Case study methodology and applications

¶ … Helen Robinson. This summary will first give a detailed account of the patient's personal and relevant history before discussing some possible problems she may have or is experiencing.

Mrs. Helen Robinson is a 43-year-old white woman, well-educated and a married mother of three. Helen has had some troubling incidents in her past that appear to be affecting her in her present state. Her childhood was not easy nor peaceful in any relative way. Her father was abusive in many different ways and some of her siblings have suffered some negative effects from this abuse. Helen's father is an alcoholic and has had some troubles with violence both in and outside the family's sphere of influence. As a medical doctor, Helen's father had been accused, and later cleared of sexual assault charges on young boys. This dark period of her family's life led her to doubt authenticity and importance as person.

Her educational development also witnessed Helen to some trauma. Helen was mugged at school and violently attacked in her dorm room in her first year of college which has since caused a deep attachment to recognizable environments, sometimes against her best interests.

Helen's marriage has been rough at times with her husband suffering from gambling addiction and cocaine abuse. Her husband, Steve, recently squandered their life savings on a two-week bender in Atlantic City where he admitted to using cocaine, soliciting prostitutes and gambling away $50,000 on video poker and high stakes keno.

Helen's current situation sees her unsatisfied with her husband and her marriage. To complicate things, Helen's parents have recently offered their family money to come move to suburban Chicago and away from the high stress life of New York City. An old teaching acquaintance from her college days has also recently resurfaced in her life and she is considering taking him on as a lover. Helen has also began drinking heavily on the weekends and has discovered her husband has recently contracted the herpes virus.

Possible Problems