The contents of this report are strictly confidential and are not be reproduced or disseminated in whole or in part by

any means (Verbal, electronically or via camera or any other means of communication ) without the written consent of
Family Life Ministries

July 18, 2015

His Honour
Mr. Charles Pennycooke
Family Court
Kingston and St. Andrew
His Honour,
Regarding: Ainsley F.
I.

Reason for referral:

Since March 11, 2015 Mr. A. F. has attended nine counselling sessions with me at Family Life Ministries
(FLM). He has requested that I provide him with a report which confirms that he has attended these
counselling sessions. I have not received a formal request outlining the requirements of this confirmation,
however I had the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Hall, who I understand from Mr. F. is an officer of the
family court probation office. Mrs. Hall suggested that I provide the following information:a. Number of sessions attended by Mr. F.
b. The nature of Mr. F. participation in counselling sessions
c. An indication of whether or not Mr. F. would require counselling going forward.

II.

Informed Consent:

Mr. F. was informed of his rights to confidentiality and has given verbal consent for this report to be
written and released to the court.
III.

Clinicians Qualifications

My name is Sonia Wynter and I hold a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Psychology from the
University of the West Indies. I Graduated in May 2014 with Distinction. I am an associate counselor at
Family life Ministries since February 2014 where I provide counseling services for individuals, couples
and adolescents. I am supervised by Dr. Barry Davidson. I am a member of the Jamaica Psychological
Society.
IV.

Mental Status and Behavioral observations

Mr. F. appearance at all sessions as been casual, typically in casual pants and a T-shirt with loafer shoesappropriate given his occupation as a wholesaler or seafood products. His attitude has always been calm
and cooperative as he willingly to shares his thoughts and questions and engages in thoughtful reflection
during sessions. There has to date, been no evidence of unusual movements or psychomotor changes in

The contents of this report are strictly confidential and are not be reproduced or disseminated in whole or in part by
any means (Verbal, electronically or via camera or any other means of communication ) without the written consent of
Family Life Ministries

any of the sessions attended. Most often Mr. F. speech is of normal volume and rate, though there have
been several times when he has become distressed during the session and the volume and rate will
decrease significantly. He was never-the-less, expansive and clear in his responses. Similarly, his affect is
for the most part normal, though he would on a number of occasions become tearful and depressed. The
content of his thoughts showed no indications of hallucinations, delusions or obsessions or symptoms. On
some occasions there is evidence to suggest that he has passive suicidal ideations as he for a moment
thinks of dying, but has no intent, plan nor has he contemplated a means by which to end his life. There
has been no evidence of homicidal ideations. In terms of the processing of his thoughts, his thinking is
logical and he concentrates well, however on two occasions, Mr. F. reported what appeared to be a
dissociation of his memories from his conscious awareness as there were events involving his treatment
of Miss Charmaine Jackson, the mother of his daughter, which he could not remember. He has always
been correctly oriented in time, place and person. He has demonstrated reasonable insight and there is
evidence to suggest that his judgement relating to common sense daily tasks is astute though he has at
times described impulsive verbal responses in interpersonal interactions which with subsequent reflection
he would have handled differently and with more consideration to the other party.

V.

Clinical Assessments

Mr. F. first attended counselling at FLM on August 29, 2014. At that time he was seen by another
counsellor and he appears to have attended four sessions, the last being September 19, 2014. He
recommenced counseling with the current counsellor on March 11, 2015.
An assessment conducted at that time indicated a moderate level of depression. Mr. F. also spoke about
the difficulties he had managing anger. He has been introduced to a number coping techniques and
lifestyle changes to deal with anxiety, feelings of depression and to help control his anger. Mr. F.
unilaterally made an association between his abuse of marijuana and feelings of irritability and flares of
anger and in the first session determined that he discontinue this habit.
The pressures associated with running his own business, coupled with his financial responsibilities to
himself and the dependent members of his family appear to create overwhelming feelings of anxiety for
Mr. F.. Whereas in the past he would express these overwhelming feelings through externalizing
behaviours such as physical and verbal abuse, in more recent times he appears to internalize these
anxieties into feelings of depression and hopelessness. Mr. F. appears to gain relief from these feelings
through techniques shared with him in counselling. In addition, according to his reports, there have been
situations which have led to rising feelings of anger and Mr. F. has been able to resist acting on these
feelings and exiting the situation.
Mr. F. has demonstrated a focused and committed approach to counselling. He has not missed an
appointment and is always at least 10 minutes early for each session. He shares expansively about his
experiences, his emotions and how he interprets and deals with these. He has expressed shame related to
his treatment of his family members in the past and has spoken about his efforts to make amends.
Accordingly, it appears that his socio-emotional functioning has improved since he first commenced

The contents of this report are strictly confidential and are not be reproduced or disseminated in whole or in part by
any means (Verbal, electronically or via camera or any other means of communication ) without the written consent of
Family Life Ministries

counselling. A formal assessment of intellectual functioning has not been conducted, however clinical
observations do not suggest impairment.

VI.

DSM-V Diagnosis
F12.122 : Cannabis Intoxication with perceptual disturbances, in early remission
F34.1 : Mild Persistent Depressive Disorder with mild anxious distress

VII.

Conclusions:

Through a process of introspection, Mr. F. shows signs of coming to terms with the sources of his feelings
of anger and ways in which he can effectively respond to these feelings. It appears that his anger rather
than being chronic, is instead situation dependent and while he is disturbed by these recurring feelings, he
has successfully found more adaptive ways of handling them versus his approach in the past. This
notwithstanding, Mr. F. has reported that there continue to be occasional incidents where he
spontaneously responded to tense interpersonal situations with body language and verbal responses which
have been offensive. Based on his reports, these responses can contribute to an intensification or
prolonging of the tension rather than to a positive resolution. Nevertheless, Mr. F. abrasive handing of
these isolated situations, cannot be described as categorically inappropriate and further, they do not
appear to cause irreparable damage to the relationship with the other party or to the resolution of the
situation.
VIII.

Recommendations

Mr. F. has made progress since the commencement of counselling. He has shown improved ability to
apply strategies to handle his anger. He continues to struggle with feelings of depression, and though this
struggle is likely to continue for the long term, his ability to independently alleviate these feelings are also
improving. In light of these developments, he is less in need of consistent and routine counselling and
instead could consider intermittent sessions during periods when he experiencing difficulty coping.

Without prejudice,

Sonia Wynter MSc.

(Associate) Counseling Psychologist