PSY 200 Interview: Shirley Alvarez, Age 49, Adulthood

Astrid Larsen
PSY 200 
Shirley Alvarez, age 49, Adulthood
Subjective: Shirley Alvarez describes herself as Puerto Rican and as a “regular American”. She tells me she is usually watching a telenovela or soap opera at this time, but is glad I have come to interview her. She says she hates lentils but loves candied ginger. She says her Jamaican best friend introduced her to candied ginger but then the friend had an affair with her husband. Shirley says she used to have a lot of friends in college but isn’t in touch with any of them now. She shows me a picture of her husband and her at the beach. “I always turn the photo over. I don’t want to think about it.” Her words to remember her by are “That I was here, that I’m not invisible. I want someone to notice I was here.” Her first memory is at about 18 months old, with a little toy mouse in her crib. But she says her mother told her she never had a toy mouse.
Objective: I am Shirley’s neighbor. We live in the same apartment complex. On the day of the interview I come to her apartment. She opens the door and smiles. There is a big screen TV on the wall which is on a telenovela channel and the sound is off. A laptop computer is on a small table. Next to the couch are piles of Spanish language beauty, gossip and soap opera magazines. There are a couple of boxes of tissues too. Spanish is her first language, but we speak English together. Shirley is a large woman with long black hair. She is wearing a lot of makeup. She has some light colored hairs above her top lip. She wears red lipstick and a blue dress. Her nails are done in French tip style. She has tissues in her left hand and uses them when tears come into her eyes. This happens when she talks about her husband and best friend. Her lateralization is left handed/left eared/ right eyed. She looks down most of the time, and sighs deeply. We walk over to her computer and she logs on to several Facebook pages, showing me what her old college friends are doing now. She doesn’t leave any messages for them, just looks. 
Assessment: Shirley seems disconnected and isolated from any social support. She has no friends from the past whom she makes contact with. Her family lives in New York City, but there are no photos of them in the apartment and she hardly mentions them. She still calls the woman who is now involved with her husband her best friend. Her husband is gone, apparently not in touch for over a year. It’s my opinion that Shirley feels abandoned by the world. Small details that come out in the interview- like her mother not believing that her first memory happened make me wonder about her early childhood too. She is in her middle adulthood stage- specifically Erikson’s generativity vs. stagnation. I think it’s clear she is stagnating. She doesn’t mention any work, she is spending her time watching television and wondering what her old friends are up to. I’m worried about her. She seems depressed and removed. She needs activities and a social life, and a good Spanish speaking therapist. I think a woman would be best. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) would work very well for Shirley, helping her start new healthy behaviors and not give in to what triggers her sadness. Because of my work, I have access to a number of resources that I can refer her to.
Plan: I’ve found a therapist at Sound Mental Health who is from Puerto Rico. Her name is Nina Batista. She speaks Spanish and specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Sound Mental Health is located at 1600 East Olive Street in Seattle. The phone number is 206 302-2200. Shirley agreed to meet her, and made an appointment for Friday, October 23rd at 2 PM. Shirley asked if I’d drive her there, so I’ll show up to her apartment at about 1:15 PM. I’ll wait in the waiting area at Sound Mental Health until she is done. On the way home I will make a point of talking with her to find out how it went. We both do our laundry at 3 PM on Mondays, and I’ll make sure to check in with her on October 26th in the laundry room to ask her if she’s going for another appointment. 
I need the documentation project the same as this example. This the example given by instructor. Just think that you guys are interview anybody. It is okey