Title: Beth is a single, white female and is the oldest of three children
Author: Owner
Last saved by: Peter
Company: Hewlett-Packard

Beth is a single, white female and is the oldest of three children. She reported that her father began fondling her from the time she was a toddler to age eight when he raped her. She also reported that the sexual assaults continued until she left home at age 18, and that her father threatened her and told her “never” to tell anyone. She believed that her mother knew about her abuse and chose not to intervene. Beth described on-going physical and verbal abuse from early childhood from both parents in the form of several random beatings and continual criticism. She reported that at age eleven, three neighborhood boys gang-raped her and threatened to kill her if she told anyone. One year later, she was raped again by a male classmate after school. She was found by a teacher who took her to the school counselor. She reports the counselor did not believe that she was raped. She reported that her parents were informed and that her father used the incident as an excuse to further berate and sexually assault her. 
She describes herself as a very quiet and withdrawn child who tried not to be noticed. She said she had few friends at school. Her interest in art and writing began early, and she indicated that she used these as a means of escape from the criticism and abuse. She has clear memories of dissociating when being abused by her father. Up until the rape at school, she stated that she was a straight 'A' student who participated on athletic teams. She reported that after this particular incident her grades dropped, she stopped playing sports and she began wearing layers of baggy clothes and baseball caps to discourage male attention. 
In high school, she began to drink alcohol in another effort to cope with her emotions and intrusive memories. She also tried to stay away from home as much as she could. An adult neighbor, who had witnessed the physical abuse of Beth by her parents, befriended Beth and allowed Beth to move in with her family when Beth reached age 18. Beth works part-time and actually received a grant to pursue her art work. However, she continued to heavily consume alcohol and isolate in an effort to cope with her anxiety and fears, including that her parents would come after her and harm her if she ever discusses what was done to her. She drinks alcohol in excess daily, often several ounces of hard liquor at night to cope with nightmares, flashbacks and self-blame related to being raped and abused. Since her drinking quantity and frequency of use has escalated, she feels more anxiety when the alcohol effects wear off.  Now she is also using anti-anxiety benzodiazepine drugs such as Xanax to control her anxiety and finding she still needs to use alcohol. At this point, Beth's sole social support consists of the friend with whom she is living.