Behavioural Observations and Mental Health Status - Case Study Example

Demographic Information:

The person of focus in the hypothetical clinical case study is Michael Jackson. He was born on 29th August 1958 in Indiana, United States (Erlewine, n.d.). His parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson had a total of ten children. At the time of the interview, Michael is forty-four years old, married, and with three children. He has been confined by Santa Barbara authorities due to allegations of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl.

Presenting Concerns:

Michael Jackson reported that his behaviors of abusing others, especially young children, began when he was a child. His father could whip him with a belt during music rehearsals with other siblings ((Erlewine, n.d.). Despite being the youngest, his father whipped him the most. As a result, he grew up feeling disliked by his father, and he as well developed a sense of dislike towards others. He reported that at one moment, his father told him that he had a "fat nose." The comment deprived him of his self-esteem, and he developed a sense of self-hate due to the perception that others hated him too. However, he was still young to make any changes to his body or abuse towards others. Between 1986 and 1986, Michael focused on making body changes that could make him appealing to the public. He underwent cleft chin surgery and rhinoplasty to change the look on his face. Also, he changed his skin color from medium-brown to much paler skin color. According to him, he did all these due to low self-esteem that he had developed during his childhood.

At the beginning of the 1990s, Michael Jackson focused on helping children. He started the Heal the World Foundation, which majorly aimed at protecting young children from abuse. However, he still had the hate that had developed since his childhood. Instead of helping children, he started abusing them sexually. In 1993, he was sentenced for abusing a 13-year-old body sexually (Erni,1998). Michael reported that he used to read books that described child abuse. Also, he had a collection of photographs containing young children with no clothing. Reading those materials pushed him to approach and persuade young children to involve in sexual acts with him. He could engage them in kissing, masturbation, or even oral sex. He reported that he could not escape from the allegations since the police had searched his home and found the books and photographs in his room. As a result, he was confined until in January 1994 when he settled with the family of the young boy that he had been accused of engaging in sexual acts by paying $25 million.

After that, Michael reported that he married his first wife, who gave birth to his first two children (Erlewine, n.d.). He continued with his music career and even took part in a War Child benefit concert in Italy whose purpose was to raise funds to help refugees and children of Guatemala. He claimed that he was always into helping children who were being abused. At this moment, Jackson reported that he had been involved in a divorce, which affected his mental wellbeing. At the beginning of the 2000s, Michael was not involved in any form of child abuse. However, he claimed that the past memories of how his father abused him during his childhood days always crossed his mind. Also, the 1993 accusation regarding his involvement in child abuse had made him angry and obsessed. As a result, he was willing to engage sexually with other children again. Still, he always tried to avoid such acts by focusing on his music.

By the beginning of 2002, Michael started engaging with young children again. He had already divorced his wife, and so he had to find another way to satisfy his sexual desires. However, he was not aware that he was being followed by a certain film documentary crew. In February 2002, a film was broadcasted, showing Michael holding hands and discussing sleeping plans with a 12-year-old boy (Erlewine, n.d.). Michael reported that the allegations were true, but he tried his best and escaped confinement by the authorities. He continued engaging in sexual affairs with young boys. However, on 18th December 2003, Michael was charged with seven allegations of child molestation and two accusations of intoxicating young children with alcohol. The charges led to the confinement that resulted in this interview.

Despite all these accusations, Michael claims that he does not abuse children willingly. Instead, the pains he went through while growing up, including the abuse from his father, contributes highly to his actions. He also says that he can become a responsible individual if he receives the necessary help from mental health professionals.

Behavioral Observations and Mental Health Status:

Michael was well-groomed and appeared clean and presentable in a jail uniform. He was cool and responsive during the interview, such that he responded to the asked questions appropriately. Besides, he had positioned himself well on the chair with his head leaning forward. He responded in a low and emotional tone, which showed that he was remorseful. Furthermore, Michael spoke openly about the crimes he had committed that related to his current charges. His mind looked set, and this was identified through the way he discussed the charges confronting. He had an insight into what had occurred and confessed that it was against humanity to do such a thing to children. He spoke at a moderate volume.

However, he seemed to be ashamed of some of the actions he had done against children, and this made him lower his voice during the conversation. His face indicated that he was worried about something. He also lacked full concentration at some point during the interview, and I had to wake him from the deep thoughts. Otherwise, he was well-oriented to time, place, and person. More so, he had a stable memory such that he could remember all the things that had happened recently and in the past.

Relevant Background Information:

Family History:

Michael was the eighth born among the ten children in the Jackson family. His father was a former boxer and worked as a crane operator while his mother was a pianist and a part-time sear. Michael had three sisters and five brothers. Michael’s father acknowledged that he always whipped him. On the other side, Michael was not happy as to why he chose to whip him the most among other siblings. He felt that his father hated him the most, especially after telling him that he had a “fat nose.” The hate from his father continued to unveil even during music rehearsals. Michael reported that his father could whip him with his belt whenever he made even a tiny mistake. Michael’s mother claimed that his father was not abusing him but correcting his mistakes. However, Michael was still too young than his elder siblings to undergo such punishment. He reported that he felt lonely and isolated during his childhood.

Before developing as a solo musician, Michael was among the Jackson 5, which consisted of his siblings. They sang and played musical instruments under the leadership of their father. In 1993, Michael proposed to Lisa Marie. This happened after he had been accused of media for abusing a 13-year-old boy sexually. They went on and married in May 1994. However, their marriage lasted less than a year, and they parted ways in December 1995. In 1996, Michael married Debbie Rowe after the allegations regarding his abuse of a young child had subsided. Debbie was already six months pregnant with his child and gave birth to Prince on 13th February 1997. They gave birth to a second child, a girl, on 3rd April 1998 and named her Paris. However, the two separated in 1999. The changes in Michael’s family affected his wellbeing. He ended up in the same state of loneliness and isolation as it was during his childhood. In 2002, Michael’s third child was born following artificial insemination and nicknamed him “Blanket.” He opted to try artificial insemination after two of her marriages had ended up in stressful divorce.

Social History:

Michael reported that his childhood life was characterized by loneliness and isolation. Being the 8th in a family of ten, he had no strong relationship with his older siblings, who performed their activities on their own. Also, it is reported that he had a poor social bond with his father due to the regular beating. Although his mother valued whipping as a way to correct mistakes, it greatly affected Michael’s social behavior. Michael also spent a little time with his friends. He was preoccupied with music rehearsals organized by his father, such that he could not engage in any social games outside their home. As a result, he became lonelier and more isolated. The frequent whipping from his father and in front of his siblings made Michael feel insecure every time he was with his family. Nobody was willing to rescue him besides being younger. As a result, he developed social stigma and isolation, which affected him until the adult age. As an adult, Michael also experienced a socially isolated lifestyle due to separation from his wife and children. Such instances as well contributed to his general mental illness.

Abuse History:

It has been reported that Michael was abused severally by his father physically, emotionally, and psychologically during his childhood. His father could whip him hard even when he did a minor mistake. Also, the father abused him emotionally and psychologically by telling him that he had a “fat nose.” Such demeaning words greatly lowered his self-esteem and led to self-stigmatization. Also, Michael reported being abused by fans due to the changes he made on his body during the 1980s. For example, the media and the public raised accusations against him after he changed his skin color and underwent rhinoplasty. Such accusations as well affected his mental wellbeing.

Vocational and Education History:

Most of Michael's knowledge was gained through home teaching. However, at eleven years, he enrolled in a regular grammar school in Gary, Indiana. At school, he was identified for his passion for reading history books due to the desire to know more about great people that he wanted to emulate. His grades were above average, especially in creative subjects. However, he stopped attending school and started home lessons by a private tutor for three hours a day from Monday to Friday. His tutor enrolled him in Montclair College Preparatory School, where he graduated with a high school diploma. However, he did not pursue his college education due to his full involvement in music.

Mental Health History:

In 1993, Michael Jackson held an interview with Oprah Winfrey. In the interview, he discussed how he was abused during his entire childhood by his father. He claimed that the physical, emotional, and psychological torture affected him up to date. Also, in 2003, after being accused of child abuse, the assessment done by Katz showed that Michael had become a regressed 10-year-old.

Legal History:

Michael was first arrested in August 1993 for child sexual assault but escaped jail after police investigations revealed unsatisfactory evidence (Erni,1998). On 18th December 2003, he was again arrested for assaulting young children sexually. He was supposed to undergo twenty-year imprisonment but was acquitted on 13th July 2005.

Cultural Considerations:

In the two documented incidences, Michael Jackson is accused of sexually abusing young boys. In most cultures, homosexuality and child abuse cross the practiced norms. Even though the authorities might have failed to give the right judgment to the accused, cultures in which the act occurred may take their own course. For instance, Michael divorced his first wife in less than one year because her culture could not support her marriage to a person who had sexually abused a child.

Theoretical Conceptualization:

Michael suffered from childhood abuse that greatly lowered his self-esteem, promoted socialization, and isolation, and inflicted pain and anger in him. Although he tries to avoid the memories by helping young children, he keeps on regressing to his childhood days. The fact that he only abuses young boys means that he wants them to face what he went through while growing up. He thinks that abusing young boys will render him free from stress and childhood memories. However, he ends up being remorseful and regretting his actions toward young children. In this regard, the patient needs to undergo regression therapy to help him resolve past events that are affecting his present life. As a result, he will be able to switch his mind to the present moments so that he can live and appreciate his current achievements.

Intervention Strategies and Goals:

As shown in the theoretical conceptualization above, the major intervention for Michael is regression therapy. Regression therapy focuses on the theories and principles of psychoanalysis and hypnotherapy. Also, consciousness is a major component that is applied in regression therapy, whereby the three levels of consciousness, i.e., conscious mind, subconscious mind, and superconscious mind play are a role in an individual’s ability to refrain from certain memories (Andrade, 2017). Regression therapy focuses on a person’s negative aspects and how to isolate and address them. To prepare for regression therapy, a person goes into a relaxed state by breathing deeply, closes his eyes, and speaks loudly about a past occurrence. The goal of the therapist is to prompt the patient to speak about certain emotions that might be related to the current mental problem. Through this process, an individual can access the subconscious mind and isolate the disturbing emotions from the past event.

Once the isolated emotions are retrieved to the conscious mind, the therapist and patient can analyze how they are tied to the presenting problem (Andrade, 2017). After that, the therapist can reprogram the patient’s mind by developing alternative measures to explain the past event. In the case of Michael, regression therapy can help him to recall the events that occurred during his childhood that are directly linked to his present behavior of abusing young children. Identifying the problems can help the therapist to initiate new psychotherapy approaches to prevent further occurrence of the harmful behaviors.

Despite all these accusations, Michael claims that he does not abuse children willingly. Instead, the pains he went through while growing up, including the abuse from his father, contributes highly to his actions. He also says that he can become a responsible individual if he receives the necessary help from mental health professionals.

Behavioral Observations and Mental Health Status:

Michael was well-groomed and appeared clean and presentable in a jail uniform. He was cool and responsive during the interview, such that he responded to the asked questions appropriately. Besides, he had positioned himself well on the chair with his head leaning forward. He responded in a low and emotional tone, which showed that he was remorseful. Furthermore, Michael spoke openly about the crimes he had committed that related to his current charges. His mind looked set, and this was identified through the way he discussed the charges confronting. He had an insight into what had occurred and confessed that it was against humanity to do such a thing to children. He spoke at a moderate volume.

However, he seemed to be ashamed of some of the actions he had done against children, and this made him lower his voice during the conversation. His face indicated that he was worried about something. He also lacked full concentration at some point during the interview, and I had to wake him from the deep thoughts. Otherwise, he was well-oriented to time, place, and person. More so, he had a stable memory such that he could remember all the things that had happened recently and in the past.

Relevant Background Information:

Family History:

Michael was the eighth born among the ten children in the Jackson family. His father was a former boxer and worked as a crane operator while his mother was a pianist and a part-time sear. Michael had three sisters and five brothers. Michael’s father acknowledged that he always whipped him. On the other side, Michael was not happy as to why he chose to whip him the most among other siblings. He felt that his father hated him the most, especially after telling him that he had a “fat nose.” The hate from his father continued to unveil even during music rehearsals. Michael reported that his father could whip him with his belt whenever he made even a tiny mistake. Michael’s mother claimed that his father was not abusing him but correcting his mistakes. However, Michael was still too young than his elder siblings to undergo such punishment. He reported that he felt lonely and isolated during his childhood.

Before developing as a solo musician, Michael was among the Jackson 5, which consisted of his siblings. They sang and played musical instruments under the leadership of their father. In 1993, Michael proposed to Lisa Marie. This happened after he had been accused of media for abusing a 13-year-old boy sexually. They went on and married in May 1994. However, their marriage lasted less than a year, and they parted ways in December 1995. In 1996, Michael married Debbie Rowe after the allegations regarding his abuse of a young child had subsided. Debbie was already six months pregnant with his child and gave birth to Prince on 13th February 1997. They gave birth to a second child, a girl, on 3rd April 1998 and named her Paris. However, the two separated in 1999. The changes in Michael’s family affected his wellbeing. He ended up in the same state of loneliness and isolation as it was during his childhood. In 2002, Michael’s third child was born following artificial insemination and nicknamed him “Blanket.” He opted to try artificial insemination after two of her marriages had ended up in stressful divorce. Read More