she doesn’t describe discrete panic attacks. Not Separation Anxiety — her worry is diffuse and extends across every life domain. GAD is the right call, and the case gives you evidence for virtually every criterion.
Your paper should briefly rule out alternatives — it demonstrates diagnostic reasoning. Nancy’s worry is excessive, persistent, difficult to control, covers multiple topics simultaneously, and has been present since childhood. That’s the pattern GAD describes. Social Anxiety Disorder would require the anxiety to center on social evaluation; Specific Phobia would require it to hinge on a specific object or situation. Nancy worries about playground equipment, her marriage, her kids, work tasks, and the weather — all at once. That breadth is GAD.
The ICD-10 Code
The rubric gives you 10 points just for getting this right. The ICD-10-CM code for Generalized Anxiety Disorder is F41.1. That’s it. Pull it from the alphabetical ICD-10 listing in the DSM-5-TR starting on page 929, cite the DSM-5-TR as your source, and move on.
The assignment tells you to use the ICD-10 listing in the DSM-5-TR specifically. Use that source, not a website. If you cite a random medical coding site instead of the DSM-5-TR, you’re not following instructions — and the grader will notice.
DSM-5-TR Criteria + Case Examples
This is the highest-stakes section in terms of time and precision. The rubric requires you to list every criterion and pair it with a case example. GAD criteria in the DSM-5-TR are organized as Criterion A through F. Here’s how to approach each one:
Excessive anxiety and worry, more days than not, for at least 6 months, about multiple events or activities
Nancy explicitly says she “cannot remember a time when she was not worried about something.” She recalls worrying since childhood — about animals in bad weather, about whether she picked up her laundry, about grades, about whether her clothes fit right. The worry has continued into adulthood and impacts her marriage, her children, and her work. Duration and breadth are both clearly established in the case.
How to write this: Restate the criterion in your own words, then quote or paraphrase the specific lines from the case that demonstrate it. “Nancy reports being unable to recall a period in her life free of worry, extending across multiple domains including family, work, and social concerns (Nancy, Case Study 2).”The person finds it difficult to control the worry
Nancy directly states: “I try to get my mind off it but then I only get aggravated even more because I cannot seem to stop thinking about whatever I am worried about.” That’s the criterion verbatim in her own words. She knows the worry is irrational — she says “I know what I am worrying about is silly” — but she still can’t stop. That’s exactly what Criterion B describes.
Writing tip: The case gives you a near-direct quote here. Paraphrase it and cite it as evidence. Don’t copy it word for word — restate it in your own language, then reference the case.At least three of six associated symptoms (restlessness, easily fatigued, difficulty concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance)
Nancy mentions several of these. She describes becoming “tense” and “very snippy with others” while worrying — that covers muscle tension and irritability. She says if something strikes her at night, she can’t sleep — sleep disturbance. She reports that worry at work means she can’t focus on her tasks — concentration difficulties. That’s four of the six associated symptoms present in the case. Identify each one by name, map it to the case, and count them out explicitly in your paper.
Don’t just say “Nancy shows several Criterion C symptoms.” Name the symptoms individually, cite the case for each one, and make it clear you’re meeting the three-symptom threshold.The anxiety, worry, or physical symptoms cause clinically significant distress or functional impairment
Nancy’s worry has impacted her marriage — her husband gets frustrated and they can’t enjoy family outings. It affects her parenting — she keeps her son home from the playground due to irrational fear about equipment inspection. It affects her work — she loses focus when worry strikes. Her primary care physician referred her for mental health treatment. Functional impairment across personal, occupational, and family domains is thoroughly documented.
The disturbance is not attributable to a substance or medical condition
Nancy denies any history of substance use. She reports being in good physical health with no medical conditions. Her physician ruled out a medical cause and referred her for mental health treatment. Criterion E is met by exclusion — the case explicitly clears both possibilities.
The disturbance is not better explained by another mental disorder
This is where your brief differential discussion earns its place. Nancy’s worry is not confined to a specific feared situation (ruling out Specific Phobia), not centered on social evaluation (ruling out Social Anxiety Disorder), not tied to panic attacks (ruling out Panic Disorder), and not related to separation from attachment figures (ruling out Separation Anxiety Disorder). The worry is pervasive, multi-domain, and longstanding — consistent with GAD and not explained by another diagnosis.
Don’t skip Criterion F. Students routinely omit it because it feels like a formality. It’s still a criterion that must be met, and you need a case example — the exclusion of other explanations is that example.Write a sentence naming the criterion (e.g., “Criterion A of GAD requires…”), then write one to two sentences connecting it to Nancy’s case. Repeat for each criterion. This structure makes it impossible for the grader to miss any criterion — and makes it easy for you to confirm you haven’t missed one either.
Two Evidence-Based Interventions
The rubric requires two interventions and scholarly support for each. Here are the two strongest options for GAD and how to find the sources you need:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
The most studied psychotherapy for GAD. CBT for GAD targets the cognitive distortions underlying chronic worry — specifically the beliefs that worry is useful or uncontrollable — and includes behavioral components like worry exposure and relaxation training. Meta-analyses consistently support its efficacy.
- Search PsycINFO: “cognitive behavioral therapy generalized anxiety disorder”
- Look for RCTs or meta-analyses from the last 10 years
- Borkovec & Costello (1993) is a foundational study; newer meta-analyses are stronger for a current paper
- Describe the mechanism — not just the name — in your paper
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is a well-supported third-wave behavioral therapy that works differently from CBT. Rather than restructuring worried thoughts, ACT teaches clients to observe thoughts without fusing with them, accept uncomfortable internal states, and commit to values-driven behavior despite anxiety. For Nancy, whose worry is ego-dystonic (she knows it’s irrational), ACT’s defusion techniques are a natural fit.
- Search PsycINFO: “acceptance and commitment therapy generalized anxiety disorder”
- Hayes et al. work is foundational; look for clinical trial replications
- Explain defusion and values clarification — these are the mechanisms to describe
- Provides a clear contrast to CBT, which strengthens your interventions section
PsycINFO through your university library is the best database for this. Filter for peer-reviewed articles published within the last 10 years, full text available. PubMed also works for clinical trials. For each intervention, aim for a randomized controlled trial or meta-analysis — those count as the strongest scholarly support. A textbook or a .org website won’t satisfy the rubric’s “scholarly support” requirement.
Medication: Indications, Contraindications, and Side Effects
This section loses points more than almost any other — not because students skip it, but because they name a medication and stop. The rubric requires all three: indications, contraindications, and side effects. Missing any one drops you from 15 to 7.5 points.
SSRIs and SNRIs Are First-Line for GAD
First-line pharmacological treatment for GAD includes selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as sertraline (Zoloft) or escitalopram (Lexapro), and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as venlafaxine (Effexor) or duloxetine (Cymbalta). Buspirone is another commonly used option specifically approved for GAD. Pick one and go deep rather than listing several without detail.
For each medication you choose, you need to address: What it’s prescribed for (indication), who should not take it or what conditions/interactions rule it out (contraindications), and what patients commonly experience as unwanted effects (side effects).| Component | What to Address | Example for Sertraline (Zoloft) |
|---|---|---|
| Indications | What conditions/symptoms the medication is prescribed for | FDA-approved for GAD, panic disorder, PTSD, OCD, and social anxiety; used to reduce excessive worry and associated physical symptoms |
| Contraindications | Who should not take it; what drugs or conditions make it unsafe | Contraindicated with MAOIs (risk of serotonin syndrome); use caution with bleeding disorders, liver impairment, history of mania, or pregnancy |
| Side Effects | Common and/or clinically significant adverse effects | Nausea, insomnia, sexual dysfunction, headache, diarrhea; discontinuation syndrome if stopped abruptly; possible increased suicidal ideation in young adults (black box warning) |
For medication information, FDA prescribing information (available at FDA’s drug database) is a solid, citable source. You can also use a pharmacology textbook or a peer-reviewed clinical guide. Don’t rely on WebMD or general health websites — cite something the grader would accept as professional-level.
How to Structure the Paper
Five pages minimum. Here’s how to allocate that space so you cover everything without leaving any section thin:
Introduction (about half a page)
Brief orientation to anxiety disorders as a category. State that you will be analyzing Case Study 2 and the paper will cover diagnosis, criteria, interventions, and medication. One solid paragraph — don’t begin defining the disorder here; save that for the body.
Diagnosis and ICD-10 Code (about a quarter page)
Name the diagnosis — Generalized Anxiety Disorder — and provide the ICD-10 code (F41.1). Add one to two sentences explaining why this diagnosis fits the overall clinical picture before moving into the criteria. State where you pulled the code from (DSM-5-TR, page 929 onward).
DSM-5-TR Criteria + Case Examples (about one and a half to two pages)
This is your longest section. Go through Criterion A through F. For each: state the criterion, explain what it means, then connect it to a specific example from Nancy’s case. Don’t skip Criterion F — it’s still a criterion.
Evidence-Based Interventions (about one page)
Cover CBT and ACT (or your chosen second intervention). For each: name it, describe the mechanism briefly, explain how it applies to Nancy specifically, and cite the peer-reviewed source. The scholarly citation is mandatory — don’t just describe the therapy.
Medication (about one page)
Name the medication and its drug class. Then write a paragraph each — or structured prose — covering indications, contraindications, and side effects. Don’t just list bullet points if your program expects essay format; write it out in connected sentences.
Conclusion (about a quarter page)
Brief summary tying together the diagnosis, treatment approach, and pharmacological support. No new information — just close the paper cleanly.
APA Formatting Essentials
Required, Not Optional
Title, your name, institution, course, instructor, date. The title page does not count toward your five pages. APA 7th edition removed the running head requirement for student papers — check which edition your program uses.
Every Criterion Needs One
Every time you state a DSM-5-TR criterion, cite it: (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). Every intervention claim needs a citation to your peer-reviewed source. Every medication fact should cite the FDA label or pharmacology source.
Separate Page, Hanging Indent
DSM-5-TR, at minimum two peer-reviewed articles (one per intervention), and your medication source. Alphabetical, double-spaced, hanging indent. The reference page does not count toward your five pages.
Use Level Headings Throughout
Each major section gets an APA-formatted heading. Level 1 headings are centered and bold. Don’t underline or italicize section headers unless APA calls for it in that context.
Check Before Submitting
Times New Roman 12pt, double-spaced throughout (including the reference list), 1-inch margins. Word processor defaults often don’t match these settings — verify each one manually.
Word Document Only
The assignment explicitly says only Microsoft Word is accepted. PDF, Google Docs, or Pages files get returned without a grade. If you write in Google Docs, export to .docx and check formatting before submitting.
Mistakes That Get Points Deducted
Missing Criterion F
It’s the last criterion so students often skip it. “Not better explained by another disorder” still needs to be listed and supported with a case example — even if the example is the absence of another diagnosis.
Address Every Criterion by Name
Go through the DSM-5-TR criteria list for GAD one by one. Write a label for each (Criterion A, B, C…), state the criterion, give the case example. Don’t skip any — partial criteria drops you to Acceptable automatically.
Only One Intervention or Missing Scholarly Support
The rubric awards 7.5 points if you only list one intervention or if you list two without citing scholarly support for both. You need two interventions and a peer-reviewed citation for each.
Find the Sources First
Before writing the interventions section, search PsycINFO and confirm you have a peer-reviewed article for CBT and a separate one for ACT (or your second choice). Lock those sources, then write the section around them.
Naming the Medication Without All Three Components
“Sertraline is used to treat GAD” earns partial credit at best. The rubric requires indications AND contraindications AND side effects. All three. Missing any one of them drops you from 15 to 7.5 points.
Use the Three-Part Structure Every Time
Label it explicitly if needed. Write a paragraph on indications. Write a paragraph on contraindications. Write a paragraph on side effects. Don’t blend them together in ways the grader has to untangle.
Generic Case Examples (“Nancy was anxious”)
Vague references to the case don’t count as examples. “Nancy was anxious” could describe anyone. You need specific behaviors or quotes from the case that demonstrate the criterion.
Quote or Paraphrase Specific Moments
Use specific lines: Nancy’s inability to let her son go to the playground, her report that she can’t stop the worry even when she knows it’s irrational, her husband’s frustration, her sleep disruption. These are the examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Psychology Assignment Help Get StartedStart With the Criteria Section — Everything Else Builds From It
The biggest structural mistake students make with this paper is writing the diagnosis section first and then treating the criteria as an afterthought. Flip it. Open the DSM-5-TR to the GAD criteria. Go through Criterion A to F. Find the case evidence for each one before you write a single sentence. Once you have that map, the paper practically writes itself.
Nancy’s case is unusually rich. She gives you direct quotes that align almost exactly with DSM language. Use them. Don’t paraphrase the criteria into vagueness — be specific about what the criterion says and specific about what Nancy said or did that demonstrates it.
The medication section is where most students lose the easiest points. All three components — indications, contraindications, side effects — need to be there. Write them as three distinct, clearly labeled parts. Don’t let them blur together in a paragraph where the grader has to guess whether you covered contraindications or not.