"Tanya" started seeing a psychologist whom she had chosen herself after being required to undergo psychological assessment by a court-appointed psychologist to determine her fitness as a parent. A judge had ordered her to meet with the court-appointed psychologist after the police discovered small amounts of "pot" (marijuana) and cocaine in her apartment. The illegal drugs were discovered when the police were called by Tanya's neighbors because of a loud, apparently violent argument going on between Tanya and her boyfriend, Bobby, who lived with her and her two children. Tanya and Bobby had been throwing chairs and objects around the apartment and the drugs had fallen out of an overturned coffee table. Because Bobby had already spent time in a reformatory for previous cocaine possession, it was very likely that he would be doing even more time for this offense. Tanya had no prior record related to drugs, but a "joint" had been found in her purse during a search of the apartment. In addition to these problems with the law, Tanya's ex-husband, William, was suing her after the drug incident to obtain complete custody of their two children. Therefore, after completing her sessions with the court-appointed psychologist, she sought help from a psychologist of her own choosing because of her fear about losing her children.

Tanya had divorced her husband because of a longstanding unhappiness with their lifestyle. William was an executive in a large corporation who brought in a large income, but worked very long hours, including many weekends. Tanya had not been employed in a money-making position throughout the marriage, but--until the last couple of years of their 10-year marriage--had wanted to be a homemaker and take care of the kids. During the last two years of the marriage, Tanya would frequently get a babysitter for her 3 year old daughter and 5 year old son and go out to nightclubs with some of her unmarried friends--which often included week nights--while her husband was at work. She had been fairly open with her husband about her dissatisfaction and the need to "have more fun in life" and had let him know she intended to go out whenever she wanted. She had told him at that time that she was falling out of love with him and was revolted at the thought of having sex with him anymore, which he wanted all the time.

Tanya began drinking very heavily near the end of her marriage to William and, although she and her friends smoked pot occasionally, she swore to the psychologist that she really was not interested in the stuff. She also stated that she had never had sex with anyone other than her husband while they were married, although she had been seeing several guys on a regular basis at the nightclubs she frequented. She said her husband had found a package of condoms in her purse one time near the end, but that was only "in case." After her divorce, she went through a fairly wild period of seeing several different men. However, since meeting Bobby, she has been involved only with him. She also told the psychologist that she and Bobby actually had a very good relationship, despite the incident with the police. She said the fight had occurred because Bobby had brought the drugs into their apartment, which he said were for a friend. She was trying to convince him to stay away from anything that could get him into more trouble, because she said she was very much in love with him. She said he was very good to her kids and was actually a very good guy. She also indicated that their sex life was wonderful. Although she said that they went out to nightclubs once or twice a week, it was usually only when her ex-husband had the kids or when Bobby's mother had them. Bobby was much more exciting and fun-loving than William had been and didn't take life so seriously.

With respect to her background, Tanya was one of seven children in the household in which she had grown up, four of whom were half-brothers and -sisters from her mother's two other marriages. She had never really known her biological father, who had divorced her mother when she was one year old. Her first step-father had been a fairly quiet and brooding man, who worked long hours and drank too much. He had committed suicide when she was twelve years old by locking himself in the bathroom and shooting himself. Her second step-father was a very warm and caring man, who also brought home a very good salary and spent a lot of time with the family. However, he was rather quiet and seemed to let Tanya's mother run the household.

Tanya said that she loved her mother very much and could always depend on her for strength and comfort when she needed her. However, she said that they did fight quite often as she moved into adolescence, because her mother tried to run her life too much. Her mother also worked all of Tanya's life, was very involved in a number of social groups, and was gone to social events a lot, particularly on weekends. Although her older sister was supposed to watch over her and her siblings, Tanya would often slip out of the house to run around with her friends. She began dating at 14 and her mother put her on "the pill" by age 16 so she wouldn't get pregnant. She never really talked about sex much with her parents, but her mother had told her a number of times that, when she found a guy that she wanted to marry--particularly if he had a good job--to get him "anyway she could." Tanya had hated school all of her life and never took it very seriously. She worked for a while as a receptionist after high school, which is how she met William. She had found him attractive when she first met him and at the time he seemed so vivacious and fun-loving.

Tanya had originally consulted the psychologist because she was having trouble coping with the possibility of losing her children to her ex-husband and the possibility that she might lose Bobby if sentenced to prison. However, she also expressed a growing sense of uncertainty and anxiety about the future in general and wondered if she really knew what she wanted out of life anymore.