Addressing and Confronting Bias and Prejudice

Week 3 revision

PSY645 Fictional Sociocultural Case Studies Case #1

Frank is a 45-year-old male who identifies as gay. He identified himself as “white” of German, Italian, and English ancestry. He stated his reason for seeking out psychotherapy “is because my boyfriend doesn’t want to have sex with me.” When asked about the frequency of his sexual activity with his boyfriend, he reported that they have sex at least once a week. While this tends to be the average amount of sex that couples generally have, he repeated, “You don’t understand. I just want him to have sex with me!” When asked to share his boyfriend’s name, Frank responded, “Orlando Bloom… you know, the famous movie actor.” When interviewed about specifics related to his alleged relationship Mr. Bloom, Frank is vague, avoids eye contact and becomes agitated. Frank appeared well groomed with logical thought but poor insight into his problems. He denied symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Case #2

Chrissy is a 28-year-old female of Argentinean descent. Chrissy was born in the United States two years after her parents immigrated to the USA and is proficient in English and Spanish. She stated her reason for seeking out psychotherapy “is because my family won’t let me be the person I want to be.” She endorses symptoms of depression and chronic passive suicidal ideation with a plan, means, but no current intent. One of her goals in life is to be an independent entrepreneur, as she wants to start a designer clothing line for pregnant women. However, this goes against her family’s expectation that she become a stay at home mom and raise children of her own. She appeared well groomed with logical thought and moderate insight into her problems.

Case #3

Harvey and Tina are a middle-aged mixed-ethnicity couple who present for counseling after 20 years of marriage. Other than acknowledging communication could be better and that at times they may take each other for granted, they state that there are no major problems in their marriage. Their primary reason for coming in is to establish a safe space to discuss issues as they might develop to keep them from becoming bigger problems in the future. While gathering history, you learn that Tina was born as Anthony and went through sex reassignment surgery two years into her relationship with Harvey. Shortly after going through sex reassignment, Harvey and Tina married. Harvey and Tina appeared well groomed with superior insight and no plans to use insurance for counseling.

Week 3 revision

Case #4 Amy and her husband, Rob, were raised in a rural, highly religious community. Two years ago, they moved to a mid-sized city 80 miles from their hometown for Rob’s job. They have been married eight years and have four children (6 months to 7 years). Amy is a stay at home mom who volunteers at the church. Recently, Rob was found to be having an affair with his supervisor. Amy asked for a divorce and to return to her parents’ home with the children. Her only income is the $100 bi-weekly allowance from Rob who controls all finances. For household shopping, he gives Amy gift cards to keep spending within budget. Rob will not agree to a divorce as “it goes against God’s plan” and he will not agree to end the affair, citing Biblical examples of polygamy and Amy’s own father’s mistresses. Rob recommends counseling so Amy will calm down and accept his decision. Case #5 Jamaal is a 12-year-old African American male who is being bullied at his new private school. He encountered similar difficulties at his prior public school. Jamaal was referred for an evaluation three years ago because of excessive talking in class. He would finish his work quickly, become bored, and then engage others in conversation. He was evaluated by a psychologist and diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. His intelligence test scores were all observed to be in the “genius”/Very Superior range. Jamaal is approximately 70 pounds overweight and has difficulty making friends other than his online computer gaming “friends”. Jamaal’s art teacher recommended his parents take him to see a psychologist because of increasingly depressive and aggressive themes observed in this work.