Reference no: EM134043495

Question

Andrew Quinn, a 60-year-old businessman, returned to see his longtime psychiatrist 2 weeks after the death of his 24-year-old son. The young man, who had struggled with major depression and substance abuse, had been found surrounded by several emptied pill bottles and an incoherent suicide note. Mr. Quinn had been very close to his troubled son, and he immediately felt crushed, like his life had lost its meaning. In the ensuing 2 weeks, he had constant images of his son and was "obsessed" with how he might have prevented the substance abuse and suicide. He worried that he had been a bad father and that he had spent too much time on his own career and too little time with his son. He felt constantly sad, withdrew from his usual social life, and was unable to concentrate on his work. Although he had never previously drunk more than a few glasses of wine per week, he increased his alcohol intake to half a bottle of wine each night. At that time, his psychiatrist told him that he was struggling with grief and that such a reaction was normal. They agreed to meet for support and to assess the ongoing clinical.