Biopsychosocial Case Study
Melody Rodgers
University of Phoenix
Elements of Clinical Psychology
March 14, 2011
Biopsychosocial Case Study
The case study of Virginia Woolf will be discussed in this paper. Virginia Woolf was a woman who suffered from bipolar disorder. A brief overview of the case of Virginia Woolf and her bipolar disorder will be discussed. The biological, psychological, and social factors of Virginia Woolf will be explored.
Virginia Woolf suffered from symptoms of bipolar disorder from a very young age. Virginia Woolf suffered from severe mood swings. Her mood swings would be severe depression to manic excitement and even episodes of psychosis. The people around her explained her mood swings as episodes of insanity. It was her emotional highs and lows, which helped her write. Virginia Woolf wrote several novels over her lifespan.
Virginia Woolf was the second child of four children. She was born in Cambridge, England to Sir Leslie Stephen. Her father was a distinguished editor. Her father had a child by his first wife, which would be Virginia’s half-sister who was institutionalized most of her life for mental problems. Virginia also had another half-sister who was born to her mother and her mother’s first husband. Virginia had two half-brothers as well. She was raised in a home where many of her extended family members were a big part of their lives. They were in the upper-middle professional class who put emphasizing intellectual achievement.
Virginia Woolf loved to read and would read anything she was allowed to read. Her father stopped choosing reading material for her during her teen years, since she had read so much by this time of her live. During this time girls were not allowed to attend school but she taught herself English literature. She also received some private lessons in Latin and Greek. Virginia envied her brother for being able to be educated at Cambridge.
At the young age of 13 Virginia Woolf lost her mother....