This student is struggling with depression, family issues, and substance abuse. An intake assessment evaluated his background, personality, and substance use. He has a learning disability, knee injury, and family history of mental illness. Tests found he lacks healthy coping skills and turns to drinking/drugs. Treatment goals include monitoring his schooling, mental health, substance use, and developing a support system to help him cope in healthier ways.

1. Counseling in Assessment

2.  19 year old white male student at Ole Miss
 Has been struggling with academic issues,
depression, love, and belonging
 Has been diagnosed with a learning
disorder
 He is a sophomore, pledging a fraternity,
and is adopted

3.  Intake assessment
◦ Background information from current
personal, psychological, and academic status
NEO PI-R
Information on personality type and career
directions since being undeclared has decreased
motivation
SASSI
Current intake information suggests the student
lacks healthy ways of coping and a healthy support
system. The SASSI was done to evaluate the amount
of alcohol and drug consumption the student is
using to cope

4. -Initial Intake Interview
-First meeting
-General background information of current
medical/mental conditions, academic
standing, and evaluation of support system
-Asked a series of questions
-NEO PI-R
-3rd weeks to evaluate 5 domains of
personality to help determine potential careers
-Self-report test 240 questions
-Machine Scoring Sheet
-

5.  SASSI
◦ Self-report, Identifies people who have a high
probability of having a substance abuse disorder
◦ 93% accuracy, target population young males, is
done with pencil and scored by administrator
◦ Done 5th session, results are evaluated in 5 minutes
◦ Test-retest reliability measure used
◦ Criterion measure of validity used

6.  No issues until senior year of high school
when he injured his knee playing soccer
which resulted in him losing his scholarship
to play at his dream school. His dad also lost
his job during this time and his mother
became depressed. During this time his
sisters also moved out and uncle moved in
 Adjustment issues are problem because he
was not expecting this to happen his family
dynamics also changed significantly when he
started college. He struggled adjusting to the
college life style and turned to other things to
help

7.  He was diagnosed with ADD in High school
but has not renewed his prescription to
Adrenal
 His father also lost his job summer after
graduation high school and is still
unemployed
 He got diagnosed with depression and is
taking Prozac
 Had a very mentally ill uncle move in his
senior year
 He adopted and feel pressured to please his
family

8.  Mom has a family history of depression
 Uncle has schizophrenia
 Family history of his blood is unknown

9.  Average student in high school
 Too distracted by the freedom college
brought his freshman year
 Started off freshman year depressed because
he was not able to play soccer
 Was seriously disturbed by uncle who moved
in summer before college
 Can not concentrate on school, is not
motivated because he doesn’t know what he
wants to do

10.  It is difficult for his to get out of bed and go
to class
 Has many absences
 Trying to cope with depression and family
issues has caused him to be distracted from
school
 Joined a fraternity, a time commitment

11.  Family origin
◦ Adopted, youngest, and only boy
◦ Parents put pressure on him especially since father
lost job
◦ Can not tell parents he needs their love, support,
and sense of belonging because the laugh
◦ Parents are in denial
-In Fraternity
-Parties on meds, feels too sick to go to school the
next day
-Admits he has no deep relationship with anyone

12.  Initial intake
◦ Focused on what lead to academic problems and
evaluated support system
◦ Evaluate current psychological status, history, and
family dynamics
NEO PI R
Focused on what his personality is to help pick a
major
He is sensitive and prone to experience upsetting
feelings
He is introverted, does not like to plan, careless and
avoids conflict

13.  SASSI
◦ He is the target person for this test
◦ Test uses test-retest reliability and criterion validity
◦ Is very likely to have substance abuse disorder

14.  Intake
 Poor support system, family dynamics have
changed, mother is now depressed, father
lost job, and psychologically sick uncle is
another burden. His 2 sisters do not live at
home anymore
 Has a serious knee injury, learning disorder,
and depression
 Has adjustment issues, he lost the warm
loving family he felt he once had

15.  NEO PI R
◦ Personality makes him more likely to turn to
drinking and drugs
◦ He is introverted, sensitive, and prone to
experience upsetting feelings

16.  SASSI
◦ Has a very high use of alcohol and drug use
◦ This fact goes along with his NEO PI R results which
make him more likely to cope that way
◦

17.  Axis 1
◦ Depression
◦ Adjustment Disorder
 Axis 2
◦ none
 Axis 3
◦ Knee injury, chronic pain and complications
 Axis 4
◦ Dad out of work, mom is depressed, sick uncle living
with them, and sister moved out
 Axis5
◦ GAF 51-60

18.  Monitor School functioning
◦ Check-in on G.P.A, number of absences, and find a
tutor as needed
◦ Make goals
 Monitor Mental Functioning
◦ Make sure he is continuing to take Prozac
◦ Encourage him to go to student disabilities to get
reevaluated for his learning disorder
 Monitor and make goals to decrease alcohol
and drug use
◦ Evaluate if he is increasing or decreasing
consumption
◦ Make a plan to find other outlets to cope

19.  Monitor family issues and support system
◦ Check-in with what is going on with his uncle,
mom, and dad
◦ Make a plan to develop a new support system
◦ Make goals to work towards finding healthier ways
to cope