George's Case

George Lopez Show’s George Lopez

Introducing the Character

George Lopez is the main character in the George Lopez Show, a sitcom that aired on ABC television

between 2002 and 2007 and that is now in syndication. It is a “slice of life” show featuring a

predominantly Mexican and Mexican American cast. The program features George Lopez, who

manages an airplane parts factory; his wife, Angie, who works in the home; their children, Max and

Carmen; Mr. Lopez’s mother, Benita (Benny); and Angie’s father, Victor (Vic) Palermo. The show is

family-oriented in nature. It centers on the daily struggles of the Lopez family and the dysfunctional

circumstances that bring them together—and the resulting squabbles and frictions within and across

the generations, which are oftentimes humorous, but occasionally serious. The central comedic

tension is between Mr. Lopez and his proud and judgmental father-in-law, Vic, who, is a retired

physician. Dr. Palermo had always hoped that his daughter would achieve better marital and life

status than she did, and thus, George Lopez is forever trying to live up to his father-in-law’s

expectations of him. Similarly, Angie’s mother-in-law, Benny, is forever criticizing her daughter-in-

law’s cooking, housekeeping skills, and ability to be a good-enough wife to her son. The children,

Max and Carmen, struggle with day-to-day adolescent dilemmas and typically provide Mr. Lopez the

opportunity to prove his worth, both as a parent, person, and comedian. The following Basic Case

Summary and Diagnostic Impressions present our portrayal of the George Lopez Show’s main

character at a recent counseling session as a result of increasing clinically significant distresses

related to his complex family life.

Basic Case Summary

Identifying Information. George Lopez is a 48-year-old Mexican American male who resides in a

socioeconomically middle-class household comprising his wife, two children, mother, and father-in-

law. Mr. Lopez identifies himself as Roman Catholic. He manages the warehouse at the Power

Brothers Aviation

2

Company, where he has progressively advanced through the ranks over his 25-year employment

with them. He presented as notably conscious of his appearance, including his average height and

weight, recently graying hair, and what he described as “my Mexican features.”

Presenting Concern. Mr. Lopez was urged to attend counseling by his wife, Angie, who has become

increasingly concerned with the frequency of her husband’s headaches and episodes of fatigue,

anxiety, and moments of low mood that have bothered her husband since recent changes at work.

These changes include corporate cutbacks that have resulted in ongoing furloughs about 3 months

ago. As a result, Mr. Lopez now has a 1-day furlough without pay per week, along with 1 paid day of

working at home instead of at his office. Further, because the manager’s position may be

permanently cut in the near future, Mr. Lopez feels there is great pressure to compete to “be in the

inner circle.” As a result, he recently has been encouraged to play golf, play tennis, meet for

martinis, and join the Kiwanis Club with his upper-management bosses. He describes this as “like

crossing the border again into a whole new world. How does a g4y like me hang out with guys like

that?”

During the intake, Angie noted that her husband, who typically does not talk about his feelings, has

become increasingly irritable, distractible, inattentive at home, and withdrawn from the family,

particularly on weekends when he prefers to retreat to the den to watch sports and drink beer with

his friends from work. When queried, Mr. Lopez admitted that “I have a lot of responsibilities and a

family to support . . . so I like blowing off steam and I get a little cranky once in a while. And okay,

sometimes my mood isn’t so happy.”

Background, Family Information, and Relevant History. George Lopez was born in Tijuana, Mexico,

the youngest of three sons to his father, Hernando, who abandoned the family soon after his birth,

and mother, Benita (Benny), who worked a number of odd jobs in order to keep her family together.

By the time George was 7 years old, his mother began drinking heavily and experienced bouts of

depression.

Mr. Lopez attended the Rodrigo Escobar Elementary School in Tijuana where he reports that he was

often chastised by his teachers for inattentiveness, failure to focus on his studies, and his seemingly

insatiable need to be the center of attention. Nevertheless, Mr. Lopez’s memory is that among his

endearing childhood

3

qualities were his charm, eloquence, and ability to, as he recalled, “play to my audience.” During his

middle

4

school years at Tijuana Middle School, Mr. Lopez displayed a propensity for comedy and took an

active role in the widely popular school talent shows. It was around that time that he began doing

stand-up comedy routines on the streets of Tijuana, which, to his surprise, provided a relatively

stable income for his family. By the time Mr. Lopez was of high school age, he had become

disinterested in school and recalled that “I was making more money performing on the street than

my teacher who was busting her ass in the classroom.” However, with the encouragement of his

mother, who by that time had been hospitalized several times for the effects of alcoholism, Mr.

Lopez persevered in completing his studies.

After graduating from high school, Mr. Lopez crossed the border into the United States and began

doing stand-up comedy in local bars, in street festivals, and at local colleges. To his surprise, he

became very popular. When Mr. Lopez met Angie, he was 21 and looking forward to a career in

comedy; however, they soon had their first child, Max, and his wife convinced him that the family

needed him to get a steady job. As a result, he began working in the maintenance department at the

Power Brothers Aviation Company, where he quickly earned the respect of his employers and the

friendship of his coworkers, who found him funny and loyal. Over the next several years, Mr. Lopez

worked diligently at the aviation company while doing occasional evening and weekend stand-up. He

advanced to the position of plant manager.

Around that time, Mr. Lopez and his wife were expecting their second child. Mr. Lopez recalls that

this was a cause of great stress for him because “I could barely support us with one child . . . how

was I going to take care of two children?” Additionally, soon after the birth of the Lopez’s second

child, Mrs. Lopez’s father and his own mother came to live with the family to help out with the child-

rearing. However, (a) the friction between him and his father-in-law, who never thought him a good

enough husband, and (b) his own mother’s constant criticism of his wife have made the household a

highly stressful environment. For some time, Mr.

Lopez has been occasionally drinking and staying out late after work and has been increasingly

irritable when home. He reports having told his wife in the past year that he wanted to quit his job in

order to pursue a full-

time career as a comedian “because at least there I was having fun.” At the same time, until his

recent job

5

changes, Mr. Lopez appears to have been managing his multiple but normally expected occupational

stresses, culturally appropriate household stresses, and other pressures relatively successfully.

Problem and Counseling History. Mr. Lopez volunteered that he agreed with his wife that he has

been having difficulties adjusting to the results of his job cutbacks and furlough, including (a) being

at home 2 extra days per week; (b) attempting to work in his home and family environment one of

those days per week; and (c)

managing financially with 1 day’s furlough. He agreed that his mood has been notably low at time,

“really nervous” at other times, and increasingly irritable and “moody.” In addition, he volunteered

that he was experiencing problems with his entry into upper-management culture, which he

described as “white country club culture, you know?” As described, he sees this as a new and

challenging social, economic, and cultural transition on which his job future might depend.

At the same time, during the intake interview, Mr. Lopez appeared ambivalent about the need for

counseling and made it quite clear that he was not the problem and that “I just need a little chance

to blow off steam.” He was sarcastic throughout the session, making jokes about his family and his

circumstances asserting that “this therapy would make a funny routine for my stand-up.” He avoided

talking in any greater depth about his past or his recent bouts of irritability and often made

unpleasant remarks about his father-in-law, who “I can’t seem to please no matter what I do,

especially now that I’m furloughed.” He was, nevertheless, oriented in all spheres, articulate albeit

glib, and noted that “if I could only get over this bump, I would be as healthy as a bull.” Toward the

end of the session, Mr. Lopez suggested that his father-in-law and mother should probably get

married and move into their own home “and leave us the hell alone.”

Goals for Counseling and Course of Therapy to Date. Mr. Lopez said he would come to therapy if “it

would make Angie happy,” but that he was just “an average guy doing what an average guy does to

provide for his family and then blow off steam after an average day.” He added that all of his friends

at the factory act like he does; they all had the same ups and downs as he is having, but he is just

having a more difficult time “getting

through it”; and that he loves his family and would “do whatever it takes.” At the conclusion of the

session, Mr.

Lopez did agree to return for short-term counseling with the goal of reducing problematic mood,

anxiety, and

6

behavioral symptoms. When asked if he believed it would be beneficial for his entire family to come

to counseling, Mr. Lopez said, “Sure, we’re all crazy, so we might as well all have fun together in

here.” The plan is for ongoing brief individual counseling to assist the client to return to previous

level of functioning.