| Course | MSW 509 Psychopathology |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Diagnostic criteria analysis |
| Length | About 530 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 509 Week 2
Diagnostic Criteria Analysis of R.'s Low Mood: Each Criterion Beside the Sentence That Meets It, Duration Given as Dates, Impairment Shown in What R. Stopped Doing, the Question of an Earlier High Period and What Was Happening Around R. in the Same Weeks
Student Name
Chamberlain University
MSW 509: Psychopathology
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Diagnostic Criteria Analysis of R.'s Low Mood: Each Criterion Beside the Sentence That Meets It, Duration Given as Dates, Impairment Shown in What R. Stopped Doing, the Question of an Earlier High Period and What Was Happening Around R. in the Same Weeks
The Case in Brief
R., 34, a warehouse shift supervisor, came to the agency on September 8 after a coworker urged it. R. describes feeling "flat" since about mid-July, sleeping four to five hours, eating one meal a day and losing about 10 pounds. R. stopped coaching a youth soccer team in August and has missed six shifts. R. says, "I'm letting everyone down." R. denies thoughts of suicide. R.'s sister mentioned that two years ago R. "barely slept for a week and started three businesses."
Criteria, One at a Time
Depressed mood most of the day: met, from R.'s "flat" most days since mid-July. Loss of interest: met, shown by quitting coaching, which R. loved. Weight change: met, about 10 pounds without trying. Sleep: met, insomnia most nights. Fatigue or loss of energy: likely, R. reports being "tired by noon." Worthlessness or guilt: met, "letting everyone down." Concentration: not stated in the material; I would ask. Psychomotor change: not observed; I would ask the coworker or watch over visits. Thoughts of death: denied. Count: at least five symptoms including depressed mood and loss of interest, which the criteria require (American Psychiatric Association, 2022).
Duration
Mid-July to September 8 is about eight weeks, beyond the two-week minimum.
Impairment
Shown in conduct, not adjectives: six missed shifts, coaching abandoned, one meal a day.
The Earlier Period
The sister's account raises the possibility of a past hypomanic or manic episode, which would change the diagnosis from a depressive disorder to a bipolar disorder. The vignette does not establish it. A week of little sleep and new projects could be hypomania, or could be an excited period after a promotion. Before deciding, I would ask R. and the sister how long it lasted, whether R. felt rested on little sleep, whether others noticed a change and whether it caused problems. Until then, I would record a provisional depressive diagnosis and flag the question.
What Was Happening Around R.
In June, R.'s company switched to rotating night shifts, and R.'s partner moved out in July. The low mood began within weeks of both. Those facts do not rule out a depressive episode, but they shape what will help: a schedule change may matter as much as therapy.
Verdict
R. meets the episode criteria for major depression; the type of disorder waits on the history of the earlier period.
The verdict is deliberately split. Calling the episode now lets treatment begin; leaving the type open keeps the record from carrying a bipolar label that later history might not support.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
Reading the MSW 509 Week 2 instructions
The second week asks for a criteria analysis that reads as a series of small verdicts. Put each criterion next to the sentence of the case that satisfies it, or note that nothing in the material does. Give duration as a date range, count the symptoms and show impairment in something the person stopped doing. The mood episode question separates strong papers: a past period of elevated mood must be established from history, and a careful writer says what they would ask before claiming it. When the case does not give enough information, say so. Run the social work half alongside: what was happening around this person during the same weeks. Medication is outside this assignment unless asked.
How the MSW 509 Week 2 example is put together
The case section sets out R.'s flat mood since mid-July, short sleep, one meal a day, lost weight, quitting coaching, six missed shifts and the sister's comment about a week of little sleep and new businesses. The criteria section takes each symptom in turn: depressed mood, loss of interest, weight, sleep and guilt met, fatigue likely, concentration and psychomotor change not stated and thoughts of death denied, citing the DSM-5-TR count. Duration is about eight weeks. Impairment is shown in conduct. The earlier period is treated as unproven, with four questions to ask R. and the sister. The context section notes rotating night shifts from June and a partner leaving in July. The verdict meets an episode but leaves the disorder type open.
Reading the MSW 509 Week 2 grading rubric
Criteria analyses are graded first on verdicts tied to case sentences. A paper that announces a diagnosis and lists criteria beneath it, without matching each to the case, earns little. Duration and symptom count must be shown, not asserted. Impairment should appear as a change in what the person does. Faculty weigh the mood episode question heavily: claiming a manic or hypomanic history the case does not establish costs marks, while naming what would be asked earns credit. The environmental half is expected throughout. The diagnostic source should be cited in APA form.
MSW 509 Week 2 help: mistakes that cost points
Criteria analyses commonly reach a diagnosis in the first paragraph and spend the rest supporting it. Another frequent gap is treating a vague history of high energy as proof of bipolar disorder. Some papers also leave out what was happening in the person's life during the symptom window. Should your section supply another vignette, share it along with the criteria set in use; we would match each criterion to a sentence, give duration and count, show impairment in conduct, treat uncertain history as questions and place the episode in its context. If the case lacks information, the analysis would say what it would ask. A paragraph on what you would ask the person next would close the analysis.
Get a MSW-509 Week 2 example written to your instructions
Give us the Week 2 instructions and the case your classroom supplies, plus any criteria table your section attaches, and a custom example is written into that format and returned inside 24 to 48 hours. The first one is free. The verdict you defend in class stays entirely your own.
More MSW 509 papers and MSW samples
- MSW 509 Week 1: Diagnosis Label and Stigma Post
- MSW 509 Week 3: Vignette Analysis
- MSW 509 Week 4: Diagnostic Write-up
- MSW 509 Week 5: Differential Diagnosis Write-up
- MSW 509 Week 6: Case Formulation
- MSW 509 Week 7: Treatment Planning Paper
- MSW 509 Week 8: Comprehensive Case Analysis
- MSW 507 Week 2: ACE Study Article Critique
- MSW 506 Week 2: Social Security Act History Analysis
- MSW 505 Week 2: Engagement Skills Analysis
- MSW 504 Week 2: Theory Application Paper
MSW 509 Week 2 questions, answered
What if the case does not give enough information?
Say so, and say what you would ask. Insufficient information is a legitimate verdict and it usually earns more than a confident label built on nothing. Markers are watching for whether a writer knows the difference between a criterion met and a criterion assumed. Name the missing item, name the question that would settle it, then move to the next criterion.
Should the analysis discuss medication?
Not as a decision. Social workers in most settings do not prescribe, and an analysis that starts selecting agents has stepped outside the role this course trains for. What belongs is the referral: who the medical review goes to, what question it is asked to answer, and how that answer would change the picture the criteria have produced.
How much environment belongs in a criteria assignment?
Enough to change the reading, not so much that the criteria walk disappears. A workable ratio has the criteria carrying the body of the paper and a substantial closing section returning the same symptoms to housing, income, safety and history. The argument is that both are true at once, not that context excuses a thin analysis.
Where can I find a free MSW 509 Week 2 sample paper?
A complete MSW 509 Week 2 criteria analysis of an eight-week depressive episode, with an earlier high period treated as a question, is on this page.
Why does the MSW 509 Week 2 sample not diagnose bipolar disorder?
The sister's report of a sleepless week does not establish a hypomanic or manic episode, so the paper lists what to ask before deciding.