Suspicions of Miss Emily

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     Many times before Emily Grierson's death I conversed with her on the things that was occurring in her life. It all started when two of Ms. Emily Grierson's cousins from Alabama had called me. They heard I was a outstanding psychologist and asked me to inquire Ms. Emily Grierson's conditions. Although my profession is based on law, my career varies in so many ways. I was sure to help the Grierson family out. The case seemed interesting. Since Ms. Emily is not very close with her family because of the past, they have ask me to do them this favor sympathetically. They mention she was stubborn in so many words. I, on the other hand, may see her a little different than they do. I was not going to prejudge this woman based on the information they given me.

Tactic

     I drove around approximately one hour looking for Ms. Emily's house. Ms. Emily lived in a small town in Mississippi called Jefferson. Her family had given me directions, but I've never known a town to be so inaccurately built. Finally I came upon the house. It was just as her family described, very old but beautifully made. Fearful, I made my way to the door and rung the doorbell. I even knocked a couple of times. An old black man open the door with not much to say. He vanished. I stepped inside the house in a gaze. Ms. Emily really not sure of who I am, asked me who I was. I immediately told her who I was. She was not too happy knowing her family from Alabama sent me. Surprisingly she invited me to take a seat and we began to talk. Ms. Emily was sometimes unwilling to talk a lot as she should. I made her feel as comfortable as I could, giving her information about my life too. I didn't push it although I knew she needed help. We had one thing in common that made her open up to me more. The death of one of our parents changed our lives forever. Ms. Emily and I had sessions every other day for two weeks as I stayed at a nearby motel. The sessions would start in the evenings and would last one or two hours.

Personality Disorder

     After all the interviews I had with Ms. Emily I finally realized what was happening. She has what I call a "Schizotypal Personality Disorder".

Symptoms include:

• Anti-social
• Shows feelings inappropriately
• No friendships
• Odd behavior/appearances

She withdraws herself from people. She is often described as anti-social. She talked on the reasons why. She states that her father's death left her in shocked. Some days she feels as if her father is still here, like he never left this earth. She left the house just like it was since the day of his death, which explains the uncleanliness of the house. She begin to explain her father and what he meant to her. Ms. Emily and her father had a great relationship although she could never live life as a young woman should. Her father always felt as if no man was good enough for his daughter. She once had a lover, but he abandon her. As we begin to talk about the present, I realized Ms. Emily has a love for China paintings. She gave lessons to children for about eight or ten years. Then all at once people stopped bringing their children to her. She says it feels as if the town wants to take everything from her. That is why she always refused to pay taxes. She says the town will not let her live in peace. I often heard her say that she was ready to die.

     In a case like this one, medication is not the best treatment. The biggest part of treatment is psychotherapy, which we have covered. The next step is to social training. I begin to tell Ms. Emily to form relationships with people that live a different lifestyle than she does. If not, depression will become her life and then suicide.

Conclusion

     Ms. Emily has a lot of issues dealing with her past and present. The people in the town caused her mischief. She just wants freedom to live as she likes to. After those two weeks of therapy she became close with a man named Homer Barron. She even invited her cousins into her home. I was hoping that the psychotherapy helped her. A couple of months later, her cousins called me telling me of her death. Her servant found her dead.