CASE OF HANNAH BAKER

I. Brief Description of the Client

Hannah is a 17 year old senior highschool student who voluntarily sought for counseling. Her posture was
lethargic and her hair/clothing was unkempt. She is verbally expressive of her thoughts and emotions. She appears
to be emotionally distressed. Her judgment is intact but her insight into her condition is poor.

II. Presenting Problem

Hannah claims to be feeling lost and empty. She expressed her desire to end everything there is in life. She
feels alone and believes that the world is such a hostile place. She disclosed her anger over her classmate who
sexually violated her. She has not been able to attend her classes. She also feels bad that her parents became
disappointed because she lost the money her parents allocated for some bills. She reported disruption in her
sleeping and eating patterns.

III. Relevant History

Hannah is an only daughter in the family. She claims to feel loved and supported by her parents. Through
the years, she had a very close relationship with her parents who were very dotting as she was growing up. She has
no difficulty opening up to her parents but as she reached her teen years, she somehow felt that her parents do not
fully understand how it is to be an adolescent.

Hannah transferred to Liberty High School because of the changes in their family business’ location. Initially,
she had difficulty making friends among her classmates who she perceived to be not accommodating. Eventually,
she was able to make friends with Jessica and Alex. However, problems with miscommunication strained their
relationship which left Hannah alone by herself. She further felt more alienated when she experienced bullying in
the school where she was tagged as easy, dramatic, and a slut. After few months, she amends with Jessica and Alex
but their friendship didn’t go back the way it was before.

There was a time when she was invited to a party of Jessica. Circumstances led her to a room where she
witnessed Jessica being raped by her boyfriend’s friend. She felt very guilty for not being able to help her friend.
Meanwhile, Hannah also had a traumatic experience where the same perpetrator raped her during another party.
She felt very helpless and lost.

IV. Personality Dynamics

Hannah is reserved and timid. She is mistrustful and suspicious thus she seldom shares her feelings and
thoughts to other people. She feels threatened and believes that other people, most specially her classmates, are
against her. This makes it difficult for her to establish meaningful relationships.

Emotionally, Hannah is resilient and has good coping skills. However, she is recently experiencing depressed
mood and anxiety. She has been feeling downhearted and can’t seem to get over the emptiness that is looming with
in. She is also feeling intense anger directed towards herself and her peers.

There are also apparent disturbing thoughts that she operate on. She perceives herself as worthless after
the abuse she went through. She also thinks that she is somehow responsible for the abuse of her friend and of her
own abuse.