Therapist (student name): Dr. WWBMForever M.D./Ph.D.
Title of Fairy-Tale/Story/ Film: Batman
Client/patient (chosen character): Bruce Wayne/Batman
Brief case history (5-8 sentences; observable details about client/patient's abnormal behaviors; how others have responded to behaviors, etc.):
As a little boy, Bruce Wayne was horrified and traumatized to see his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, murdered by a mugger in front of his very eyes. This drives him to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman. In his identity of Batman, he is skilled, intelligent, and disciplined. However, in the public eye, he is a billionaire playboy. He moves from woman to woman, never having any serious relationships due to fear of abandonment.
Specific symptoms (3-6 sentences OR bulleted list; specific symptoms that point out to abnormality or disorder; in what circumstances symptoms seem to be more severe, etc.):
Bruce Wayne has an unstable identity
Bruce Wayne has unstable relationships
He fears abandonment
He has irrational thoughts when it comes to why he can't have relationships
Diagnosis (specific – brief/to the point): Borderline personality disorder
Perspective (4-6 sentences; describe which perspective you will use to 'view' the client/patient AND why):
I believe cognitive therapy will be the best for this patient. With Ellis' rational emotive therapy, patients are taught to identify, confront and remove irrational thoughts. This will help Mr. Wayne to think rationally when he tries to form new relationships, and perhaps he will find happiness. I hope to leave him with an internal locus of control.
Treatment plan (5-8 sentences; be specific; ie, if 'behavior therapy,' list what reinforcements, etc., will be used to help change behaviors, etc.):
My treatment plan is simple really. First, I must help Mr. Wayne accept that his parents death was not his fault. I will have him talk about that night, and reinforce the fact that he was eight. There was nothing he could have done. It is purely the fault of Joe Chill, the mugger.
Next, I want to help Mr. Wayne make more stable relationships. He told Wonder Woman that dating within the team always leads to disaster, she a princess from an island of immortal warriors, and his enemies could possibly get to her. I intend to make him realize the irrationalness behind these thoughts. I would give examples of relationships among heroes that have been success. I would then address the fact that her immortality is only an issue because he knows he will one day die and never see her again. I would also address that Wonder Woman is more than capable of taking care of herself, he is only afraid of abandonment. Once he realizes how irrational his thoughts are, perhaps he will start a relationship with her.
Comments/summary (any 'final notes' or concerns, etc., the therapist wishes to express):
I think this therapy will work, and I am not asking him to give up being Batman, merely to make some room for Wonder Woman in his life, and to let go of the guilt he has when it comes to his parents death.