Laureate Education

© 2014 Laureate Education, Inc. Page 1 of 1

Case Study: Sandra Sandra, a 28-year-old female, seeks treatment for issues of depression. After three sessions, she reports that she was sexually abused from ages 4 to 9 by an uncle, after which she experienced two date/acquaintance rapes her senior year in high school. Sandra states that she told her mother, who accused her of making up stories and demanded she not say another word. She also reported an older female cousin had “played doctor” with her on several occasions, including examining her private parts with a “tube” and checking her tonsils with her tongue. Sandra states she spent most of her time drunk from ages 18 to 22 and slept with many men during this time period. She states she often thought of suicide during this time period, although she only had one real attempt in which she tried to drive her car into a lake but blew out a tire before reaching the water. Sandra states she has very few friends and no longer talks with anyone in her family. She reports not being able to keep a boyfriend and believes that the few friends she does have talk about her behind her back. Sandra reports not drinking for the last few years and is determined not to drink again due to her raising her 2-year-old child. She states that she wants to be a good mother. The father is “out of the picture,” so Sandra is raising her child on her own.