Psych Social History of Jay W.,CHEMICAL USE ASSESSMENT/HISTORY and TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
Jay W. was born May 2, 1991 to Don and Beth W. The pregnancy was reportedly normal with no complications to the labor and delivery. Jay W. met all his developmental milestones early and was described as an advanced baby. Jay reportedly excelled in school with needing very little effort to maintain a straight A report card even in the gifted and talented program. Jay was referred for assessment after flunking out of his first year in college. His parents are concerned about his drinking and how it appears to be inferring with his aspirations of being a chemical engineer. Jay appears reluctant to treatment but agreed to come because his parents state they will not continue financing his college if he does not get help.
Don W., his father, is a neurosurgeon and his mother, Beth, is a research scientist. Don was described by Beth as a "functional alcoholic" displaying heaving drinking patterns and binge drinking when he was not on call. She states however, Don quit drinking 3 years ago when they realized Jay had a problem. Both Beth and Don have fathers that were alcoholics. They report that Jay began drinking at the age of 12. They described the drinking as experimental initially but they state they became excessively more concerned as he got older. Jay and his parents describe his early drinking years as "typical of teenage behavior". His parents state they first began worrying about Jay's drinking when he totaled his first vehicle two weeks after his 16th birthday. Jay lost his drivers license at that time and was charged with a DUI. Jay seemed to suggest his parents are over reacting because he has had several friends that have lost their license.
Don states he quit drinking after the DUI incident because he wanted to support Jay in stopping. They all three began attending AA together but Jay dropped out after 3 months. Don and Beth state they are both still active in AA and Al-Anon. Jay states he stopped going because, "all they talk about is war stories". Jay states that currently he drinks a 12 pack or more on the weekends. He qualified this by stating his friends help him drink the beer. He also does admit that his weekends sometimes start on Thursdays and don't end until Mondays. He states that he does not believe his drinking is the issue with his grades in college. He states he just gets bored in classes and his professors don't really know as much as they think they do. He states sometimes he just doesn't feel like going to class because it is "dumb".
Jay does admit to blackouts, drinking more than he intends to, and does seem to recognize that many of his friends have similar drinking patterns as he. He also reports a recent break up with his girlfriend of 2 years. He states he truly loves this girl but she broke up with him because "she doesn't like my friends". He reports spending an average of $75.00 a week on beer and his money doesn't always last until the end of the month. He attributes that to his parents not giving him enough money. He states they only give him $1,000 a month. Jay states he is willing to come to counseling but does not think he has a drinking problem but he would like to figure out how to "win" his girlfriend back.