University Daily Kansan Monday. Dec.14, 1959
Susan's Case Similar to Others at Clinic
(Editor's Note) This is the first in a series of articles on the KU Mental Health Clinic.
Ey Jane Boyd
In Littletown, Kan., Susan A. was known for her pleasantness. Her father owned a prosperous hardware business and was equally pleasant.
Susan's mother was conscientious, ever-busy. Her face was grim and harried. She was forever cleaning and cooking and fretting about life's endless minor tragedies.
Susan had always been the pride of her father. Since her older brother, John, had flunked out of college, Susan was her mother's only reassurance that life had not been a complete waste. To Susan it seemed that she was her parent's chief reason for living.
John had always bedeviled Susan, their mother and his teachers. He had been kicked out of the Army after his scrape with the law over bad checks. He had had an unsuccessful marriage.
Because of John's failures, the pressure on Susan to please her parents increased. She felt she must compensate for her brother's failures and her parent's disappointments.
Earned High School Rewards
Earned High School Rewards In her senior year in high school she made A's, was president of her class, played in the band, attended church regularly, and was president of her religious youth group.
Her parents had done well at the university. Susan's father had belonged to a fraternity.
Her mother had been an active sorority member. Her social career had been outstanding. Her popularity had been enormous.
At the University of Kansas Susan
Independents Poke at Vox
"We want to stop the splitting and weakening tactics which Greek organizations have used against independents through coalition parties."
Blichkan reiterated his charge that the Vox party is guilty of "stagnant and unprogressive" leadership. He said:
"The present student government has been in operation for over four months, but only one bill has been passed—the bill authorizing publication of Spectrum.
"Less than ten resolutions have been introduced.
"The most important of these resolutions—the motorized bicycle parking resolution—was written by an independent who is not even a member of the ASC (All Student Council)
"Austin said 'there have been more questions on the ballot box since Vox.'"
"I don't know what he means by more questions on the ballot box. If he means amendments, these amendments were submitted mainly by independents—not by the Vox party.
"Schluter expresses amazement over my charge. He says that he can't see what I am driving at, that I am on the council and know what has been done.
"Schluter says that reduction of parking fines cannot be lowered without going to the Kansas Board of Regents.
"Progressive leadership would have gone to the Board of Regents, but the leadership is stagnant.
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worked hard. Life was probably no more uneventful than her 18 years in Littletown. But now, everyone she saw was having a good time.
KANU
Everyone seemed carefree, easygoing and sociable. They laughed all the time. Some never studied; some drank and a lot of them made jokes about religion. After a few weeks Susan decided they must all be wicked. She studied even harder.
At Thanksgiving vacation Susan thought she had never seen her parents so upset. Her father's smile had disappeared, his shoulders sagged and he looked like an old man.
Feared Mother's Image
4:30 Christmas in Sweden
5:00 Twilight Concert: Christmas Mus-
ycer
7:00 Ballet Music: "Nutteracker Ballet"
by Tchalkovsky
7:30 Basketball: KU vs. Kentucky
News
10:05 Little Night Music: Featuring
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11:05 Sign Off
Susan's fear of resembling her mother began to develop when Susan's physician made a joke to Susan about her mother. The doctor said Mrs. A. imagined herself to be a baby.
Her mother had been sick and had suffered more eloquently than ever before.
Later, a boy from Notsolitltown sat down and began to talk to her. He was a mature senior. Susan was frightened and flattered.
Two weeks later she rang the buzzer at the Student Health Service at 2 a.m. She told the nurse who admitted her that she had been crying for four hours wandering over the campus. She felt like dying.
She had tried to call her parents, but they were not home. She knew something terrible had happened.
The physician on call reassured her and prescribed sedation which enabled her to get a few hours sleep.
During her first interview with the psychiatrist, Susan spoke of her guilt because of what a bad, ungrateful daughter she had been.
She was convinced her parents were divorced and that she had caused it. Later that day she became panicked because she had a premonition that her mother was dying.
Susan cried most of the time and was often frightened and confused. She had no appetite. She paced the floor. At times she believed she would die and feared she would kill someone else.
Nightmares Second Night The second night in the hospital, she was awakened by nightmares.
After a week, Susan was much improved. Her parents visited her at the psychiatrist's request.
Susan had begun to understand her unreasonable guilt, her need to excel to compensate for her brother's failures and the fear of sex which had been instilled by her mother.
After her parent's visit, she spoke with the psychistrist about how old and discouraged her father seemed and about how angry and controlling her mother was.
She cried. They were no longer the parents she had seen them to be as a little girl.
concerns about the relationships between men and women. (Her mother always seemed to suffer so, and to vaguely imply it was her husband's fault.)
In psychotherapeutic interviews, Susan initially told her psychiatrist in detail about her feelings, her guilt and fears, her panic that she might be "losing her mind."
Reveals Guilt Feelings
Susan began to see her dependency needs. She saw how she had been unable to "grow up" emotionally in many ways. She realized her fears of adult sexuality (of being an independent woman who must decide for herself what is right and what is wrong).
Sees Dependency Need
With this ventilation of feelings, and the establishment of a helpful relationship, Susan felt better. Then began a slow process of helping her to look more closely, more honestly, at her feelings such as about her parents and her longstanding
A process of psychological growth took place as Susan's treatment progressed.
For another week she remained in the hospital, but she attended classes. Outpatient therapy continued for another four months, then was terminated by mutual consent.
Susan no longer sees the face of an anxious and guilty woman when she looks in the mirror. She sees, instead, the face of an honest, optimistic, maturing woman, looking forward to the future with its successes, and it inevitable disappointments.
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DATA PROCESSING
have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
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