Introduction: Counselor's notes

Counselor Lynn B. Hartman - Department of Student Health Services - Davenport State University

Counseling notes: Wednesday, November 03.

9:00 - 10:30: Christina J. Melendez, enrolled full-time student
- Residency: Campus dorm resident, no roommate
- Age/gender: 19 years old, female
- Ethnicity: White/Hispanic
- Family information: single daughter of a two-parent household
- Economic status: Student’s tuition and living expenses are fully funded by her parents. No scholarships or financial aid. Not currently employed.
- Major/GPA: Geology - 3.5 GPA
- Medications: None
- Drugs/Alcohol: Student reported limited social drinking, experimental use of marijuana during her first semester, no other substances. - Sexuality/relationship status: Student self-identifies as bi-sexual. She reported sexual activity with two male classmates in high school, one female classmate in high school, and one male classmate in college. She is currently in a relationship with the aforementioned male classmate here at DSU.

First impressions of patient:

Christina J. Melendez is physically attractive, about 5’6” in height, and a healthy weight for her age. On the date of her appointment her appearance was unkempt. Her hair was tangled and un-brushed and her clothes had not been changed in several days. Her face appeared gaunt and discolored from crying. It was clear, to my observation, that her physical presentation in my office was unusual for her; that she normally takes care of herself.

Appointment summary:

Ms. Melendez received student counseling due to an unexpected and severe bought of depression. She reported that when she participated in the annual DSU Halloween student streaking run, the event triggered memories of a previous romantic relationship with a female classmate during her final year in high school.

Ms. Melendez reported that, following the DSU streaking run and the resulting memories it triggered, she spent the next three days crying in her room and was unresponsive to classmates’ efforts to communicate with her and find out what was wrong.

Ms. Melendez’ boyfriend called the DSU emergency crisis services hotline last night (Tuesday, November 02) and requested that we get in touch with her. Upon contact, she reported suicide ideation. She “badly needed to talk to someone”, but felt that she could not share her concerns with her boyfriend or other classmates. Her conversation needed to be with “someone who wouldn’t be weirded out”. Given the exigent circumstances, I cleared a 90-minute time slot (9:00 -10:30) for this morning.

Wednesday, November 03, 9:00 am

“ ... Halloween was the first time that I ... I’ve gone streaking since we were together, with Yvonne, I mean. And here I was, thinking it’d be fun, but without her, it wasn’t. It just ... wasn’t.”

“You mean, streaking with Yvonne, the girlfriend you had in high school?”

“Yeah. I guess ... Yvonne ... my girlfriend. I guess that’s what she was. But I dunno. She kinda was, and kinda wasn’t. My girlfriend, I mean. It’s ... hard ... kinda hard to explain.”

“Well, even for things that are hard to explain, there’s always a beginning. Maybe if you can talk about how you met, we can go from there.”

“I ‘spose. Yeah. It’s funny how we did meet, I mean ... when you think about what happened later...”

“And, so, how did you meet?”

“In a fight. Actually, it was two fights.”

“So at the beginning, you two didn’t get along?”

“No.”