Running head: BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PART A

Biopsychosocial Part A
Roxanne Rodriguez
Wayne State University

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PART A

Presenting Problem:
Ray Ronald is a 25 year old Mexican American male who is recently going through a
break up with his girlfriend after six years. He recently moved back into his parents house
because he is no longer able to pay rent on his own. He has been employed at a local museum
but is at risk of being fired. Work seems to be the last thing on his mind at the moment and does
not attend work every day. He admits to having a heroin addiction and has suicidal thoughts. He
is seeking counseling and is being treated for his heroin addiction.
Family of Origin History:
Rays parents were both 29 years old and married at the time of his birth. He has a
younger sister named Rosy who works as a secretary at a physical therapy office. She is 22 years
old and is single. Both pregnancies with Ray and Rosy were planned by their parents. Rays
parents live together and are both 54 years old. His parents both had some schooling after high
school, but never obtained a degree. Rays parents and sister Rosy are live a healthy lifestyle. His
sister is currently at a university to obtain bachelors in psychology. She was the youngest and
was always looked at as the perfect child to his parents.
Growing up Ray had a great childhood. He and his family went on many vacations
together. The atmosphere at home was comforting and loving. While his parents were away at
work he spent most of his time at his grandparents house. It was the place where everyone came
after a long day either at school or work. He mentioned that his grandparents were another set of
parents to him. Holidays were always celebrated over at his grandparents house. For example,
during Christmas he said he always got what he wanted. He has some very fond memories of his
grandmother cooking dinner and his grandfather watching the sports channel. He also remembers

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PART A

his mother handing out the gifts to everyone while his father recorded the present opening on a
video camera. When Ray started high school both of his grandparents passed away. This was a
hard time for his family because they were like the rock which held the family together. During
this time Rays mother lost her job due to a knee replacement surgery and his father was between
jobs. His family struggled a lot to overcome the hardships in the family.
Developmental History:
The length of pregnancy at Rays birth was about nine months. He said that he was born a
few days earlier than the due date. Ray was a seven and a half pound newborn. His mother had a
healthy vaginal delivery and she breast feed him as a baby. He was weaned at age one and began
walking by age two. At about eight months he began saying his first words and was potty trained
by age three. There were no developmental delays or advances in his past.
Health History:
Ray was healthy at birth and developed no childhood illnesses other than the chicken
pox. He had no surgeries, chronic illnesses, accidents or broken bones. He was overweight the
majority of his childhood. At the age of 12, over a course of a year he lost a lot of his weight by
starving himself. If he did eat it would be a small proportion. As an adult he now gets severe
migraines from time to time. He recently had surgery for a removal of a hernia. Ray has not had
any other health complications since then. Family medical history include: colon cancer, heart
attacks, high blood pressure, kidney failure, arthritis and strokes. Ray currently is prescribed
Suboxone and takes Naproxen for his migraines. He is not allergic to any medication.

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PART A

Relationship/Sexual History:
As a child Ray had many friends. Some he still talks to today but very briefly. He pushed
many of his childhood friends away when he went to his school. He began hanging around the
wrong crowd and started getting into drugs. Soon he began selling drugs and sheltered his old
friends by staying away from them. He did not want them to know what he was doing, so he
basically let go of their friendship. There has been one friend he has had since he was 14, which
he sees from time to time because he is in the military. Ray does not really have many people he
calls friends. Most people are just acquaintances.
Ray began dating at the age of 13 and his gender preference is female. He was 15 years
old during his first sexual experience. He is able to enjoy sexual experiences with his partner and
have orgasms. Ray is not currently in a sexual relationship. When he was with his ex they did not
use condoms, but she was on birth control. With other women he has a sexual relationship with
he always uses condoms. Ray has no sexually transmitted diseases.
Family of Creation History:
Ray was in a long term relationship for six years. He met Veronica in high school when
they were 17 years old. Once they graduated high school they moved into an apartment together.
Ray's parents were not happy with his choice in women. His parents are racist and did not want
him to date an African American girl. Once he moved out, his relationship became worse
between he and his father. He centered his whole life around his girlfriend. He was happy with
his girlfriend even though his family disapproved. Veronica goes to school at a community
college for culinary and works at the same museum as Ray. Their relationship had its ups and
downs. A few times over the years they had broken up because of cheating or arguments, but

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PART A

they worked through it. Throughout Veronica and Rays relationship Veronica became pregnant.
It was not planned, but she ended up having a miscarriage. There has been no past history of
abuse in any of Rays past relationships. Neither Ray nor Veronica have children of their own.
Veronica ended up leaving Ray because of his drug addiction, also because she was cheating on
Ray with another man. Ray is not in a current relationship with anyone.
Substance Use/Abuse History:
Ray has done many drugs over his lifetime thus far. He remembers the first time he
smoked marijuana at the age of 16. He admits to having a heroin addiction for about four years
and the last time he used was two nights ago. He smokes marijuana at least once a day and can
sometimes smoke a whole pack of cigarettes in one day. Ray also admits to taking many different
pills to get high, such as Vicodin and Oxycodone. Ray has tried to get treatment before by going
to a rehab, but as soon as he was released he went back to his old habits. He is now receiving
treatment for his heroin addiction. He is prescribed Suboxone, which is a drug to help reduce the
cravings of opiates such as heroin. Ray has no other addictions such as gambling or eating.
Mental Health History:
Ray has had no mental health treatment up until now. He is seeking help from a counselor
for his suicidal thoughts. He just began his treatment about a month ago and says that he does not
think it is helping him. He still feels depressed and struggles to channel his suicidal thoughts
from time to time. If he continues to go consistently he hopes to see a change in his mental state
of mind. So far he has not been prescribed any medicine for his mental health issues.
Military History:

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PART A

Ray said that he has no past military experience.

Financial History:
When Rays grandparents were around there was very little financial struggle. His
grandparents were retired Ford Rouge plant workers, which offered them many benefits. His
parents have been through different jobs each and have always struggled financially especially
once his grandparents passed away. Although they struggled his parents always provided the
best for Ray and his sister. Once Ray began living on his own he realized how expensive it was
to pay for necessities. He stopped going out with friends and buying new things for himself such
as clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc. He received many late notices on bills, including his rent. The
majority of the money he was making was spent on drugs. Ray began to sell drugs himself as a
side job as well. Ray recently moved back home with his family so some of his financial load has
been lifted off of his shoulders. He does have student loans he needs to begin paying off since he
stopped attending college two years ago.
Legal History:
There has been no major legal issues in Rays life. Once he was selling drugs and got in
trouble with the police. A guy he was working with blamed everything on Ray, however the
police ended up arresting the other guy and Ray was let go.
Immigration Issues:
Ray has no immigration issues. He was born and raised in the United States as well as his
family. There are no cultural issues that are relevant to his health as well.
Religious History:

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PART A
Rays family was not very religious growing up. He is still not religious today, yet he
identifies himself as Catholic.
Educational History:
Ray has attended many different schools. He went to a public school all the way through
high school. He then went away to Eastern for a year and lived on campus. He did not like the
campus life so he switched to a community college near home. He was majoring in mechanical
engineering. He stopped attending college three years ago to work more and his student loans
began to add up. He became overwhelmed with the amount he has to pay back and has not
finished school since.
Employment History:
Throughout the various jobs Ray has worked many of them have been in cooking
positions. He has done catering for banquet centers and worked at various food restaurants as a
chef. He is currently employed at a museum working at their food restaurant prepping and
preparing the customers food.
Strengths:
Ray has been struggling over the past years due to finances, relationship status, drug
addiction, and mental stability. Although he has these issues that he wants to work on he does
have strengths. He is currently seeking help which is the first step to recovery. He also has
support from his family. They let him move back home so he can get back on his feet again.