Holden Caulfield's Clinical Report

Department of Mental and Language Disorder

The New York Psychiatric Institute

Statement of Problem

Holden was seen at The New York Psychiatric Institute for a mental and language evaluation for a brain examination to see his progress. He was referred by Dr. Chase, his assigned doctor. The client was accompanied to the clinic by Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield, his parents. He wishes to gain information about Phoebe Caulfield, states his younger sister. The following is a summary of result based on the case history form, parent interview, assessment results and observation obtained before and after the evaluation.

Birth History

School Performance

Medical History

Developmental History

Behavioral Issues

Evaluation History

Holden Caulfield was born in 1932 in New York, his school performances have been disappointing and he has recently been expelled from Pencey Prep, due to lack of participation in his classes. Pencey Prep is now his fourth school to be expelled from and it is likely he will be going to another boarding school after his break and rehabilitation.

After interviewing Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield, we have found out that Holden has not been doing very well in school and seems to be flunking numerous classes, he had several conflicts with Mr. Caulfield, but they have stated that he is extremely fond of his siblings and is a typical, adolescent. Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield report that he has only been to the hospital once when he broke his hand in an accident, but he has no developmental history yet and he appears to have not been prescribed any drugs for his mental issues so far.

Behavioral Observations

Before we evaluated, we had talked to him and his attitude was mainly secretive and uncooperative. His memory is descriptive during certain events, detached and unreliable during other stressful ones. He has low interest in conversations and he became tense when we spoke of his younger brother, Allie, who passed away. His behavioral issues appear to be that he is a pessimistic and negative individual and would zone out of the moment and lose his train of thought constantly. He is very sarcastic and he mentioned many girls to our doctors. When he is not talking, he becomes very quiet and has troubler relating to the topic.

After the evaluation, he seems to be more joyful and talked continuously. We had tried to usher him out of the room, but he seems ignorant to people who try to talk to him while he is talking. Doctors believe that he may have trouble socializing at school, because when clinicians asked of his interests, he began to ask them for a drink which he thought was fairly strange. When addressed directly, he seems to divert the topic so that he finished by talking about one of his friends. Holden engaged in task but stopped half way through to talk about one of his other friends. Doctors believe that he does not like attention turned on him and he disengages in task in the end and is hard to get him back on track after being interrupted by his thoughts.

Summary & Recommendations

Based on the result of his evaluation, we believe he has symptoms for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD), a severe anxiety disorder. Holden’s lack of enthusiasm shows that he may have trouble interacting with others. We recommend he take some stress relieving pills to calm his nerves after evaluating that he is very jittery and he should be heard by a professional psychiatrist and see if we can help him. After evaluating Holden, we have found out that his mind process is scattered and disorganized and the contents of his mind show that he may have delusions, paranoia, and suicidal ideas.

Although Holden’s referral to several of his friends, after we observed closely, we believe that he does not know many of them quite well. This proves that he is desperate for affection and is caught up in his own thoughts to live well society due to the fact that he finds it difficult to grasp the fact that not everything is the same as what he thinks in his mind. Due to the fact that he has a mental disability, he will have to be thoroughly checked for any other problems. If he has a serious mental damage, he will have to be diagnosed as soon as possible. So far, he seems to be fine but has sure symptoms for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Psychiatrists recommended that he has rehabilitation for at least two months, once a week and have therapy every day. Although rehab is recommended, the result may not suggest that he will be accepted for rehab in the schools. Please send a copy of this report with specialists at Holden’s school to determine if he will be accepted for therapy in that specialized setting. If he cannot qualify for our specific therapy classes and pschiatrist meetings, he will be placed on the waiting list at New York Psychiatric Institute. Because of the size and limited space at the clinic, we cannot guarantee a spot for Holden until we decide if his situation is serious and needs immediate services. His status on the waiting list will expire in an year, if it does, we suggest Holden to come and check in again. The expiration date will be on November 6th, 1956. If you have not received any scheduled appointment for Holden by this date, or if Holden’s situation becomes worse, a re-evaluation will be scheduled to determine any severe changes.