¶ … Antwone Fisher Story
Antwone Fisher was a young black man with a disruptive family history. His emotional development was severely affected as he matured, which created situations and difficult choices for the first 25 years of his life. The middle child in a family of foster children, Antwone never knew his father, and was abandoned by his mother into the foster care system at the age of two. At the time he was given to the 'system' his mother was a prostitute, or at least a bar made who rarely stayed in an employed status for a long period of time. It could be assumed that she never returned for her first born son, to retrieve him from the foster care system because of her own unstable living conditions. As a result, Antwone became part of a religious, but abusive foster family where he endured the degradation of beatings, threats, and sexual molestations from his older foster aunt. Those who carried the responsibility for nurturing Antwone became his attackers, leaving deep emotional insecurity bordering on psychological instability.
Antwone was a very brilliant young boy, but in the face of his dysfunctional home life, did not develop his educational talents during elementary school, neither did he learn the study habits which could have made secondary school a positive experience. As a young black man in the inner city of Cleveland, he dreamed of having a family, and a purpose, but only found abuse and rejection.
The presenting problem of this young man is his aggressive and hostile interaction with other navy shipmates on his first tour. Antwone had no connections to his family, and from initial interview, he related that he had no connections whatsoever. After watching his closest childhood friend killed in an attempted robbery, he immediately enlisted in the armed services as a last option to turn his life around, and find a stable existence. Why he chose the navy as a career can only be guessed at, and will be discusses further on this case study. However, in an environment which men speaks their minds, and often interacts with each other with racial jabs, Antwone was soon to find trouble
The immediate, surface level problem... And the reason he was assigned to a psychiatric evaluation was Antwone's assault on another sailor. He was placed on probation after fighting in the bath and shower area, and required to visit the company psychologist. He was placed on restriction, and given additional duties in order to give him a tighter framework within which to sort out his emotional conflict. The commanding officer asked that he be given 3 consultations, and on the basis of information collected during that process, the counselor was to make a recommendation as to whether or not Mr. Fisher would be allowed to stay in the navy, or given discharge papers.
Mr. Fisher's living situation should be evaluated in three distinct phases in order to understand his emotional state, and the psychodynamics of his assessment. As a child, Antwone lived in a foster home with two brothers. His foster parents were demanding, and abusive. Antwone was raised in foster care from the time he was two because his mother chose to use the foster care system rather than raise Antwone herself. His stay in a single foster home, while a better options than bounding from home to home like many children his age, was filled with abuse, and neglect. The consequences of this behavioral pattern carried over into his young adult life.
In his late teens, when his foster mother attempted to take money that he had earned, and administer more physical abuse during the incident, Antwone disarmed his foster mother. He demanded that she treat him with respect, and stop hitting him. At this time, Antwone was ejected from the home, and force to live in the street, and with friends who might take him in for short periods. Antwone stayed on the street, in parks, and in homeless shelters until joining the Navy.
The Navy provided Antwone a stable housing and social environment. As an unruly young man, the navy served to structure Antwone's out of control life. During boot camp, basic training, and until he was assigned to a ship, Antwone's life was highly structured. The rigors of basic training prepare the man to be physically and psychologically ready for the armed services, however, it does not build emotional stability into a life which is complete out of balance. When Antwone was stationed on his first ship, he discovered the close quarters and lack of individual 'space' exacerbated his angry tendencies. Antwone repeatedly...
The heart-rending autobiographical, Antwone Fisher, portrays Fisher’s (who is the movie’s scriptwriter) obsession for a family life, and spells of extreme melancholy and loneliness. The character of Antwone Fisher, an African-American sailor, is portrayed as volatile and uncontrollable. This nature makes way for compulsory psychiatric sessions with Dr. Davenport, after Fisher has a violent spell, leaving a peer bearing the brunt of his temper. Initially, Fisher doesn’t cooperate and remains
Description of the Client Client is an African-American male in his late teens, currently enlisted in the United States Navy. When he first arrives to therapy, the client presents himself cleanly in uniform, but he refuses to talk. The client has been mandated to the therapist after getting into a series of violent altercations with fellow officers. After several more sessions, the client starts to engage. Engagement The first several sessions did not
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