Thirteen Movie Case Study

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Abstract In this paper, Tracy Freeland will be discussed from an adolescent psychologist’s perspective. Information about Tracy was gathered through watching the film, Thirteen, and through psychological interviews with Tracy in a client based setting. Using this information, a report of Tracy’s family and friendship background, her presenting issue, and an explanation of her behavior from a biopsychosocial perspective are given. By doing this, one should have a more complete understanding of the sometimes-perplexing phase that every human being experiences in life. This period of development is known as adolescence. Tracy: A Case Study I have been a child and adolescent psychologist for almost twenty years. During this time, the dilemmas of what transpires within some families when a child reaches adolescence have not changed. However, there has been a variation, due to the changing culture of our society, in how these “no longer children, not yet adults” handle this phase of development. With a rapidly changing body and brain, adolescents seek out the independence they crave, while still not having the capacity or capability to truly be on their own. This can cause a great deal of imbalance within the parent-child relationship (Steinburg, 2008, p. 43). For some parents, adolescence is the first time they have seen any indication that their child is no longer that perfect, sweet baby that they once held in their arms. This often causes confusion, and is concerning to them. It is usually at this time that I will get a phone call from a parent asking for my help in dealing with their “out of control” teenager, and Tracy Freeland is no different. Therefore, in an effort to help Tracy’s mother, Melanie, make sense of her daughter’s recent “outrageous and unexplained behaviors,” I agreed to take on Tracy as my client. What follows is a summary of what went on in
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