Case Scenario
Rick is a young man, 23 years old. His entire youth had been spent trying to make sense of his gender identity and the internal dissonance he experienced by living in a man’s body, but never feeling that he was whole. Rick finally connected with a group of friends when he went to college and found an affinity group online of students on campus who were also exploring their gender preferences. Through his association with this group, Rick felt understood and became aware that he had choices.
For most of his life, he had been demeaned and chastised by his father and older brother for his quiet demeanor, his interest in art and lack of interest in excelling in athletics. Rick’s family were Evangelical Christians, as were most of his high school friends and the community was mostly white and largely intolerant of the LGBTQIA community. Rick feared disclosing himself to anyone in his small town, but when he graduated from college with a degree in product design, he knew he had to speak to his mother, who had always been protective of Rick through the years. Rick shared with his mother his internal struggles, telling her he wanted to explore gender reassignment procedures; she warned him not to disclose any of this information to his father or brother, and told him she would help him resettle and could give him some money towards the medical expenses, if that is what he ultimately wanted to do. He was disappointed and spent the rest of the summer feeling depressed and alienated from his family and friends.
By September, Rick knew he had to leave, but was having too much difficulty getting up and out of bed to put things into place for his move. HIs mother had grown worried about his mental state and suggested he see the family doctor, which he did. The doctor thought he may be sick and took some blood, but Rick told him about his gender identity issues and the doctor immediately suggested conversion therapy. Rick knew nothing about conversion therapy, but thought it might be worth a try. With the help of his mother, Rick was sent to a program to help him “get this out of his system.” Rick knew it was a mistake almost immediately and the ensuing weeks, along with the exposure to the harsh methods used by the doctors and clinicians were oppressive and instead of making Rick feel better about himself, he began to feel hopeless and suicidal. Rick tried to take his life by using the bedsheets to hang himself from the ceiling fan in his room. He was found, sent to a hospital, and released to his parents’ home.
Discussion Prompt
Review your assigned case and make a determination on what the best intervention would be, based on the needs of the client. Include all aspects of intersectionality, i.e., the client’s gender, social, cultural, religious, spiritual, economic, and environmental factors. How do these factors influence the way in which you will approach this case and, ultimately, prepare an intervention that will benefit the client?