2. not see anything wrong
with her behavior. Apparently, the pleasure she associates with
sex more than offsets
the consequences she has gotten from her parents, and she
seems relatively oblivious
to the additional potential consequences of sexually transmitted
diseases and
pregnancy.
Week 9: Case 2, Sexual Orientation
Patrick is a 9-year-old African American boy enrolled in the
fourth grade in a private
Christian school. Patrick is exceptionally intelligent and very
academically successful.
However, based on reports from his parents and from his
teachers, he has always
struggled in the social domain. Most recently, Patrick has been
causing a disturbance in
the classroom by telling teachers and students that one of the
other male students in
the class is his boyfriend and insisting that he loves boys, not
girls. This behavior has
been extremely difficult for his parents to accept as they hold a
rather traditional
Christian perspective. The thought of their son being gay is very
disturbing for them.
You initially were contacted by Patrick’s parents, who made it
clear to you they think
Patrick is acting out in an effort to gain attention from his
peers. They also make it clear
that they are either unwilling or unable to consider the
possibility that Patrick might be
gay. When the three of them show up in your office, the parents
dominate the
4. concerned, but Marcus insisted
this was a one-time incident. However, the next week his
parents found several aerosol
cans in their son’s room.
During his first session, Marcus admits to sneaking around and
huffing whatever he can
whenever he can. He reports feeling out of control. He says he
loves the instant high
and cannot help himself.
Week 9: Case 4, Substance Use
Lindsey is a 12-year-old white female referred to counseling for
substance abuse
problems. Lindsey lives in a foster home. She was removed
from her mother and
stepfather’s home at age 7, when the federal authorities
conducted a raid and
discovered a methamphetamine lab in the home. Lindsey and
her foster mother report
that Lindsey initially was given alcohol by her mother and
stepfather at age 4. She
began smoking cigarettes at age 7, just before the police raid.
Lindsey was returned to
her mother’s care at age 9. She began smoking pot shortly
thereafter. At age 11, she
tried methamphetamines and cocaine, had a bad experience, and
ended up
hospitalized and, once again, removed from her mother’s care.
She is now in
permanent foster care.
The foster mother is very concerned about Lindsey’s well-
being. Although there have
5. not been any incidents of methamphetamine or cocaine use,
Lindsey has been caught
smoking cigarettes and pot on several occasions. Lindsey was
also caught at school
selling a small amount of pot and sent to the local juvenile drug
court. The drug court
referred her for counseling. When you meet with Lindsey alone,
she insists that pot is
not a problem. She refers to it as an “herb” and as “all natural.”
She says she would
never go down the road that he mother went down but that pot is
different and it just
keeps her mellow and out of trouble. She claims that pot is her
medicine and that she
needs it to function at home and at school.
