Girl, Interrupted
Susanna is depressed and directionless after finishing high school in the late 1960's but she did not suffer from Borderline Disorder. She may have been different from the majority of the girls her age however she did have some familiar issues. Not going to college, having casual sex and being pushed to the side by your preoccupied parents is not a recipe for someone with borderline disorder. She was tricked into signing herself into Claymoore, a residential psychiatric facility after allegedly trying to commit suicide. The family friend forcefully advocates her committal to a mental hospital after interview her for only twenty minutes.
While the first therapist displayed some listening skills, he did not react to Susanna’s overt or latent content. The entire time he was questioning her and listening to what she was saying, he did nothing to get her to focus on him. She was periodically going back into time, so a few questions he asked her had to be repeated. Once he noticed that she was having a problem focusing he should have asked some encouraging questions. He asked her if she had no bones in her hands how did she pick up the aspirin. Instead of asking her how she did it, he asked her why did she do it or even tried the advanced cognitive intervention, confrontation. Susanna mentions not being able to control time and he answered “why not”. The response he gave at that time made it evident. Aside from all of that during the twenty minute interview he showed no empathy. He seemed to be sticking to his plan that he devised with her clueless parents. It seems as though her parents were trying to get rid of Susanna because they didn’t want to be embarrassed by what they thought would happen next.
Another concern I have is the therapist Susanna saw after her suicide is a family friend. I consider that a conflict of interest. Also he did not protect her right to self-determination. She was not given a choice to receive or refuse services....