The subject is a Caucasian female with three children, a husband of six years, describing

problems with her children, depressive symptoms, and uncertainty about direction in her life. She
is thirty four years of age, with three children, two of which currently live at home with her. She
described her marital relationship as somewhat average. The client was anxious during the initial
stage of the interview, but seemed quite willing to explore these issues.
After introducing myself, began by as!ing the client, Amber, what it was that brought
her into counseling. A brief description was provided and listened attentively to what she had to
say. That put her at ease and she began to open up a bit more. "efore continuing too! a moment
to explain how the sessions wor!ed. #er active participation was vital and assured her that
anything she told me would remain private unless it was absolutely necessary to share any
information. She was informed that it could be an intense experience and the focus would be on
her goals and growth or progress based on her perspective. set the tone of the sessions as a team
experience, a place where she could express her feelings and frustrations freely without the fear
of judgment. $astly told her that while strong emotional connections might be made, the
client%counselor relationship was to remain strictly professional as to not jeopardi&e her best
interests.
The next series of questions were focused on the client's childhood and experiences
growing up. The following information was gathered. Amber was raised by a single mother( her
father had left the family when she was three years old. She had no recollection of him nor any
form of contact up to the present day. #er mother struggled financially, and was not around much
as she had to wor! multiple jobs. Amber expressed deep feelings of abandonment. #er
performance in school suffered greatly, she lac!ed parental support and was constantly truant by
the fifth grade. #er mother was unable to get through to her rebellious behavior and acting out.
The family found themselves in homeless shelters somewhat often, and by age thirteen she was
spending much of her time on the street. t was at this age that she reported becoming sexually
active, and soon found herself pregnant. "ecause of her lac! of education, she did not reali&e this
until several months into the pregnancy. The father of her first child remained un!nown as she
had engaged in sexual intercourse with several transients.
Amber was ta!en off the streets after giving birth. The child was put up for adoption and
she never !new what became of him, something which made her sad in her later years. She
would spend much of her foster years running away and in and out of schools. Alcohol and
marijuana use was reported to have started at age fifteen. "y this point contact with her mother
was lost, and she only recently found out that her mother had passed away several years ago. t
didn't phase her very much, she questioned if her lac! of emotion was wrong. As she reached her
late teens, Amber began to attempt to get her life bac! on trac!, completing her )*+ before her
twentieth birthday.
Still finding herself occasionally homeless, she entered the wor!force, but was unable to
hold a job for long. The client reported feeling helpless and stuc! in this situation and the
frustration often led to some anger issues. #er anxiety and irritability led to loss of wor! and
several failed relationships. The men she found herself with were heavy alcohol users which
influenced her continued use of this and occasional illegal substances. She had two children by
two different men by the time she was twenty six. The oldest, a girl, ended up living with the
father's parents. #er second child was a male, and currently resides with her. She met her current
husband at twenty eight( they quic!ly married when she found herself pregnant by him, giving
birth to her youngest daughter not long after. #er current husband came from a bro!en home, but
was not li!e the previous men she was in a relationship with. #e did not use drugs or have
problems with alcohol. *ven so, at times he struggled financially to provide for Amber and their
two children.
#er relationship with her husband was mostly ordinary and dull, according to her. She did
not report any significant problems with him, only being annoyed that the children favored him
over her. She was often angry at them for listening to him and not her.
Amber stated that she felt little sense of control. She could not get through to her !ids. Although
she was often irritated by them, she expressed a fond love for them. t worried her that their
behavior was becoming similar to her own as a child. She spent many nights thin!ing about their
future, worrying, and unable to sleep. Social wor!ers had already made visits to their house
because the children were beginning to misbehave. Amber only worried more, fearing her
children would be ta!en away. She admitted to drin!ing more often recently and using marijuana
to self,medicate.
Although she had managed to !eep her job as a cashier in a local grocery store for over a
year now, she felt her irritability affecting her at wor!. t has become very mundane, and she
often lac!s volition to even get up for wor! in the morning. She stated that she imagined herself
being content with her life by this point, but that it is not the case. The fact that she is still
struggling when others around her have established their lives only adds to her depression.
-hen as!ed about suicidal ideation or any history of attempts, she explained that she had
thought about it before but never got any further than that. She did not report having any suicidal
thoughts recently or any weapons in the house such as firearms. The client did not express any
violent tendencies towards other or intent to harm anyone. #er substance use with children in the
house was an issue that would have to be addressed, even though the children had not been
directly exposed.
#er coping mechanisms, self,medication, were not as effective as she believed,
something she recogni&ed. Several options were discussed such as twelve step programs and
substance abuse counseling. informed her that child services may become involved and while it
frightened her, she agreed to do what was necessary in order to !eep her children. -e began to
discuss goals. #er main priority was to have an actual relationship with her children and not see
them end up in trouble li!e she had. She wanted to feel a sense of purpose, motivation, reasons to
get up in the morning. Amber wanted to feel accomplished in life. A wor!ing relationship in the
family as a whole was also discussed. There were some deep rooted emotional issues from her
childhood that we would have to further explore in depth but by this point in the interview
Amber expressed that she felt some relief in expressing her thoughts and feelings. brought up
the idea of !eeping a journal to !eep trac! of her days and moods, to which she reacted to
favorably. She recalled that as a child one of the few things in school that caught her interest was
writing, specifically poetry. encouraged her to write some in her journal, and for the first time
in the interview she smiled genuinely. She was as!ed if she would consider having her children
or husband at future sessions, or family therapy, but did not provide a definitive answer though
interest was expressed.
n conclusion, by the end of the session we came up with several goals to improve the
client's familial relationships. The alcohol and drug use cessation was another goal, and referred
her to a psychiatrist to further evaluate and possibly prescribe some antidepressants or anxiolytic
medication. An idea that she came up with was anger management classes, which she had read
about in a pamphlet while waiting to be seen. .urther exploration of her interests to find or
re!indle her enthusiasm in hobbies and other healthy leisure activities could give her a more
positive outloo!. Amber agreed to come in next wee! for another session.