Dinah Laurel Lance is a 28-year-old single woman referred to treatment by the court for a DUI and prescription drug abuse. She has a history of depression, anger, and addiction issues stemming from traumatic events and the deaths of loved ones. Laurel drinks alcohol and abuses antidepressants to cope with guilt and depression. A clinical evaluation diagnosed her with alcohol and drug addiction. Treatment recommendations include group therapy, family therapy, and individual therapy.

1. Billy Popelaski Clinical
October 18, 2016 Poplock
Intake Report
Presenting Problem
Dinah Laurel Lance is a 28 year old single, Caucasian female with no children. Laurel was
referred to this clinic by the Court of Starling City due to her DUI and almost getting arrested for
it. She was also found abusing her Father’s prescription anti-depressant medication while she
was at work. This resulted in her getting fired. The Court seeks to have Laurel complete an
intake assessment for treatment due to her drug and alcohol addiction.
Laurel shows symptoms of repeated alcohol consumption, memory loss, rage
aggression, compulsive behavior and an overall feeling of guilt. She has no treatment history,
thought her best friend and ex-boyfriend Oliver Queen, previously asked her to attend treatment
sessions (Laurel refused to attend). Laurel admits to drinking as a way to self-soothe and to
lessen the feeling of guilt she has for her best friend, Thomas Merlyn’s death.
Physical Health History
Laurel reports waking up with severe headaches and vomiting after a night out of drinking. She
usually gets 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Laurel exercises and does self-defensive training
regularly. She tries to maintain her physical shape to the best of her ability, as she’s constantly
being put in danger for being Assistant District Attorney and for being the captain of the police
force’s daughter. Laurel has a normal appetite and has no known medical problems or illness.
Laurel report’s the last time she had sex was last month, with ex-boyfriend Oliver Queen. Laurel
isn’t prescribed any medication and has no physical problems.
Psychological History

2. Laurel has had no previous psychological evaluation or treatment. Laurel has been going through
a period of depression ever since Thomas Merlyn’s death. One day, when she was about to leave
her law office, an earthquake occurred and Laurel was trapped under falling rubble while the
building collapsed. Thomas Merlyn luckily was there to help her get out of the rubble, but by
doing so the building collapsed on him as Laurel escaped. Laurel has been taking out her grief in
the form of anger out on the vigilante the “Hood” blaming Tommy’s death on him.
Just recently, Laurel shifted the blame from the “Hood” to herself, accepting that Tommy
only died saving her. Laurel becomes very hostile and falls into a denial when she’s confronted
about her addiction. Instead of accepting advice from loved ones, she becomes verbally abusive
instead.
Laurel reports no problems with eating disorder symptoms, including restrictive eating,
binge eating, and/or bulimic behavior. She also denies a history of physical, verbal, or sexual
abuse as either a victim or perpetrator. Laurel denies a history of self-injury, including hitting,
biting, scratching, or cutting herself.
Laurel accepts significant symptoms of depression. Laurel believes that there must be
something wrong with her, that everyone in life leaves her. Laurel has been blaming her life’s
hardships on her best friend Oliver Queen and her sister Sara Lance. Oliver and Laurel were
dating at the time when Oliver cheated on Laurel, with Sara on Oliver’s boat “The Queen’s
Gambit”. Sara and Oliver were presumed dead when the boat crashed, but later returned five
years later which reopened Laurel’s emotional scars of being cheated on.
Substance Abuse
Laurel has been more of a casual drinker until she was almost killed on two separate occasions
that were weeks apart. The first occasion, Laurel was being held at gunpoint by a group of men.

3. One of the men had a gun pointed towards her head and pulled the trigger, but luckily no bullets
were in the gun. The second occasion she was nearly killed by the hands of the “Dollmaker” who
pours a flexible polymer down his victim’s throats, which hardens and suffocates them resulting
in the victim looking like a human “doll”. Immediately after these traumatic incident’s, Laurel
went on a date to try to get her life back to normal again. While on the date, she unknowingly
drank too much, and drove home which resulted in her DUI.
Laurel usually either chugs multiple glasses of wine a night while mixing them with her
father’s anti-depressants or just solely taking the anti-depressants. She states that by doing so, it
helps her remain calm and helps take the edge off of her rough couple of weeks.
Developmental History
Laurel reports having been born to a healthy and normal pregnancy. Her mother did not use
drugs or alcohol or cigarettes while pregnant with her. She reports reaching all developmental
milestones on time.
Laurel maintained a high GPA during her High School career and took an interest in
Law. She joined the debate team and became a leader of the club.
At the age of 22, Laurel lost her sister, Sara and boyfriend, Oliver Queen who were
presumed dead. Shortly after this, her father became an alcoholic and her mother left town. With
this, Laurel had to mature quickly. She had to constantly take care of her father, all while
attending Law School which brought her extraordinary stress.
Legal History
Laurel reports no legal trouble before the incident. The DUI charges were dropped due to her
father being on police force, and by Laurel being Assistant District Attorney.
Occupational History

4. Laurel graduated from Starling City High School in 2003, then went to Starling City University
for her undergraduate degree in Law and graduated in 2007. She then decided to become a
Lawyer and went back to Starling City University for graduate school and graduated in 2010.
Upon graduating she started working at the City Necessary Resources Initiative (CNRI) as a
Legal Aid Attorney. Upon the CNRI’s destruction, Laurel started working as Assistant District
Attorney, where she works today. According to Laurel, co-workers said she was stubborn to
work with at times, but knew what she was doing as she is very dedicated to her work.
Laurel claims her job has been very stressful recently, as she had to work on a case that
could have potentially got Oliver’s mother, Moira Queen the death penalty. She said that this
case was very straining when it came to her relationship with Oliver.
Laurel recently got fired for testing positives for opiates, which she was stealing from her
father.
Social History
Laurel reports that she usually was able to maintain healthy and stable relationships, until her
traumatic experiences occurred. She states that she’s very charismatic and is liked by many and
doesn’t really have any enemies. However, she makes her points known all the time, no matter if
it fits in context of the situation. Her most significant relationships are with her parents, her ex-
boyfriend and longtime friend Oliver Queen, Thea Queen and sister, Sara Lance.
Laurel met her two longtime friends, Oliver Queen and Thomas Merlyn when she was 7
years old. When Laurel was 20 years old, she started dating and fell in love with Oliver, despite
her father’s wishes, as he saw Oliver as a “Frat Boy”. During the 5 years that Oliver and Sara
were presumed dead, Laurel and Tommy started dating. When Oliver came back, Laurel had a

5. sense of relief, but still was mad at him for cheating on her with Sara. Oliver still had lingering
feelings for Laurel, but had to suppress them due to Tommy and Laurel being together.
As Oliver and Laurel became acquainted again, she soon realized that she had feelings
for him still, and slept with him. Tommy soon found out about this and broke things off with
Laurel, a couple of days before his death.
Laurel reports being heterosexual and her family is Catholic but not practicing. Laurel
isn’t religious but she believes in a higher power. Her favorite hobbies are debating, hanging out
with loved ones, exercising and watching the Seattle Seahawks on television.
Family History
Laurel’s family originated from Italy and her great-grandparents immigrated to the United States
during the mid-1940s. Laurel’s family has settled primarily in Seattle, with her mother living in
Central City, which is in Pennsylvania. Laurel’s parents, Quentin and Dinah are divorced. She
has one sister, Sara Lance. Laurel is two years older than Sara. Laurel reports that her
relationship with her parents is strained.
Laurel doesn’t like that her mom moved away from Starling City once the divorce
happened. Dinah constantly texts’ and call’s Laurel, but Laurel just ignores them. Once Sara’s
apparent death and the divorce occurred, Quentin became a drunk. He started skipping his shift’s
and would be at a bar day-drinking instead. When he would go to work, Quentin would show up
drunk. He would constantly be verbally abusive to Laurel and her friends Tommy and Thea
when he was drunk. This is because Thea was Oliver’s sister and Tommy was another rich boy
which reminded him of Oliver.
Laurel was relieved that Sara was still alive after 5 years of being presumed dead. This
happiness was short-lived however, as she began to blame Sara for everything- her parent’s

6. divorce, her mom moving away, her dad becoming an alcoholic and for stealing her boyfriend,
Oliver.
There is a family history of alcoholism and addiction which is both physical and mental,
in terms of medical illnesses. As mentioned previously, Laurel for a significant amount of time
lost her sister, Sara, and her ex-boyfriend, and longtime friend Oliver Queen. She also
permanently lost her longtime friend and ex-boyfriend Thomas Merlyn. Otherwise, no
significant losses are notable.
Mental Status Examination
General appearance and behavior
Laurel is very fit and is of average height. At the time of the examination, she was dressed
casually and well groomed. On appearance, there were no signs of her being intoxicated or being
on anti-depressants. Laurel was cooperative, thought at times defensive, that there were good
reasons for actions. Laurel maintained eye contact throughout the entire time.
Speech
Laurel articulated herself clearly. She answered questions directly, thoroughly and calmly. She
started to speak in an angered tone, when mentioning Oliver and Sara.
Affect and Mood
Laurel’s affect was anxious and her mood was annoyed at times as she wanted the examination
to be done with.
Thought
a. Stream
Laurel’s thought stream remained normal.

7. b. Form
Laurel did not exhibit any formal thought disorders. She was able to answer questions quickly
and efficiently. She did not use any new or created words. No negative thought disorder was
detected.
c. Content
Laurel was anxious about getting judged for her addiction. She claims she had a rough life, and
that her behavior is understandable. Suicidal ideation was not detected.
Perception
Laurel exhibits normal perception. She denies having any hallucinations, pseudohallucinations
and illusions
Cognition
Laurel was alert and orientated to time and place. She was able to answer questions and recall
her past. The only question’s she had difficulty answering are the ones that pertained to her
actions while she was intoxicated.
Insight and Judgement
When questioned about her situation, Laurel appeared defensive regarding the fact that she’s an
addict and requires treatment. Still, she cooperated and decided to attend Alcoholic Anonymous
meetings.
Strengths and Resources
Laurel is very motivated in wanting to get better so she can return back to work and repair
relationships with her friends and family. She reports to having tremendous emotional support

8. from her parents; as they understand perfectly what she’s going through, especially her father
who was a former addict.
Summary
Dinah Laurel Lance is a 28 year old single, Caucasian woman with no children. She was
referred to this clinic by the Court of Starling City due to her DUI and for being caught abusing
her father’s prescribed anti-depressants. Over the course of the clinical interview, Laurel has
identified with psychological projection and addiction issues. This leads to the provisional
diagnosis of alcohol and drug addiction.
Treatment recommendations include group therapy such as alcoholic’s anonymous,
family therapy and individual therapy.
Thank you for referring Laurel for this evaluation.
Sincerely,
Dr. William Popelaski, PhD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist