Case File No. 2738
Subject: Richard John Grayson
23 year old Caucasian male
Some college, didn't graduate. Clearly intelligent, articulate
Parents deceased
Raised by a single male guardian from age of eight. No family relationship
Heterosexual. Not currently involved in a serious relationship
No significant blood family contact
Currently employed as officer BPD
No known chemical dependencies
Physically active, athletic
Financially independent
Only child
Initial meeting, first week:
Subject called and made initial appointment. Arrived on time. Clothing casual but neat with good personal hygiene.
Grayson's physical impact is impressive. He is an exceptionally handsome man and well built. He seems to accept this without arrogance and attaches little importance to the impression he makes to the point of disregarding it. His demeanor was reserved but friendly and he appeared to be confident and at ease. He presents himself well, comes across as charming and confident. He has an obvious disinclination to discuss himself and talked in generalities for half of the appointment, insisting that he didn't really know why he was there. When asked if there was anything in particular he wished to discuss he hesitated for several minutes and reluctantly admitted that he has a number of areas in his life that he would like to talk about but expressed deep concern and reservations about what he termed 'privacy and security'. When pressed about this he refused to give a clear answer but informed me that he would see how he felt about it after he'd had time to evaluate me and had made a decision as to whether he though I could be trusted. He left the appointment early, but did make another appointment for the following week. It is unclear if he will keep that appointment. He exhibited some signs of paranoia.
Second week:
Subject arrived on time, he was dressed appropriately and his hygiene was acceptable.
He was anxious to again make sure that anything we spoke about would remain confidential. I assured him that I was bound by patient/doctor rules and that anything we discussed would remain between us. After several minutes he agreed to speak freely, though I am confident that he will likely continue to choose what he will and won't reveal about himself.
I began by trying to have him open himself to an exploration of his feelings regarding the deaths of his parents. He insisted that while he clearly hasn't completely put their loss behind him nor forgotten the trauma, he has accepted their deaths and has moved on with his life. He also informed me that they were the victims of organized crime, that he was a witness to their murders and easily conceded that was a catalyst for his decision to join the police force.
I asked if he had any feelings regarding the fact that his 'blood' family were unable or unwilling to give him a home when he was orphaned. He brushed off my questions, insisting that he understood their reasons and no longer thought about it. He declined to go into this area in depth. He is clearly sublimating this area of his life and has yet to completely come to terms with the details of his early loss. There is clearly repressed resentment directed towards members of his family and feelings of abandonment are obvious.
I also asked him how being raised by his guardian—a wealthy and well known local resident—had caused him any adjustment problems since his parents were on the lower end of the earning scale, likely living from paycheck to paycheck. In addition, he had gone from a transient existence of constant travel as part of a performing troop with a medium sized circus to a more solid home life where he was largely raised by servants.
Subject insisted that while he missed his parents, he was happy in the home he'd been adopted into and was close to both his guardian and the main butler, as well as being extremely grateful to them.
He is clearly refusing to delve deeply into his adjustments to these major life changes and we will revisit the subject in the future.
Week Three:
Mr. Grayson cancelled this week's appointment, calling two hours before his scheduled time, saying he was working on a police case and was unable to get away. He rescheduled for the following week.
Week Four:
Mr. Grayson arrived on time, apologizing for missing the previous appointment.
I asked him again about his feelings regarding the vast differences in his life after his parents were killed and he was taken into a situation of vast wealth and privilege. He insisted that the adjustments were minor for him and that after a very few weeks, he was completely at home with his guardian. While I believe that he is an individual who makes adjustments easily, I find this unlikely in the extreme. When prodded, he did admit to a period of severe nightmares as a child and difficulty in making friends in his new school. He also mentioned that he has been previously been home schooled and briefly described his life as a child performer with his family's trapeze act—a situation of significant independence and responsibility for a young child. He also mentioned that his family needed his additional income and he enjoyed the feeling of being helpful to his parents and contributing to the family welfare.
He admitted to some feelings of guilt and of 'not paying his way' in his guardian's home, feelings which, to some degree, continue to this day.
I detect a deep degree of guilt in Mr. Grayson—survivor's guilt, guilt at not 'pulling his weight' with his guardian, and he admitted to feelings of failure at having disappointed his guardian. He declined to elaborate on these feelings.
Week Five:
Continuing the previous week's discussion. Mr. Grayson mentioned that he felt that while his guardian was obviously concerned about his welfare and provided him with the many advantages at his disposal, Mr. Grayson had felt a lack of both emotional and physical closeness which had been present with his own parents. He expressed deep gratitude to his guardian for stepping into the paternal role, but felt that it often bordered on a professional relationship, rather than a personal on. He declined to elaborate on this subject.
He again expressed regret at 'disappointing' his guardian. He mentioned that when he informed his guardian of his decision to not return to college the reaction was one of anger. He also said that his guardian, with whom he is still in contact, 'doesn't get' his current career as a police officer.
Mr. Grayson also corrected me at this point when I referred to his guardian, informing me that he had been formally adopted within the last year and his former guardian is now his legal father. He chooses not to use his new legal name, preferring the relatively low profile of his own name, though he did agree to the legal addition of a new surname.
I attribute this to a combination of Mr. Grayson's desire to, as he phrased it, 'make his own way' and some embarrassment at the extreme wealth associated with his adoptive father. I also asked if his adoptive father's reputation as a dilettante was a contributing factor in his decision. He denied this, though he did mention that were his adoption to become generally known, it could complicate his work with his fellow police officers.
I then asked him the reason for the adoption to take place when he was well past the age of majority. He responded that Mr. Wayne had decided that it 'was long past due' and further said that Mr. Wayne had once assured him that he would never attempt to replace his natural father and had used this to explain why he hadn't been adopted earlier. Clearly Mr. Grayson feels deep resentment about the long delay in the resolution of this issue, though he insisted that he's more than satisfied with the current situation.
Week 6:
This week we discussed Mr. Grayson's social life. He insists that he is rarely lonely and has a circle of close and long standing friends on whom he both depends and is available to. At one point he referred to them as his 'family'.
When I asked him about his current single status—especially in light of his extreme attractiveness—he was embarrassed at having this simple fact pointed out and seemed uncomfortable at having his physical features brought into focus; whether is simply modesty or lack of awareness of his appearance is unclear. He denies that he is 'any more attractive than anyone else' and was disbelieving at my comments. He also said that he's been engaged twice, has had a series of girlfriends over the years and 'is simply too busy to find one at this point'.
I asked him what had caused the two engagements to end. He was uncomfortable with this question, saying that the first one was 'probably just a bad idea from the start' and the second one is 'on hiatus' and may resume at some point. It's clear he still has unresolved feelings about the second relationship.
I next questioned if his adoptive father's high profile reputation as a lady's man had affected him and his reaction was to laugh, saying he was never sure who would be joining them for breakfast when he was younger. He insisted that it didn't matter to him and he saw the many women for what they were—'gold diggers and bimbos of the week.' He said he knew that none of them would last in his father's life, while he would.
Mr. Grayson is still reluctant to go into any depth regarding his relationships or true feelings about people in his life, deflecting questions with jokes or superficial answers.
Week 7:
This week we discussed that butler, a Mr. Pennyworth, who was and remains a major figure in Mr. Grayson's life. Mr. Grayson expressed warm feelings of both gratitude and love for 'Alfred' and said several times that if the man had not been in his life he wasn't sure he'd be as high functioning as he is. It's clear that Mr. Pennyworth provided Mr. Grayson with both practical support and a secure emotional foundation. Mr. Grayson said that he considers Mr. Pennyworth to be his grandfather and is the single person—aside from his deceased parents—about whom Mr. Grayson expresses undisguised affection.
Week 8:
I began this week's session by asking Mr. Grayson what it was he was unwilling to discuss. I mentioned that he has yet to discuss, in any depth, his relationship with his adoptive father, his close friendships or his romantic life. He is also hesitant to discuss his early life with his parents. He was surprised by my question and denied that he was withholding anything of significance. This is patently untrue and I told the client this. He became defensive and angry and left the office ten minutes into the appointment.
Week 9:
Mr. Grayson cancelled.
Week 10:
Mr. Grayson cancelled.
Week 11:
Mr. Grayson cancelled.
Week 12:
Mr. Grayson showed for his regular appointment. He was dressed casually in worn but clean jeans and a tee shirt with 'BPD' embroidered on the chest. He appeared to be fatigued and admitted that he'd been working extra shifts. He apologized for missing the last three appointments and said that he'd been thinking about what I'd said regarding his refusal to be open about certain areas of his life. He admitted that this was true and that there were several parts of his life which he wasn't comfortable discussing and again mentioned the need for security.
He then advised me that he'd spent some time the last few weeks 'checking me out' and that he was convinced that I could be trusted. He was still hesitant but finally confided—after again insisting that this cannot go beyond the office— that he did, indeed have secrets and they must be kept at all costs.
I assured him that his confidences were safe.
He informed me—after more hesitation during which he was evaluating me—that he was and had for a number of years been a costumed vigilante, though he declined to tell me which one. He insists that he has worked with the original Teen Titans, the Justice League and a group called the Outsiders as well as solving a large number of cases on his own. He said that he is still active in these activities and that he's currently working on bringing down a major drug importer in Bludhaven.
He said that he began with his 'training' shortly after his parents were killed and that he worked under the guidance of a member of the Justice League. He also insists that he is a fully qualified officer of Interpol and showed me a badge indicating this to be true. Mr. Grayson offered to show me other proof of what he says and insisted that he was telling the truth.
When questioned about whom else might be involved, he declined to answer, citing 'security'. He also said that his first engagement to be married ended when an alien blew up the minister immediately before the ceremony and that his second engagement was called off because he had to go 'off planet to fight in the Infinite Crisis'.
Clearly Mr. Grayson is delusional and is more seriously disturbed than I had at first diagnosed.
I suggested that he might benefit from medications but he declined, saying that he had 'to be sharp in case the Joker broke out of Akhram again'.
Week 13:
I asked Mr. Grayson if he would agree to my meeting with Mr. Wayne or Mr. Pennyworth. He informed me that he would rather not bother them. Without Mr. Grayson's permission, I cannot meet with anyone to discuss his case. He then told me that he would think about it, though he seemed uninterested in the idea.
I then asked him how his week had gone and he informed me that it was "okay, but I'm worried that the JLA will ask me to lead them again and I'm really not comfortable with that."
When asked why that made him uncomfortable he said that he was fine in a leadership role, mentioning that he'd helped found and lead the Teen Titans for years. But the Justice League included Superman and since he thought of 'Kal' as his uncle, it was awkward telling him what to do. In addition he said that he disliked Aquaman—whom he referred to as 'Arthur' and Green Arrow was a 'pain in the ass'.
At the end of his appointment, he was still undecided about accepting the position or not.
I asked him if Mr. Wayne knew about his activities but he declined to answer.
Week 14:
Continuing last week's discussion, I asked Mr. Grayson just what his training as a vigilante had consisted of. He said it involved vast amounts of work learning forensic skills as well as countless hours honing his athletic abilities so that he 'could avoid getting shot and stuff'. It also included learning any number of scientific disciplines—chemistry, physics, electronics and so on. He said he began this training just before his ninth birthday and began actively working criminal cases by the time he was ten years old.
He declined to discuss Mr. Wayne's reactions to this activity.
He did say that one condition of his 'hunting crooks' was that he was expected to maintain top grades and that failing to make the honor roll was enough to get him grounded.
When asked if he'd ever been injured he laughed and told me that he'd been shot 'a couple of times' and had more sprains and fractures that he could keep track of.
Clearly, Mr. Grayson has chosen a fantasy life to avoid the pain of the reality of his parent's murders. In his mind he is a white knight on a steed avenging wrongdoing. This is common enough in young crime victims, but usually subsides when the victim grows to adulthood and develops a life of his own separate from the trauma of his childhood trauma.
Unfortunately, Mr. Grayson had descended into the fantasy of his gaining vengeance by personally arresting the people who killed his parents, despite his being ten years old. His fantasy has expanded to include his saving the world several times over and includes personal friendships with major current 'heroes' and world leaders.
I strongly suggest that Mr. Grayson continue his therapy for an extended period of time, with the possible addition of specialists in his particular type of delusions. I will recommend that he allow me to contact the Gotham or Metropolis facilities which deal specifically with people who have Super-hero fantasy lives.
My concern is that if he does not receive immediate and intensive help, he may become so entrenched in his delusions, he may be lost to them.
I will also suggest that Mr. Grayson continue our appointments. If I deem his fantasy life is overtaking his reality, I may be forced to contact his superiors at the Bludhaven Police Department for the safety of the patient and his co-workers, as well as the general citizens of Bludhaven.
3/27/08
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