Case Study of Jacque
Notes from first meeting that was for purpose of data collection. This data is what you have when you actually meet for the second time. You can begin with trying to see where she wants to start.
Jacque is a 49-year old woman of mixed race descent and who appears white. Her father is a Caucasian male, a noted university scholar (physicist), and her mother is an African-American woman of French descent who was a successful model before her marriage. Jacque’s mother is extremely light skinned and is often mistaken for Eurasian rather than African-American.
Jacque has been married once but now is single. She has three children from her first marriage-two girls and one who identifies as non-binary. The youngest identifies as female and graduated from high school last year and is in the first year of nursing school. However, she is thinking about “dropping out and getting married”. The oldest (age 29) recently married and is now expecting her first child. Jacque describes this daughter’s marriage as simply, “He loves her, but I don’t think she loves him. He’s very nice, but not too bright.” Jacque’s middle child is 24 years old, does not identify as male or female, and Jacque says that they also say they are asexual.
Jacque works for The Family Connection. She was hired five years ago after she had “dropped out” of a doctoral program in sociology at Florida State University. This is her first professional job. She has been quite successful at work-even during the pandemic, and has become the regional supervisor for a program to assist pregnant teens. She has developed programs in a five-county region of South Georgia for pregnant teens. For the first three years of the job, she commuted from Tallahassee which has been her home since age 13. However, two years ago when she became supervisor, the stress of the commute, the pandemic, and demands of the job convinced her she needed to be closer. She now lives in Lake Park, Georgia. Jacque claims to love her job. She is also a successful author of three children’s books. Jacque admits to missing Tallahassee and her friends, but she goes back almost every weekend.
Jacque first made an appointment to see you because of a feeling of mild depression (for which she could give no reason) and feeling as if she was “getting old too soon”. Although attractive, she sees herself as appearing much older and has told you that she no longer looks at herself in the mirror. You noted the first time you saw her that she appeared to use no makeup and her hair was un-styled in a very unflattering way. In meeting with her for the first time, she described herself as “looking old” and feeling “vaguely dissatisfied”. “I don’t know why. I’ve had a good life and it continues to be good. I think I’ve always expected too much. Maybe I’m just selfish.”
When you met her last week, Jacque wanted to know your credentials, background, and experience. After you tell her, she says, “So you don’t have a doctorate?” You explain that as a social worker, clinical licensure is probably more important than an advanced degree. She had no problem with that.
Jacque describes herself as a “sexaholic who is in recovery”. However, in exploring this area, she admits that she has never been diagnosed – there is no such diagnosis – and she self-labeled. “I was very promiscuous until about six years ago. It was getting in the way.” When you ask why she is seeking help now, she says, “I have some important decisions to make, about me, my family and what I’m doing and I’m not sure I can trust myself to make the right decisions.” She says that recently, she has had trouble concentrating at work and at home. “The littlest noise distracts me. I also worry that I’m not doing a good job at work”. However, when pressed, she admits that her supervisor and her supervisees as well as her clients have nothing but good things to say about her. “Sometimes the way they look at me, it’s as if they see right through me. I know they can’t really do that, but i just feel like they can see that I’m a fraud and not that bright. Like I’m going to make some big, unforgivable mistake.” However, she describes her work up until now as very fulfilling. “I’d like to think I’m doing something important, you know, helping girls raise their babies; giving them a second chance. The story books I write, too, I think they give small children, who maybe don’t have a good home life, something to hold on to.” She tells you that a recurrent theme in her books is about a “mother, father and child who have lots of difficulties, but make it through life together. Sometimes another child is born, sometimes another child dies, but they all make it through. Kids need that.”
Jacque also stated that she is apprehensive about whether therapy can help her. “I’m not sure that other people—especially someone you pay—can help you solve your problems. Other people usually have their own agendas.” When asked if she is close to anyone who has been in therapy, she replies, “My mother, for years, and I don’t think it’s helped.” When asked if anyone else in her family had sought therapy, she replied, “My younger brother after his divorce. He said it helped. Dad said it was ridiculous, that he should just get over it and move on.” When asked if her father had ever been in therapy, she said this. “I think mother tried to get him to go before they divorced. He didn’t. My father would never do that!” When asked why, she paused for a bit and responded, “My father is a brilliant man. And very different! He doesn’t seem to need things the way other people do. He has his work. If he has a need, he fills it. If he has a problem, he fixes it. Sometimes it’s almost like he’s not really human. I don’t know anyone else quite like him; certainly not me”
She also wanted to know how long she will need to see you. As you discuss why she wants to know, she reveals that she has always been uncomfortable talking about herself. “I guess I don’t trust other people when they want to get inside of me; knowing personal things. I just don’t think my life is that interesting and I wonder what their motives are. I don’t like talking about myself.”
Jacque has identified several events that might be precipitating events for what appears to be her depression. However, she does not see a connection with her depressed mood and these events: 1) She is about to turn 50 and thinks she looks old; 2) She is concerned that her youngest daughter is about to make a big mistake by dropping out of school and marrying; 3) She is about to become a grandmother; 4) She is estranged from her middle child. She says that she doesn’t have a problem with their gender identity or sexual orientation, but that they have always been different, and that this child always knew what to do to press her buttons.
5) She has just started to date a professor at VSU, but is thinking of ending the relationship; 5) There is a major family reunion with her father at the beach coming up in three months, and she is anxious about taking her new male friend; and 6) She is considering moving back to Tallahassee.
Jacque also mentions to you that she has been thinking about her child which she had and gave up for adoption when she was 16. “It was very sad, I think I was depressed for a year, and I still think about him and wonder how he is. I guess I still feel guilty about it”. She says this with no emotion. When asked whose idea the adoption was she says, “Perhaps my mother’s – although she denies it. Maybe my father. The child was African-American. I’m not sure that was ok with dad, but I think they were probably right. I wouldn’t have been a very good mother.”
Later you learn that upon Jacque’s divorce, her children went to live with their father. About this she states, “I was wild. He was probably better parent. They wouldn’t have wanted to live with me.” Then she adds guardedly, “Why do you want to know that? Do you think there’s something immoral about a woman who chooses to not be the primary parent?”
About Jacque’s adult children from her marriage
“The children still see their father more than they see me.” “I can’t believe my oldest is pregnant, I am just too young to be a grandmother. I wish she had waited longer before having a child. I am not sure it will work out with her husband.”
“My youngest is so smart. She is like her grandfather-my father. I thought going into nursing was a good idea, but studying pre-med would have been even better for her. She has great people skills and is also very talented in math and science. She certainly doesn’t need to throw her life away by getting married now.”
“One of the best things I did with my middle child was to name them Skylar. When they said they were non-binary, they could be Skylar as a male and a female. I am so glad that kids are able to express themselves more these days, but I wonder about Skylar being asexual. They are in their 20s. In my day in our 20s the last thing we were was asexual. I don’t know. Skylar is closer to their sisters than to me I think Skylar is just depressed.
In talking with Jacque, she has revealed the following information about particular issues:
When she stopped her sexual behaviors, she took up “running” and became a vegan. To this day, she continues to run about “50 miles per week, no matter what.” She is also quite obsessive about her diet and will not eat any fast foods. Often when she is visiting for dinner with people who do not know her well, she will not eat what is served if it is not in her diet (meat, for example). She feels a “little guilty” about this but feels quite upset if she breaks her routine. She has also admitted that her daughters think she has become “too obsessive with keeping a neat and clean house.” She admits that she probably overdoes this, but states that “the need for order and routine in my life is very important. I like to know what is happening next.” Although she has always “been a really neat”, her obsessiveness has increased in the last five years.
About the VSU professor and thinking about breaking off the relationship:
“I don’t know. Things have been so much simpler without a relationship. I worry that I might be opening a can of worms. I’ve never dated a professional before. With the other men, I always knew where I stood; I was – for the most part – smarter than them. They needed me and seemed to appreciate me”. She smiles and adds; “I guess you could say my strategy was in ‘dating down’”.
The smile quickly vanishes and she adds more formally, “What if Ron (the professor) finds out what a pretender I am. Eventually, he’s got to figure out that I’m not that smart. What if he doesn’t like me. I don’t want to go through that and besides, I don’t know if I’m capable of actually caring for someone. What if he turns out to be just like the other men I’ve dated. It all seems just too complicated! I don’t know how to do the man/woman thing. Besides, he’s very sloppy and he’s not a good driver upon reflection”, she says, “I think I can be pretty petty sometimes.”
About Moving Back to Tallahassee.
“All my friends are there. They know me and accept me and they don’t judge me for who I am. I know Tallahassee. There were things I could do there. There were no surprises. I always had something to do or someone to see. I felt in control. I said I would never leave Tallahassee, and I did”. When asked why she left, she responded, “I guess I just felt bored, maybe unfulfilled –whatever that means”.
About her Relationship with her Mother.
“I see her almost every week. It’s not my idea. She’s just so needy. She’s nice enough, but she puts on such an act. Things are sooo important to her. One time she went to dinner at a friend’s house. She told me afterward that they served the salad dressing from the bottle rather than putting it in a dressing bowl. She said, “I would never take salad dressing straight out of the container. It’s so gauche.” Then Jacque added, “But who am I to criticize. I kinda do the same thing; like being so particular about what I eat.” On another occasion, “I worry about mom. She doesn’t date, and she’s still a very attractive woman. Watches her weight, things like that. She could enjoy herself a lot more, if she’d just go out and do it and not be so down.”
About the Beach Week with Father.
“I worry that if I bring Ron, he and dad will try and show each other up. Especially my father. Maybe they’ll both ignore me.”
Assume that the following history and statements by Jacque and her mother are accurate.
Early Childhood History
Jacque was born in Columbus, Ohio. Her father took his first academic post at Ohio State University. Jacque is the oldest of three children, two girls and one boy. According to Jacque’s mother, Jacque was extremely precocious who was talking by 11 months and saying full sentences by 14 months. She walked at an early age also. Jacque was encouraged to talk and was read to by both parents. According to mother (Lora), both parents valued her intelligence, and it was very clear that Jacque was a special child and quite bright. Both parents paid attention to her, focusing mainly on learning and rewarding her for her accomplishments. Ed, the father was teaching at Ohio State. “Ed was very behavioral. He believed in reinforcement and rewarding Jacque for ‘being special’. Ed and I disagreed a lot on Jacque. I wanted to buy her toys for birthdays and Christmas and such. Ed wanted to buy her books and educational games. Ed won.”
Lora became pregnant again with her second child when Jacque was 6 months old. Lora stated that the pregnancy became increasingly problematic and that she didn’t have much help at home. “I guess I could have spent more time with Jacque, but often I was ill, and I guess a little depressed. Jacque’s father was very handsome and very charming, but he worked very long hours, and he was very popular with his students…Too popular. It’s not that he ignored Jacque or me. When he was home, he was very attentive. He just wasn’t home that much. And I knew he was seeing other women.”
According to Lora, when Ed was home “he spent much time with Jacque and would read to her….sometimes things he was working on. He even taught her to count in Spanish when she was 14 months old. But he didn’t really play with her.”
When Jacque was 15 months old, her mother gave birth to a girl. The second oldest (Jill) was dark skinned and, according to Lora, was not favored by her father. She also did not seem to develop normally and both parents became increasingly frustrated with Jill’s lack of development. “I guess we focused so much on Jill, we might have neglected Jacque a bit. But she was such a good child. Never complained and would play by herself for hours, singing and smiling.” By the time Jill reached 15 months, it was clear that she was autistic (Jacque was 30 months old then) and needed care. According to Lora, “there was more and more tension between Ed and me. It was clear that Ed was not satisfied with Jill the moment he saw her color. I think he blamed me for all of Jill’s difficulties. We never fought or anything. He would just withdraw. When I would ask him to talk to me he would turn it around and make it seem like I was doing something wrong. He paid less attention to Jacque as well. You could feel the tension. He would make these subtle complaints about the house, dinner, the kids and I would get upset, then he would say something like, ‘There’s no need for you to be mean and abusive about this. Like I was crazy or something.’ ”
Ed wanted to institutionalize Jill, and Lora did not. When Jacque was 32 months old, Ed and Lora separated. It was Ed’s suggestion. He left, and according to Lora “two months after he left, I had to put Jill in a residential program. She stayed there for 10 years until she died. I just couldn’t take care of both the girls by myself. I think he knew that once he left, it would be too much for me.” Ed and Lora got back together the week of Jacque’s third birthday. “He told Jacque that he was her birthday present. And she loved it.” During the separation (which lasted for 4 months) Jacque—from age 32 to 36 months–seemed lost. She developed enuresis and encopresis which lasted until she was five, and she began to have trouble sleeping during the separation. “She’d come into my bedroom in the middle of the night and say she couldn’t sleep,” Lora reported. “I’d let her climb into bed with me. When Ed returned home, Jacque still wanted to come to bed with us. Ed didn’t like it. He never yelled at Jacque but told her she ‘had to sleep in her own bed.’ Jacque wanted to know what happened to her sister, and we told her that ‘God had taken her’ ”.
According to Lora, Ed continued to have affairs and continued to be at work much of the time. When Jacque was four years old, Ed took a position at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. The three of them lived there for two years. During that time Jacque (from age 4 to 6 years) was in placed in daycare with other children of university faculty. At Ed’s insistence, the parents hired a tutor for Jacque to teach her French. “Ed said that if we were going to live here, Jacque ought to be able to speak French.” During those years Jacque continued to be very inquisitive and curious about intellectual things, but made few friends and did not play much with other children. Neither parent saw this as unusual. Lora adds, “I loved it there. It was my heritage, but Ed was very controlling. There were many things I could have done, including resuming my modeling. He wouldn’t allow it. He said my job was to take care of Jacque. But he also wouldn’t let me really show her Paris or enroll her in some of the wonderful programs there. He allowed school, the tutor, and me. What good is learning a language if you have no one to speak to?”
Middle Childhood History
Two years later (Jacque by now age 6), Ed took a position at NYU in New York City. Jacque started first grade in a private school and quickly distinguished herself as a gifted student. The teachers praised Jacque, and both parents encouraged her intellectual gifts. During first and second grade, Jacque seemed to make some friends but she was not permitted to bring other children home or to visit other children. Ed believed that many of the children were not as gifted as Jacque and thought that it might interfere with her “brilliance.” Jacque remembers this time in New York fondly and remembers her school and friends fondly, saying “I remember going on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum with all of my classmates. It was wonderful. I had some good friends. They liked me.”
When Jacque was 10, the family moved again to Oakridge, Tennessee, because her father had taken a position with the Atomic Energy Commission. There were no private schools so Jacque attended the local public school. Jacque recalls this as a very lonely time. “I felt really different. Other kids were doing things that seemed weird. The girls were into makeup and the boys were into football. If you didn’t like makeup or football. You were out.” Jacque was also diagnosed with childhood curvature of the spine and had to wear a back brace that was unsightly and could be seen through her clothes. She wore the brace until age 13 when the scoliosis was corrected. Jacque recalls getting a nickname in school during this time, “the worm. I guess it was short for bookworm, but I don’t really know.”
It wasn’t until her sister’s death at age 10 (Jacque was 11 and a half) that she was told the truth about her sister. According to Lora, Jacque cried and wanted to know why she was told her sister was taken by God so many years ago and not told of her continued existence in a residential home. Lora cannot recall how they responded to this. Jacque recalls wanting to go to the gravesite but was told by her parents that the child had been cremated. Lora does recall that. Jacque commented on how her sister “looked like” Lora. According to Lora, “She asked me if being a black baby had anything to do with not telling her what happened – if being black had anything to do with placing her in a home. She also wanted to know how I felt about being black. She had lots of questions. I guess she figured out that her father was not all that faithful. She would ask if it bothered me that dad was with other women. I denied that he was with other women. She wanted to know what it was like for a black person to be married to a white man. I told her that it made no difference, but she had so many questions I couldn’t answer. Maybe I was afraid to answer. She was so smart.”
Ed and Lora had another child when Jacque was 12 and a half. They told Jacque that the new baby was a gift to her and a replacement for her sister. Six months later, (Jacque now age 13 and out of the back brace), Ed took a position at FSU in Tallahassee. Jacque began attending public school and began to make friends. By the time Jacque was 13 and a half, she was physically precocious and still extremely bright. In no time, she was popular in school. Jacque became sexually active at age 14 and started experimenting with marijuana. Despite these behaviors, she continued to make excellent grades but became increasingly defiant and oppositional at home, particularly with her mother.
Lora again; “I think she blamed me for everything about her sister. She was angry at me all the time then, about not standing up to her father, about not ‘being black enough’. She used to call me Uncle Tomasina.”
Jacque became increasingly defiant at home, often staying out all night, smoking pot in the house, and sometimes bringing boys home to her bedroom. Lora received little help from Ed in dealing with Jacque. When Lora asked, he would grudgingly “talk to” Jacque. This usually took the form of some type of discussion where Ed would “empathize” with Jacque – i.e. “kids will be kids and I know it’s not that bad”. Then he would explain intellectually why what she was doing was unhealthy. According to Lora, Ed also would make it sound like Lora was being unreasonable. According to Lora, whenever Ed talked to Jacque, she ended up being angrier and meaner to Lora. Eventually Lora stopped asking for Ed’s help.
According to Jacque, she had a great time in high school and loved being in Tallahassee, “despite the problems that my father and mother had.” When Jacque was 16 and a half, she became pregnant. The father was an African-American boy who was one year ahead of her in school. According to Jacque, she did not want to get married—even though she liked the boy very much; she wanted to have the child. Her father was quite upset and wanted her to have an abortion. Her mother disagreed, stood up for Jacque and Jacque had the baby, a black-skinned child. However, she was forced by her parents to give the child up for adoption. According to Lora, “I wanted her to do what Jacque wanted. I would have helped her raise the child, but Ed insisted that she would ‘ruin her life’ and not be able to go to college. I guess I could have done more, but I thought he’d leave again. He did anyway.”
Jacque became depressed after the adoption and went to see a counselor but stopped after three sessions. “It didn’t help,” she said. The relationship between her mother and father worsened and they separated in the middle of Jacque’s senior year (age 17 and a half). Her father took a job at the University of Tennessee and wanted Jacque (and not her brother) to come live with him. Despite not getting along with her mother, she chose to stay in Tallahassee.
According to Lora, “All hell broke loose after the adoption. We didn’t really have a family. Ed was having numerous affairs with students and faculty, Jacque almost never came home, was always angry at me, and critical. She talked about how weak I was and how I was a ‘doormat’ for her father. Despite that, she always enjoyed being around her father; even after he made her give up the child. I think she blamed me and not him for the adoption.”
Early Adult History
Jacque graduated with honors and received a scholarship to FSU. However, her father again tried to get her to move to Tennessee and attend UT. He had just married his second wife. Jacque refused. She continued to have numerous casual relationships while living at home with her mother. However, toward the end of her first year at FSU, she met and married a biker with a high school education. The biker was 16 years older than Jacque. She dropped out of school (age 19) and had her first child in wedlock. Jacque stayed married until she was forty, but describes the marriage as “more of a friendship than a marriage”. Jacque had numerous affairs during that time and even had ongoing relationships with other men while she was married. According to her, they were all “working class guys; kinda redneck”. When asked why she had the affairs she said,”I don’t know. I guess it was about sex or maybe attention. They really seemed to want me. They really seemed to like me. They just kind of pursued me until I said yes. I guess I was easy”. She then added, “I never really felt connected to any of them and never really went out of my way to get any of them. A couple got too close and wanted me to leave my husband. That’s when I would break it off.” She says that her husband understood and tolerated these “because I guess he saw me as being younger and really loved me. He also had high blood pressure and this caused difficulty with sex. I don’t think he was all that interested in me” She added, “I never told him about all of the guys, some were even his friends. Maybe he didn’t know.” When asked why she stayed married she said “He was really a kind man, was a good provider and a great father.” When asked why she married him, she replied, “I don’t know; he was nice to me. I guess I was rebellious. I guess I was a bad child (she said this while laughing) also he really wanted me, he pursued me.”
When Jacque was 25, her father had divorced, and he remarried (3rd marriage) a woman who was Jacque’s age. According to Jacque, the woman “was very crazy. Dad said she was jealous of me and told my father that she wanted him not to have contact with me”. Her father sent her a letter explaining that for the sake of his new marriage, he was going to have to stop having contact with her. Jacque had no contact with him for five years until he divorced his third wife. “He called me a week after the divorce and apologized. I guess I had to forgive him. We’ve stayed in some contact ever since and I see him about once or twice a year.” When asked if she was upset about her father’s treatment of her she said, “It was hard, but I guess he really loved her. I felt really bad for a while like I had lost a part of myself. I felt like I had done something wrong, and I guess was angry at myself for a while”. She denied being angry with father. When pushed about what she thought about her father’s multiple affairs she replied, “He was a physicist. They work on things that most of us can’t even comprehend. He had his own rules. He’s different than most of us average people. It’s kind of frightening”
Despite her infidelity, Jacque never physically abused her children and became very active in the Tallahassee community with numerous charitable organizations. She continued to be popular in the community and described herself as having “wonderful friendships.”
When Jacque was 38 (still married), she returned to FSU and got an undergraduate degree in sociology in 3 years. She received a full scholarship to the masters/doctoral program in sociology (age 41). At the same time, she and her husband divorced. She describes the divorce as amicable and says they are still close friends. Although they had joint custody, the children still living at home chose to stay with her ex-husband and would stay with her on the weekends. Her ex-husband and her father helped her purchase a house in Tallahassee (she still owns the house). It was when she was in graduate school that she began writing children’s books to supplement her scholarship money.
After three years, she dropped out of the doctoral program, having completed everything but her dissertation. “It wasn’t that big of a deal and I had learned everything I wanted to. I think my father was disappointed. He wanted another doctorate in the family; but he wouldn’t have had any respect for sociologists. I don’t think he thinks of them as real Ph.D.s.” She took her job with Family Connection in South Georgia and commuted from Tallahassee. It was at this time that she stopped having any relationships with men, until now. (She had taken up running and healthy eating at that time).
When asked why she stopped seeing men, she stated: “I’m not sure. I’ve never really felt like I’ve been in love and I just think that relationships are nothing but problems. They all start off great, but then they start wanting you to change; like they try to imprison you. Besides, all of the men I ever was involved with were nice, but none of them were all that smart. I think men are just too needy and want you to take care of them. They’re all like little boys.” The professor from VSU is the first man she has been with in 5 years. She added, “You know you really can’t count on anything in this life. You read philosophy and it’s really clear that nothing is permanent. The world changes all the time and it’s up to you to adjust. Relationships are complicated and messy.”
Jacque stays in regular contact with her mother although their relationship is still stormy and argumentative. She describes her mother (without emotion) as “nice and caring but weak and needy. She never got over my father and is still bitter. I don’t know why she can’t get over it. And she’s so into makeup and the current fashion. It’s sad watching someone in their early 70’s trying to look like they’re forty and not getting on with their life. To this day, every time I see her, she asks about dad and then starts running him down. I don’t want to hear it.” Jacque sees her father (who is now married for the fourth time) at least once a year, usually at a family gathering at the beach. He rents a big house on the beach for a week with his brothers and their families. Jacque and her children attend. Jacque describes it as great fun. “My father is very charming and fun to be around. Our relationship has gotten better since I went back to school. I think he knows I’m smart”. When asked if she saw any connection between the improved relationship with her father and her stopping her affairs with working class men and now dating—for the first time—a college educated man, her response was simply “They’re both physics professors.”
BASED ON THIS HISTORY, YOU ARE TO PRETEND THAT YOU GATHERED ALL OF THIS IN AN INTIAL MEETING WITH JACQUE. THIS INFORMATION IS THERE SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE A COMPLETE SENSE OF THE CLIENT. IT IS MUCH MORE HISTORY THAN YOU NEED, BUT THE DATA SHOULD HELP YOU CREATE REALISITC ASSESSMENT AND A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF JACQUE.
Cognitive and Perceptual Domain
Cognitive and Perceptual Domain
