Case Study Shirley Cole

DESCRIPTION OF THE FAMILY

Rebecca was born in Halifax, NS. Her father’s family was from PEI, so she spent almost every summer on PEI as a child. Rebecca reports her parent’s relationship as poor. She said her father was an alcoholic and would tell her nasty things about her mother. Her mother was in nursing school when she was very young and worked as a nurse at the VG in Halifax. Her mother separated from her father and took herself and her sister to Newfoundland where she worked as a nurse. Rebecca said she remembers moving a lot with her mother and resented her for this. She has since healed her relationship with her mother. Her mother now spends time in Northern Ontario as a Nurse Practitioner and travels to Florida each year.

Shirley Cole (Family Court Counselor) prepared a report to the court tin May 2007 which included referring Rebecca for an addiction assessment. Rebecca provided me with a copy of a letter dated May 2007 to Shirley Cole from Addiction Services stating Rebecca completed an addiction assessment and was low Probability of a Substance Abuse Disorder. Shirley Cole stated in the conclusion of this report that her “clinical assessment is that Rebecca is a very capable, responsible, and mature young woman.” She states “Rebecca has demonstrated tremendous resiliency in spite of numerous personal and practical obstacles.” Shirley Cole continues to state that there was “no indication from collateral contacts with Child Protection, Police Services, the children’s Guidance Counselor or other professionals in Health Services, nor from Rebecca presentation across several contacts that there was any substance to the numerous allegations, John, her former partner, has made against her as a person or a parent.” Shirley Cole commented she was unable to offer a clinical assessment regarding John Johnson, and defer to the Court for conclusion and

We conducted a safety check of the home during the first home visit, with no safety concerns noted. The home is heated with a wood stove located in the kitchen with a secondary heat source of an oil furnace. There were a number of fire alarms throughout the small home. Rebecca commented that they are very vigilant about fire safety. Wayne also ensures the wood stove, furnace, and flue is well maintained. Rebecca also commented on her awareness of the potential dangers of working and living around horses. She said she has very specific rules with Jerri-Lynn about her time in the barn. She indicated she would ensure Scarlett was safe around the