Mary is a 21-year-old African American female, self-referred for inpatient treatment due to drug and alcohol use. She is from and still lives in New York City. She is currently unemployed and homeless and has charges pending due to a number of “bounced” checks written over the past several months.
Mary has had several part-time jobs that she has been fired from or she abruptly quit. While in high school, she had aspirations of being an architect. Mary’s mother was a heavy drug user while pregnant with her. When Mary was born, she was addicted to crack and spent several months in the hospital. Mary reports that both of her parents were drug addicts and she experienced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse throughout childhood at their hands. Her father died of liver disease at the age of 37.
Mary also reports that at the age of 14, she was kicked out of her family’s home because her father suspected that she was gay. Although they live in the same town, she has not had any contact with her mother for 7 years. Mary describes her relationship with her older sister as “fair.” Mary is not presently involved in a steady relationship, but she does have a network of friends in the local gay community whom she has been staying with off and on. Mary has serious trust issues and does not have anyone she can open up to in her support network.
At the time that she left home, Mary survived by becoming involved in sexual relationships with older men, many of whom were also abusive. She has had numerous sexual partners (both male and female) over the past 7 years, has traded sex for drugs and money, has had sex under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and has been made to have sex against her will.
Mary struggles with her identity and sexual orientation and considers herself as bisexual, not gay. Mary first used alcohol at age 14, when she had her first sexual encounter with a man. She began using other drugs, including inhalants and marijuana, by age 16 and amphetamines and cocaine by age 19. At 21, four months prior to entering treatment, she began using crack.
Establish context for your case note by briefly describing the client based on the information that you are presented within his or her case scenario.
Describe the basic elements of the theory that you are applying to the client’s case. Does the theory include developmental stages or other unique characteristics?
Explain foundational information about the theory, including information about its founder.
Explain why this is an appropriate theory to apply to the client. Include supporting evidence from across the client’s lifespan.
