ABSTRACT
The parents, in their mid-thirties, appeared bright, articulate, motivated, conscientious, and at a loss as to what to do with 14-year-old Donald. The father, Donald Sr., worked as an engineer and described himself as a self-made man educated in the Navy. His wife, Nikki, had been working as an accounts manager but was between jobs, having been laid off. While the boy went by the nickname “Don,” his father asked to be addressed as “Jim,” a shortened version of his middle name.
The parents had been quite content with Don's “average” performance in school until a few months back when he stopped studying and began to spend most of his time either sleeping or playing computer games. Most recently, he was getting up late for school, failing his subjects, and “throwing temper fits” whenever his irresponsible conduct was confronted. Jim and Nikki brought Don to therapy following a referral from their son's school principal. There was no previous history of any family member necessitating mental health services. During the first session it was mentioned in passing that Don's older sister, Alexa, had died at the age of 12 in a freak accident when he was only six. A neighbor child had swung a golf club wildly while they were playing and accidentally hit her in the head. Don was the only witness.
