Intake Interview II

Ms. S arrived ten minutes late for the interview, slightly flustered, but made no mention of her lateness. Though not petite, she has a birdlike quality, with an eager, expectant look, eyes wide open behind very large, round eyeglasses. She leaned forward in the chair, hands clasped in her lap, smiled nervously, and waited for me to begin what she seemed prepared for: an interrogation. I began by telling her that I knew the contents of her interviews with Dr. Balkoura, and asked what she had thought further about these interviews, and what might have happened since. She replied that she felt much better since the interviews; she found herself somewhat astonished that she could have said so much about herself, and that it was a sort of revelation to her that one could indeed talk about such things with another person. While there was an element in her statements of a need to be cooperative and compliant, she did seem also quite genuinely interested and sincere about the process and the prospect of treatment.

She told me that her mother was visiting her, and planned to be in New York for three or four weeks. On my inquiry as to how the visit was going, she replied that at first, things were terribly strained, but now the tension between them had eased considerably, and that they were both actually enjoying the visit and the activities they were engaged in. She compared this with the terrible times she had experienced with her mother, going back to the age of 12, and she repeated much of what she had gone into at greater length with Dr. Balkoura. She remembered that before the age of 12, she had always been compliant and cooperated with all of her mother's wishes, urgings, and admonitions. She realized, especially after age 12, what sacrifices had been imposed on her, what deprivations she had endured. After 12 or so, she rebelled. All that she had been “content” to do or