The Psychoanalysis of Holden Caulfield

THE SITUATION:
Throughout our extensive conversation with Holden Caulfield, we have come to know him quite well, as
he has revealed to us many of his most intimate thoughts and feelings about family, friends, relationships,
and society. Knowing Holden on this intimate level enables us to further our understanding of his
problems, concerns, and anger with people and society as a whole. We must look at and care for Holden
as if we are the counselors who are responsible for diagnosing and prescribing for his current
predicament.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:
❏ As a team of psychiatrists (groups of 4), prepare a written report (no less than four pages) that
offers your perspectives and conclusions about your patient, Holden Caulfield.
❏ Each section of the report must include a minimum of four examples from the novel with
parenthetical citations for each.
❏ The report should be written in narrative form, not bullet points, presenting clear exposition and
argument.
❏ Feel free to use professional terminology and incorporate psychological jargon if possible to
establish tone (i.e. “The patient’s behavior in this case indicates that …”).
❏ Use specific details from the “Mental Health Journey” handout for information about the various
symptoms for each condition. Use these details in your report. You may also research additional
disorders using: National Institute of Mental Health (nimh.nih.gov) or Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (cdc.gov).
❏ Then prepare (as a group) a presentation (Google Slides) of findings for other psychiatrists who
are also working on Holden’s diagnosis, highlighting each component of your final report.

DUE DATE:
❏ Patient Report due to turnitin.com before 11:59 pm on Thursday, 3/8
❏ You will present your slide Deck to a small group of other “psychiatrists” on Friday, 3/9
Warriorside Center for Teen Health

2601 W. Addison, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (866) FOR-HELP

Date of Entry: March 6, 2018

Date of Release: December 14, 2019

Name (Last, First): Caulfield, Holden

Age: 17

Date of Birth: May 2, 2001

Present School: John F. Kennedy High School

Level of Education: Junior High School Student

PATIENT REPORT

Ryan Juanico, Rachel Chow, and Maria Ivannah Encabo

Background: ​Ryan
Pt. has been admitted to a nearby hospital for tuberculosis treatments and has been referred to
the psychoanalysis team by Dr. Juanico, Ph.D in Pediatric Psychology. The patient, Holden
Caulfield, has been going to ​regular checkups for t.b. (Salinger 5)​. He has also been failing
in school, having ​flunked out of Pencey Prep, Whooton, and Elkton Hills (Salinger 2).​ The
patient has a lack of sleep and has multiple instances of ​wanting to commit suicide (Salinger
104)​. He has been in a fight with fellow Pencey Prep student ​Ward Stradlater (Salinger
43-45).​ The patient had lost his younger brother, Allie Caulfield, to leukemia when ​Allie was
11 (Salinger 38)​. The patient has also gotten into a fight with a pimp named ​Maurice
(Salinger 103)​.

Background Analysis:​ Ryan

The patient’s deceased brother has created a sense of grief for the patient. His flunking grades
are a symptom commonly associated with clinical depression. In addition, his lack of sleep and
suicidal thoughts point to depression as well. The patient does not talk to his parents nor do his
parents talk to him about his behavior, which may worsen the symptoms. Also, the mere fact
that the patient has checkups for tuberculosis points to an addiction to cigarette smoking.

Diagnosis:
Holden is a 17 year old boy who has been diagnosed with severe Depression by Ivannah
Encabo, Ph.D, Adult Psychiatrist. Holden had just been dismissed from his former school,
John F. Kennedy High School. He mentioned,​“They kicked me out. I wasn’t supposed to
come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not
applying myself and all [..] ​What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel
some kind of good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was
leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad goodbye, but when I
leave a place I like to ​know ​I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse” (Salinger
6-7)​.​ He had been dismissed from his school for academic failure and failure to cooperate.
Holden had conflict with his grades and connecting with other people since he had been a
young boy; changing schools frequently because he failed to raise his grades and failed to
make connections, isolating himself.

Recently, it has been indicated that Holden refuses to get in touch with his parents, as well as
his siblings, D.B. and Phoebe. Holden mentioned, ​“I figured my parents probably wouldn’t
get old Thurmer’s letter saying I’d been given the ax till maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. I
didn’t want to go home or anything till they got it and thoroughly digested it and all. I
didn’t want to be around when they first got it”(Salinger 58)​. It seems as if he feels
ashamed that he had been expelled from yet another school and feared that his parents would
have been disappointed in him.

In addition, Holden indicated that he had been depressed when he mentioned a memory of his
parents actions when he was younger. It had just been his younger brother, Allie’s death.
Holden had lost control of his emotions and had destroyed his parents garage. He mentioned,
“​I was only thirteen, and they were going to have my psychoanalyzed and all, because I
broke all the windows in the garage. I don't blame them. I really don't. I slept in the
garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the
hell of it. I even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon we had that summer,
but my hand was already broken and everything by that time, and I couldn't do it. It was
a very stupid thing to do, I'll admit, but I hardly didn't even know I was doing it, and you
didn't know Allie” ( Salinger 38-39)​.​ Instead of asking if Holden had been upset, because of
Allie’s death, they wanted him to be psychoanalyzed.

Furthermore, Holden's appearance and mental state indicates that he struggles to get sleep
indicating insomnia and dysthymia. He mentions that,​¨It took me quite a while to get to
sleep—I wasn't even tired—but finally I did. What I really felt like, though, was
committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would've done it, too,
if I'd been sure somebody'd cover me up as soon as I landed. I didn't want a bunch of
stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory¨ (Salinger 104)​. ​Holden’s mental
state is not just an adolescents “teenage problem”, but symptoms of actual depression as he
fails to keep a well-balance lifestyle and positive thoughts.

Prescription: Rachel
What do you recommend for Holden to improve his life? Assume you have no authority to
prescribe drugs.

Holden should take the obligation to converse himself in sincere and meaningful talks with
his parents or those he feels more connected to, if things become abstract he could take in
consideration to exercise by walking around, such as in the park or the newseum. This pertains
to where ​“I mean does somebody come around in a truck or something and takes them
away, or do they fly away by themselves--go south or something” (Salinger 100). ​This
doesn't quite pertain on the idea that he should be entitled in covering more, but he seemed to
have a clear questioning to this topic as he pertains to seek an answer in a conversation to
which he would only seem to ask anyone in a state of loss and a high emotional state. As to
where he inclines about his old friend that ​“He’s helped me to adjust myself to a certain
extent, but an extensive analysis has been necessary¨ (149)​. We seek to only help Holden to
be or diligent to his community rather than setting of his own thoughts that pertain to his issue.
Holden inclined that, ​The best things though, in that museum was that everything always
stayed right where it was” (Salinger 123). ​From this, he is drawn to such things that he
prefers that are “phony”. As such, he holds this idea close to him as much as he does with his
family and what drives him with his admer actions.

What life changing recommendations are you going to make for Holden, his family or for any
other character in the book?Essentially, this is an intervention, whereby you as the team of
doctors are prescribing ways to change Holden’s life for the better.

We recommend that Holden continuous to question more admer thing such as the ducks, as this could
build a comne bond with whom he is taking to. This would hopefully digress his idea on whom and
what he identify as “phony” and what is truly unjust that is still locked in the period of time that he
inclined was the best moments of his life after his younger brotherś passing.

Prognosis:
Holden has indicated that he has been keeping active and finding hobbies to relax himself. He
has been following the advice I had given to him from our prior meeting. In the prior meeting,
I had told him what to have expected if he were to continue to come to Psychotherapy.
Informing him that it is a process to gradually live a better lifestyle rather than have an
immediate change in his life. I had also informed him that if he did not follow the advice his
mental state would worsen and he would not be able to live the positive and peaceful life that
he had yearned for. Fortunately, the patient has excellent potential to meet expected outcomes
of therapy due to his excellent motivation to return to school, young age, & overall good
physical conditioning prior to injury. Expected to progress to being able to successfully live a
well-balanced and positive life.