Assignment 3

CASE STUDY: Jenna

Jenna is a 13-year-old African American girl who has been admitted to your adolescent treatment facility for methamphetamine use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and marijuana use, along with school avoidance, currently being homeless, and appearing to have rapid cycling moods that have not been diagnosed. In the course of getting to know Jenna, you discover that she is sullen and reactive to any direction, and she states there is no reason to get treatment as she will just go out and use once she is released from treatment. As days go by, Jenna becomes more trusting of you as her counselor, and when you ask why she is homeless and where her family is, she begins to tell you her story. She states that she ran away from home 6 months ago after repeated sexual abuse by her stepfather and that her mother did not believe her when she reported the abuse. She started hanging out with some older girls who were also on the street and who introduced her to a man named Jack. He agreed to take care of her but actually made her prostitute herself for drugs, food, and shelter. Jenna was beaten up by one of her customers after she told him he had to use a condom, and now she has missed her period for the second month in a row. She has not had any tests for sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy. She is convinced that Jack is really a nice guy who helped her out when no one else would. She does not want to talk to her parents, and she does not want to act against Jack in any way.