PRACTICE DIAGNOSE IN ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY

(PERSONALITY DISORDER: A)

Personality Disorder: Cluster A: Schizoid Personality Disorder

Harry Potter ‘Severus Snape’

Summary of the Movie

The story of Harry Potter begins as he is about to celebrate is eleventh birthday.
Up until this time, Harry’s birthdays have come and gone like any other day; they have
been nothing worth celebrating. You see, Harry has lived in a cupboard under the stairs
in his Uncle Vernon’s and Aunt Petunia’s house. He has never received a birthday present
worth remembering. His very few possessions have been the hand-me-downs of his
cousin Dudley. Harry has never known why the Dursley’s have never treated him well. All
he knows is that his mother and father died in a car crash and he came to live with the
Dursley’s when he just one year old.

But all things will forever change on Harry’s eleventh birthday. He learns from a
letter, given to him by an unknown, very large person name Hagrid, that he is not just a
regular person. He learns that like his mother and father, he too is a wizard. Harry’s life
changes in an instant. The letter he receives is an acceptance and invitation to study at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Harry is sorted into the Gryffindor House by the Sorting
Hat. At Hogwarts, Harry will learn what it means to be Wizard. He will learn many things
about wizardry from his teachers and Head Master, Dumbledore. He will learn that not all
people come from wizard families. Some, called Muggles, will also study at Hogwarts.
For the first time, he will meet and make friends. Hermione Granger (Muggle born) and
Ron Weasley (Wizard), will help Harry through a most challenging first year at Hogwarts.

Severus snape is one of the main characters in Harry potter. Many at Hogwarts
have reason to fear Severus Snape, a reformed Death Eater now teaching at the school,
who skulks around, sneering and hissing at Harry Potter. Even though Harry and his
friends despise Snape, Dumbledore continues to trust him implicitly, dismissing Harry’s
stories about overhearing Snape plotting with Draco and insisting that Snape is
completely trustworthy, an irreplaceable member of the Hogwarts staff. Harry’s father,
James Potter, was also at odds with Snape, and members of the Order of the Phoenix
suggest that Harry’s inherent dislike of Snape was inherited from James. Harry is
appropriately devastated when he learns that Snape and his beloved Half-Blood Prince
are one and the same.

Although Harry sees Snape’s shiftiness as black and white, Rowling is purposefully
vague about Snape’s true allegiances. Although Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince features a pointed scene in which Snape makes an Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa
Malfoy, promising to protect Draco and take over his Dark duties, if necessary, there are
still signs that point to Snape’s allegiance to Dumbledore. Moments before Dumbledore
is murdered, Dumbledore freezes Harry, presumably to prevent him from stopping Snape.
Likewise, Dumbledore appears to be stalling Draco until Snape can arrive, after
specifically requesting that Harry call for Snape and not Madam Pomfrey — making it
seem possible that Dumbledore wishes for Snape to be his killer. When Harry chases
after Snape, Snape prevents Harry from casting any death spells, but once again does
not try to kill Harry himself.
 MENTAL STATUS EXAMINATION

Client Name: Severus Snape Date: 09/19/21

OBSERVATIONS:

Appearance  Neat  Disheveled  Inappropriate  Bizarre  Other

Speech  Normal  Tangential  Pressured  Impoverished  Other

Eye Contact  Normal  Intense  Avoidant  Other

Motor
 Normal  Restless  Tics  Slowed  Other
Activity
Affect  Full  Constricted  Flat  Labile  Other
Severus Snape present himself very neat and looking strict. He barely
Comments: shows any emotion on his expressions. He speaks monotonously and
frank. He looks at person judgingly.

MOOD:

 Euthymic  Anxious  Angry  Depressed

 Euphoric  Irritable  Other

Aside from being irritable, Severus Snape is always looking in a foul
Comments:
mood.

COGNITION:

Orientation Impairment  None  Place  Object  Person  Time

Memory Impairment  None  Short-term  Long-term  Other

Attention  Normal  Distracted  Other

Comments: He doesn’t have any cognitive impairment.

PERCEPTION:

Hallucinations  None  Auditory  Visual  Other

Other  None  Derealization  Depersonalization

Comments: Snape doesn’t experience any kind of hallucinations.

THOUGHTS:

Suicidality  None  Ideation  Plan  Intent  Self-harm

Homicidality  None  Aggressive  Intent  Plan

Delusions  None  Grandiose  Paranoid  Religious  Other

He doesn’t have any thought of hurting himself or making any
Comments:
irreversible damage to others.

BEHAVIOR:

 Cooperative  Guarded  Hyperactive  Agitated  Paranoid

 Stereotyped  Aggressive  Bizarre  Withdrawn  Other

Although Severus Snape look strict and cold, he is calm and
Comments:
collected.

 Comments:
Snape know
INSIGHT  Good  Fair  Poor his personality
better than
anyone else.
 Comments: it
appears that
JUDGMENT  Good  Fair  Poor he knew the
consequences
of his actions.

Evaluated by: Ria Joy Soriano

 Theories – causal factors

Personality is the combination of thoughts, emotions and behaviors that makes an

individual unique. It's the way we view, understand and relate to the outside world, as well
as how we see ourself. In normal development, children learn over time to accurately
interpret social cues and respond appropriately. What causes the development of
schizoid personality disorder is unknown, although a combination of genetic and
environmental factors, particularly in early childhood, may play a role in developing this
disorder.

Schizoid personality disorder might develop from one’s childhood experiences.

Psychodynamic theory emphasizes the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood
experiences on personality (Bornstein, R. F. 2003). In Snape’s early life, he was insecure,
vulnerable, and yearned to be part of something better. So, it might explain how
passionate and loyal Snape is towards the only girl he loved until the end. It shows that
his childhood experiences had made his current personalities. Such ah, he had nothing
during his childhood, so he did everything he could to get the girl he loves to the point
that it caused an irreversible result. It was only after Lily's death, the girl she love, that
Snape realized the full extent of his actions. He suffered terrible remorse for what he had
done. According to psychodynamic theory, unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings,
thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness. Snape’s
experiences during his childhood had put a mark on his unconscious mind, it contains
contents that are unacceptable and unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, and
conflict. Descriptions of his social interactions as a child suggest that he had poor
interpersonal skills and that he may have suffered from depression since he was a child.
These memories and feelings might had caused his current personality.

On the other hand, there’s another theory that might explain Snape’s situation. If
Psychodynamic theory emphasizes how we are being influence by our unconscious mind,
Alfred Adler’s Individual psychology offers otherwise. Alfred Adler also agreed that our
personalities are shaped by our unique social environments and interactions. But
according to him, the conscious and not the unconscious, was at the core of one’s
personality. We possess the free will to shape the social forces that influences us and to
use them creatively to construct a style of life. Maybe Snape had his current personality
not because he was created that way by his cruel childhood experiences, but instead he
chooses to be that way, he chooses to use those people around him in shaping his now
strong personality for he can do what he promised to his love one. Maybe Snape chose
to hide his emotions, it was mentioned in the movie that snape hides his emotion because
he ought to think that showing emotions is like showing weakness. Snape also chose to
have his environment different by teaching in a school against to where he came from,
this prove that, he might have a cruel childhood environment, but he was still able to look
for a better one, now with his chosen personality wherein he became tough.

Another theory that supports the interaction of environment and personality is the
Behavioral theory. This theory proposes that, personality is a result of interaction between
the individual and the environment. And this might explain why Snape had the possibility
of acquiring Schizoid personality disorder. Snape grow up in a house known for the house
that has turned up the most dark and powerful wizards, basically he grows with people
who had dark and very intimidating personality. He was not taken care by his neglectful
father; he doesn’t have a healthy environment as he grows up which somehow had
caused his resentment to the world. Aside from his not so healthy environment at home,
Snape's bitterness and resentment towards the world was exacerbated even more by the
relentless bullying he endured in school, causing him to shut himself in even more. Snape
doesn’t only experience failure from his home and school, he also experiences and what
had influenced his personality the most is his failure in intimate relationship with the only
girl he loved. It was Snape's past and his love for Lily Evans that defined his inner being.
And, between his unstable home life, constant teasing growing up and rejection/death of
the only person he ever truly loved, his schizoid personality starts to make sense. All of
these experiences might be the one responsible of why he showed symptoms of schizoid
personality disorder.

The theories mentioned above are all supporting how an environment can affect
one’s personality. It really is Snape’s environment that had greatly contributed to his
personality, but it can’t be just his environment, there should be other contributing factor,
but what are those factors, only Snape knows about it.
 Psychological Disorders

Symptoms

Schizoid personality disorder is an uncommon condition in which people avoid

social activities and consistently shy away from interaction with others. They also have a
limited range of emotional expression. Symptoms includes:

• Prefer being alone and choose to do activities alone

• Don't want or enjoy close relationships

• Feel little if any desire for sexual relationships

• Feel like you can't experience pleasure

• Have difficulty expressing emotions and reacting appropriately to situations

• May seem humorless, indifferent or emotionally cold to others

• May appear to lack motivation and goals

• Don't react to praise or critical remarks from others

Symptoms from Mayo Clinic

Diagnosis
Severus Snape is a complicated, withdrawn person. It can be seen that his life was
overwhelmed with many complex emotions that he never fully disclosed. He was
described as a deviant, shady and a strict character. Severus had shown symptoms of a
Schizoid Personality Disorder. He has no interest in social relationships, he always had
a bad reputation among other people, he does not desire or enjoy social relationship, he
was a repressed, solitary man with no friends. It can be seen that only few people talk to
him or who he talks with since he either avoid others or he speaks very little. Individual
with Schizoid will often seem to be aloof and have no tender or warm feelings towards
others. Severus has a sheltered lifestyle, secretiveness, since no one really can tell who
he is, he has general detachment, apathy, emotional coldness, aloof attitude, and
consider himself "observers" of the world rather than participants. Although Severus had
once desire for a relationship with a woman, the failure of this relationship had somehow
contributed a lot to his current personality.

Due to his aloofness, it has shown on his appearance. A lot of people fear his
seriousness, he had a commanding presence, authority and control. Severus is not
expressing his emotions and real intention most of the time, it is due to him being
indifferent to the approval or criticism of others and he does not seem to be bothered by
what other people think about him. Snape appear to lack a desire for intimacy and
indifferent to opportunities to develop close relationship. He prefers spending time with
himself and always chose solitary activities such as doing missions alone or always in his
laboratory to do his one and only interest, which is doing science.
 Psychotherapy

People with schizoid personality disorder usually only seek treatment for a related
problem, such as depression. If an individual has schizoid personality disorder, they may
prefer to go their own way and avoid interacting with others, and that includes doctors.
They may be so used to a life without emotional closeness that they are not sure if they
want to change — or that can they change. In Snape’s case, every problem he currently
had was the result of his lack of social relationship. People question his loyalty due to his
aloof personality, which is a symptom of Schizoid. Snape had showed some sign of
depression in his early age, but currently, aside from deep anger he is showing less
symptoms of major depression. Snape does not need any medication instead he could
have therapies to improve his social relationships.

Psychotherapy can be helpful. That is If Snape would like to develop closer

relationships, a modified form of cognitive behavioral therapy can help him change his
beliefs and behaviors that causes his social problems. Snape could also use Group
therapy. It is very effective for people who are practicing new interpersonal skills. In time,
group therapy may also provide a support structure and improve a social skill.
 REFERENCES

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Personality Disorders. In Diagnostic and

statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.)
. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Bornstein, R. F. (2003). Psychodynamic models of personality. In T. Millon & M. J.
Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Personality and social psychology, Vol.
5, pp. 117– 134). John Wiley & Sons
Inc https://doi.org/10.1002/0471264385.wei0505

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2017, August 17). Schizoid
personality disorder. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved September 23, 2021, from
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizoid-personality-
disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20354414.

Santos-Longhurst, A. (2018, August 9). Chronic insomnia: Treatment, causes,

symptoms, and more. Healthline. Retrieved September 23, 2021, from
https://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-insomnia.

VanderArk, S., Kimsey, J., & Bunker, L. (2021, May 23). Severus snape. Harry Potter
Lexicon. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from https://www.hp-
lexicon.org/character/snape-family/severus-snape/.