Will Hunting Case

Identifying Information:

Art is a five and a half year old Latino male who is being raised by his maternal aunt, Maria, 27, and her husband, Osbaldo, who is 41. Art has lived with his aunt and uncle for eighteen months. Also living in the home are Maria's and Osbaldo's two children, John, 8, and Jasmin, who is 6. Art came to live with them after he was sexually abused by his mother's boyfriend, Jimmy. Art's mother, Salome, is 24 years old and no longer has contact with Art's biological father, Mark.

Presenting Problem:

Maria and Osbaldo brought Art to your agency for counseling. You have had two sessions with Maria and Osbaldo to complete the psychosocial assessment. They report that Art has difficulty sleeping, and has been found playing with his genitals both at home and at the daycare. In your meeting with Art, you notice that he engages in a lot of aggressive play with the toys.

Family History:

Maria and Salome grew up in Fresno. Maria moved to Los Angeles after she graduated from high school in order to attend college. During her senior year, when Salome was thirteen, their mother, a single parent, was killed in an auto accident. With a large extended family close by, Salome sought comfort from an uncle, who molested her. Within a few months, Salome ran away from home. Although she kept in regular contact with Maria, who had always served as a second mother to her, Salome refused her sister's pleas to come live with her, instead drifting through several small towns before eventually showing up on her sister's doorstep in Los Angeles. Shortly after Maria got engaged, Salome, then 19, became involved with Mark, a 30 year old auto mechanic. Salome and Mark lived together on and off for several years, despite Maria's misgivings about Mark. When Salome found out she was pregnant with Art, Mark left her and she moved in with her aunt and uncle.

Early childhood history:

Art is Salome's only child. Art was a full term baby. He weighed seven pounds, ten ounces at birth and was 19 inches long. Salome was surprised when she learned that she was pregnant with Art. She was 25 years old at the time and working long hours as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. Since Maria was married now with a child of her own, Salome was living with her maternal aunt, Agnes, and uncle, James, but did not like their "old fashioned" rules, which precluded overnight male visitors and the occasional marijuana cigarette. They also expected Salome to help around the house and to attend church services with them, although she often found some excuse for getting out of both.

Agnes was Art's primary caretaker and delighted in caring for him. During his first month, Art slept most of the time. He would wake to eat and then go back to sleep. At two months, Art would smile when he saw Agnes. While feeding Art, Agnes would smile and coo at him and tell him what a good baby he was. She kept extra blankets in every room, so that Art would be warm enough. During the day, Agnes would dress him, feed him and take him for walks in his stroller. She read to him every night before putting him to bed. At five months, Art would suck and chew on his bottle or his teething ring. He watched the mobile on his crib and would kick feverishly when the music started. He explored the world with his eyes. At times, he would put his finger up to Agnes' mouth. When he was five or six months old, he would try to grab her hair and glasses. At six months, he started rolling over on his own. Agnes would engage him in age-appropriate play and she sang him to sleep with lullabies. As Agnes would sing, Art would coo and gurgle. Art started to crawl at 7 months. He would move a few inches and then look back at Agnes, who would clap enthusiastically. He would look for her around the room. When she noted this, she would scoop him up in a big hug and reassure him that she was right there.

When Art was nine months old, Salome moved in with a work friend following an argument with her aunt and uncle about her latest boyfriend. Art was left at a daycare center all day while Salome worked. He would cry whenever he saw a new face, and he stopped crawling the first month there. He eventually became accustomed to the daycare staff and began walking at 14 months.

When Art was