GC 513- Special Topics

Case Study on Suicide Counseling

I. Personal Information
Name: Miss F
Age: 23
Gender:

Female

Marital Status: Single

Occupation:

Student

Address: Baguio City

II. Nature of the case
Suicide Attempt: July 2012 (First Attempt)
Mode of Committing: Cutting Wrist (through the use of a knife)
Reason: Relationship issues
III. Brief Family Background History (Narrative form)
Miss F stayed with her aunt since her childhood years. She had a history of
maltreatment from her aunt in any form of physical abuse (slapping, spanking, etc.).
Her grandfather (mother side) showed manifestations of schizophrenia (of which
mental disorder was inherited by her aunt), who is likewise an epileptic. Financial and
culture became a barrier to his mental health because according to their family,
healthcare is just a waste of time and money. Miss F separated from her aunt when
she reached college. She stayed in Baguio alone for some time until her younger
brother reached college and stayed with her. Most of the time, she is aloof with her
friends, shed prefer isolation. There are times she would feel hopelessness from her
work, family and even her relationships with other people. She becomes aggressive at
the burst of her anger to the point of throwing things and uttering foul words. She has
separation anxiety that she cannot detach herself from people close to her. Her
separation from her family caused her homesickness for some time plus the problems
in her work as well as her relationship with her boyfriend piled up that she cant take it
anymore.

IV.

Counseling process (verbatim interaction/communication with the client)

1. Relationship Building/Building Rapport
Counselor: Good afternoon, my name is Ricky and I am conducting a case study
in suicide counseling. Im interested in your case so if you dont mind, Id like to
ask you a few questions.
Miss F: Yeah, my friend told me. Sure, but is it okay not to mention my real
name?
Counselor: Your call maam. How do you want to be addressed?
Miss F: Id prefer to be called Miss F.
Counselor: Interesting. By the way, why Miss F?
Miss F: (smiles). My boyfriends first name starts with F, so Id prefer to be called
Miss F.
Counselor: (chuckles). I see. Shall we start then?

Miss F: Sure.
2. Problem Identification and Exploration
Counselor: Miss F, I heard you attempted to commit suicide. Can you tell me
more about this?
Miss F: Yeah, I was so lost then, I dont know what I was doing until suddenly I
picked up a knife and attempted to cut my wrist but my brother saw me and
stopped me.
Counselor: I see. When was this Miss F?
Miss F: That was just last year. July 2012.
Counselor: What seems to be the problem then?
Miss F: (sighs) I broke up with my boyfriend.
Counselor: Im sorry to hear about that. Miss F, Id like to reassure you that your
identity will be kept confidential. If you dont mind, Id like to know more about
the problem at that time?
Miss F: (sighs). My boyfriend and I have been in relationship for 4years already.
However, I noticed that things changed in our relationship. My boyfriend is a
nurse from BGH and his on a graveyard shift. I started suspecting him so I
decided to stalk him until I found out that my suspicion is truethat there was a
third party.
Counselor: (nods head while looking into counselees eyes)
Miss F: I talked to him and even confronted the girl. But I still felt betrayed. I
kept crying for weeks, I dont want to lose him. My work is affected, I cant
perform well.
Counselor: That was really a tough time for you Miss F. Let me see if I
understood you clearly. You and your boyfriend have been in relationship for 4
years. That was until last year, am I right?
Miss F: Yes.
Counselor: You also mentioned that things changed in your relationship because
you started to suspect that your boyfriend is having an affair with someone
else.
Miss F: Yeah, and I was able to prove it.
Counselor: You did everything to feel better to the point of confronting both of
them but still you felt bad because you didnt want to lose him.
Miss F: Thats exactly right.
Counselor: I see. Miss F, pardon me for the question but do you have any
history of mental disorder in your family?
Miss F: My grandfather (mother side) has a history of schizophrenia and he is
also epileptic. My aunt also inherited his schizophrenia.
Counselor: Any history of maltreatment Miss F?
Miss F: Yeah, when I was young, I stayed with my aunt and I experienced any
kind of physical abuse from her.
Counselor: Like?
Miss F: Slapping, spanking, etc.
Counselor: When you knew about your grandfathers illness, did you try to bring
him to the hospital for check up?

Miss F: No, because in our family its not practical. Its just a waste of time and
money.
Counselor: Do you drink liquor Miss F?
Miss F: I do.
Counselor: how often?
Miss F: Only when I have problems.
Counselor: Any substance intake?
Miss F: Like marijuana?
Counselor: Yes.
Miss F: No, not even a try.
Counselor: Have you had feelings of hopelessness in your work, family, and
relationships?
Miss F: Yes, most of the time. For my family, because I didnt grew up with them.
For my work, because of the pressure and stress. For my relationship, because
of the feeling of insecurity.
Counselor: Have you been aggressive or impulsive?
Miss F: Yeah, in fact I have the tendency to throw things and utter foul words
when I am angry.
Counselor: Do you have friends Miss F?
Miss F: A lot, but I preferred to be isolated. I have that tendency that when I
have problems, Id prefer to be alone.
Counselor: Any physical illness?
Miss F: Back pains, due to stress I guess.
Counselor: Do you have access to any lethal methods?
Miss F: Yes, sharp objects.
Counselor: The questions I asked you Miss F are factors that may indicate the
risk of committing suicide. I hope youre not offended with these questions.
Miss F: Its okay, I dont mind really.
Counselor: When you broke up with your boyfriend, do you feel suicidal?
Miss F: No, it didnt cross my mind. Only a week later after our break up that I
attempted to commit suicide but it was sudden, I dont know what I was doing
at that time.
Counselor: Do you have any intention of following it up?
Miss F: No.
Counselor: What could have stopped you if ever, assuming that you brother
wasnt there to stop you.
Miss F: I have plans for my life. I love my family and my brother whom Im
sending to school. I know you think that the break up with my boyfriend is a
shallow reason to commit suicide but I have separation anxiety, as much as
possible I dont want to detach myself with people close to me.
Counselor: I understand you Miss F. (taps client on the shoulder) I see that
youre a strong person. You can get through this.

Counselor: By the way Miss F, Im just curious; could there be any reason that
could have provoked him to having an affair with someone else?
Miss F: Its actually my fault because there was this married guy who tried to
court me and didnt stop texting me. My boyfriend found out about it and he
started to be jealous. I have to admit that I also fell for this guy but I love my
boyfriend more.
Counselor: I see. Are you in a relationship now?
Miss F: Yes, actually we got back together after a month of our break up.
Counselor: Im glad to hear that. Since you are back together you should start
to rebuild the trust with him. Avoid any temptations that could provoke him to
committing it again. Maintain a constant communication with him and try to be
honest as possible.
Miss F: I sure will. Thank you for the advice.
3. Planning for solving problem
Counselor: Assuming that we had this conversation before you attempted to
commit suicide, what would you like to happen?
Miss F: I wanted to fix our relationship.
Counselor: What do you propose to do to fix your relationship?
Miss F: Ill talk to him?
Counselor: What else Miss F?
Miss F: Ill confront the girl?
Counselor: (nods head, giving queue for more solutions)
Miss F: Maybe Id be alone for a while and have some time to reflect. Or maybe
Id look for someone else and have my revenge. Thats all I can think of.
Counselor: Okay, these are the solutions you have given so far. You wanted to
talk to him. You wanted to confront the girl. You wanted to be alone for a while.
And you wanted to have your revenge by looking for someone else.
Miss F: Yes.
Counselor: If you talked to him, what do you think will happen?
Miss F: Maybe we could give ourselves a chance to reconcile our differences and
fix our relationship.
Counselor: If you confront the girl, what do you think will happen?
Miss F: Maybe Id be able to convince her to leave my boyfriend.
Counselor: What do you think would be the downside?
Miss F: Maybe Ill just snap and hurt her.
Counselor: How about being alone?
Miss F: Maybe its not a good idea because I might just try to commit suicide
again.
Counselor: Okay, how about your revenge?
Miss F: I dont know either, maybe it will just make things worse.
Counselor: Alright Miss F, given these solutions which do you consider the one
that works better?

Miss F: I guess Ill have to talk to him first and confront the girl later.
Counselor: Sounds like a plan Miss F. I know you can do it.
Miss F: Thank you for the motivation.
(Laughs)
4. Solution Application and Termination
Counselor: You have showed a strong personality in you Miss F. I know that you
can get through this if ever. Anyways, I appreciate your time and effort of
meeting with me to discuss about your case. Once again our conversation will
be given utmost confidentiality. I am going to terminate this session now but
this doesnt mean Im not going to follow up on you. Thank you so much for
your time Miss F.
Miss F: I really appreciate your time too. I feel relieved somehow. I wish we had
this conversation then only that its already past. Anyways were okay now and I
guess thats what matter most.
Counselor: Of course Miss F. Thank You Miss F, see you around (shakes hand).
Miss F: Thank you sir.

V.

Conclusion: (Generalization regarding the situation of the client)

Miss F has the tendency to commit suicide only that it is at minimal. As
explained by the client she didnt know what she was doing, she could have
consummated its commission if not prevented by her brother. But I think she
knew her brothers presence when she attempted to commit it. Based on the
assessment I made, there is low risk of committing suicide because she was not
able to satisfy the important questions to assess high risk of committing it. She
didnt feel suicidal when she attempted it, in fact she explained it was sudden,
she did not know why shes doing it, hence, she did not plan to commit it. She
also has no plans of following through the earlier attempt. In addition, there are
a lot of factors that could stop her from committing it such as her plans for her
life, her family, etc. Shes been candid in her answers and didnt try to avoid the
questions which explain her strong personality. Although there are
manifestations of the key factors that might lead to a high risk of committing it
(such as her grandfathers and aunts mental disorder, history of maltreatment,
hopelessness, aggressiveness, alcohol intake, physical illness and barrier to
mental health), these are just minor problems and does not imply high risk of
committing it. Therefore, there is a possibility for Miss F of committing suicide
but only at low risk.

VI.

Recommendation
For my recommendation, I am adopting the protective factors that help
reduce the risk of committing suicide in my discussion on suicide counseling.
These are the following:
1. Support from family, friends, and other significant relationships;
2. Religious, cultural, and ethnic beliefs;
3. Community involvement;
4. A satisfying social life;
5. Social integration, e.g. through employment, constructive use of leisure
time;
6. Access to mental health care and services

In addition to these protective factors, I also take consideration of the following:

1. Maintaining trust in a relationship;
2. Constant communication with the partner;
3. Scheduling considerable bonding time;
4. Constant moral and emotional support even financial support for each
other.

Case Study on Suicide Counseling

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for GC 513

Graduate School
University of the Cordilleras

Submitted by:
Ricky N. Dulay

Submitted to:
Prof. Wilmalyn Adag-Awingan

April 12, 2013