"I Am Trapped Inside of Something That I Am Not": The Case of Mary

This case study illustrates a brief therapy experience of 15 sessions with developmental aspects. The client initially presented with vague problems and ambivalence toward beginning therapy. As the therapeutic relationship developed the client was able to work through issues regarding independence and individuation from her family of origin. Transcripts are provided. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: Website: © 2002 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.] This chapter illustrates a brief therapy experience of fifteen sessions with developmental aspects. The client initially presented with vague problems and ambivalence toward beginning therapy. As the therapeutic relationship developed the client was able to work through issues regarding independence and individuation from her family of origin. Mary, being an only child, identified her concerns as depression, with tiredness and lack of motivation to work. The quotation that is the title of this case write up, "I am stuck inside of something that I am not", was the way she described her issues. The author's assessment was that Mary had ruminative depression rooted in an internalized history of enmeshed family interactions. Her family inhibited emancipation by discouraging developmentally appropriate steps towards independence and autonomy. Therefore, Mary internalized these enmeshed templates of self-other relational units and had been unable to fully establish an independent, developmentally appropriate identity.