CASE NO 9

Name: Asha Grover

Age: 30 years old
Gender: Female
Educational Qualification: B.E.
Occupation: Job
Marital status: Married
Whether client stays with parents: Yes
Whether client stays with spouse: No
Whether have any siblings, if yes how many: Yes, one brother
What is the position of the client in the family, eldest, middle, or younger or
only child: Younger
Anyone in the family having conflicts: No
Anyone in the family is suffering/has suffered from any physical disorders: No
Presenting problem: Depression
Date of onset of the problem: one month
Precipitating factor if any: Abusive husband, mother in law, child’s future.
Duration of problem: Few months
Any counseling taken: Yes

Intensity of problem: The patient is currently living with her parents. She is
married and is being abused by her husband both mentally and physically. Her
mother in law also abuses her verbally many times and tries to create problem
between them frequently. She has filed petition for separation.

MENTAL STATUS EXAMINATION

Appearance: She was a thin lady, fair in complexion and very simple in
appearance.
Movement and Behaviour: She entered the room and took her seat. She was
looking confused and sad.
Affect: She was alert and oriented and answered the questions appropriately. She
gave good eye contact and was listening carefully.
Mood: She was in an upset mood.
Speech: Her speech was clear, but was tearful intermittently.
Introduction

Asha is a young woman in her 30’s. She belongs to a small village, with lower
middle class family. She is an engineer by profession and is working with a
company in Pune. She has a son and lives in a nuclear family with her husband
and son.

Interview with the client

Client’s name: Asha Grover

Interview No: 01 Date:
Session No: 01 Time:

Purpose of interview: Today’s visit was a follow up appointment after a few

telephonic conversation of the patient with Ma’am. She was confused and feeling
guilty. She has filed for divorce, but was not sure whether it was a correct
decision in context with her son’s future. So she wanted to have counseling for
the same.

Start of the session: Asha entered the room and greeted me. I told her to take a
seat and what is the decision taken by her. As soon as she heard that she was
tearful. I told her to relax and be comfortable. Once she was able to be calm. She
started to speak. She informed that she along with her husband had been to
police station for some talks where her husband was trying to convince her that
he will change as per her wish. He is feeling guilty about whatever has happened
and will take all measures to ensure that she is happy with him. After hearing all
this now Asha is confused whether she should give her husband a second chance,
but her father is not agreeing for the same. Her father is happy that she is alive
and safe and has returned back home and don’t want Asha to give her husband
any second chance.

She further shared that her mother in law was always in opposition to the
marriage because her father’s poor financial condition, so her father told her
husband that I am marrying my daughter trusting you. So the father is more angry
on her husband.
The girl has asked her husband to transfer their house on their son’s name to
which the husband has not agreed and just agreed to give some amount for her
son. After listening to all this I asked her what is the future she is looking for with
such a person. In between the session when she was comfortable, her body
language turned to be positive and strong where she firmly said that she will be
able to handle the expenses and take care of her son independently.
I told her that her husband is just trying to fool her as he can’t change his basic
behavior. To this she said she is feeling guilty whether she is behaving selfish in
keeping her son away from his father. I told her if father had any kind of emotions
for her son then he would have never given a second thought in transferring the
house in his son’s name.
She understood the pros and cons of giving her husband a second chance. She
told that she is going to her brother’s house for few days and once she is back her
papers will be filed in court for divorce. She has blocked her husband from all
sources and will try not to be in touch with him anymore. She said that if she felt
to be in distress or confused then she would like to talk to ma’am and come for
follow up appointment. I told her yes for that. She will come for a follow-up
appointment once she is back from her brother’s place.
My observation: My observation is that Asha has suffered a lot in her marriage
and had some unpleasant experiences in her marriage. Though she shared that
her husband was supportive in few incidences of their married life, but overall he
has been abusive verbally and physically many times. She feels she is doing
injustice to her son by separating him from her father. She is under societal
pressures where it is believed taking divorce is not a correct thing. She needs to
be positive and has to think about her self-respect more than anything else.
Intervention: Supportive psychotherapy.