Assignment task: Athena is a 22-year-old female of Greek descent who lives with her mother, with whom she is quite enmeshed. Athena has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression. Athena currently has visual and auditory hallucinations, including hallucinations commanding her to commit suicide. Treatment staff learned that she was sexually and physically abused by her father (who himself has schizophrenia) when she was growing up. Athena's mother speaks fondly of Athena's father, and it's not clear whether the mother believes that Athena was abused or not. Athena has not seen or spoken to her father in 5 years.
Athena is socially awkward and disconnected due to her acute psychiatric symptoms. She has no friends due to having been rejected as "odd" by people in her high school. Even though she is an adult, her mother does everything for her, with no expectation that Athena helps around the house or do chores. This has led to some conflict in the home, since Athena does not want to be treated as "a baby" and says she is perfectly capable of helping out. However, her mother gets upset when Athena tries to do a task that she has been told not to do. With her mother, Athena has interactions with the Greek community in the city, including attending church regularly. The mother speaks little English, and relies upon Athena to help her interact with the English- speaking community. Athena reports that people in the community know her and are friendly when she goes into their shops, but she doesn't interact with them outside of that environment. She told the treatment staff that she would like them to help her connect with a mentor because she doesn't really have anyone in her life who she can turn to for advice.