Psychological Assessment: Moonlight

Identifying Information

Chiron, also known as Little and Black, is 30 years old. He is a black, single, male from Miami
who is attending school along with transitioning into another profession. His main goal is to find
himself along with becoming more comfortable in his own skin.

Health or Safety Concerns

Chiron does not have any serious health concerns for himself. Something he does suffer from is
self-esteem problems. When speaking about his safety, he is often at risk of being in unsafe
situations. Being from the rougher side of town, he is often attacked physically by a lot of his
peers. Without the help of his mother, he must defend himself against the rough men of his
neighborhood. Being that he is always physically abused by others, it can put him at risk for
other health issues in the future. He also suffers from past traumas that causes him to have
constant nightmares.

Current Functioning

Chiron’s mother began spending more time at home as she became addicted to drugs. She was
working in the health care field but stopped working as her addiction became worse. Chiron
befriend the local drug dealer of the neighborhood and began interacting with him and his
girlfriend. Juan and Teresa often care for Chiron throughout his life. They keep him out of
harm’s way. Chiron would often stay with them when his mother would tell him not to come
home for the night. At school, Chiron has been bullied since the very beginning. Most of the
boys would of abuse him physically and mentally. He is often called “gay” and “faggot” by his
classmates. He has one friend named Blue from school who he only speaks to on occasion. He
often tries to stick up for him and to guide him in life as well. Chiron does not speak to most
people unless he feels comfortable with them or offended by them.

Family History

Chiron is not close with his mother, but he loves her dearly. He cares for her deeply. Chiron does
not have any other family that he knows of. He is saved one day by a man name Juan who begins
to care for him. Juan and Teresa become his family and they make sure than he is taken care of.
Juan made Chiron feel better about himself. He teaches Chiron how to defend himself along with
how to accept himself for who he truly is.

Developmental Needs and Life Transitions

Since his mother’s addiction becoming worse, Chiron has been dealing with feelings of neglect.
He often sees his mother, but she just sees him as a burden. Without having a father, Chiron is
often lost when it comes to learn how to be a man. He does gain the guidance of Juan, but he
soon passes away. With the lack of another male role model and a friend, he becomes more
closed off.
Strengths

Chiron uses his survival skills to keep himself afloat. For example, he cooked for himself at
home when his mother was not around. He also learns how to stand up for himself as well.
Chiron fights his bully back even though it caused him trouble in the end. He also learned mental
strength from this such as not responding when he was being harassed about his mother. He did
not let the foul things that were said about his mother affect him. All he has ever heard was
hateful things towards them and he used those things to build himself up. Chiron became
muscular in the future based on the fact that he was always bullied about his size.

Challenges

Chiron faced many challenges throughout his life. From lacking a father to have a mother
addicted to drugs. Chiron struggled to fit in with most of his peers as a kid. He would seem
awkward and called names being that he did not behave like most boys. As a teenager. Growing
up, Chiron was never confident in himself. He was not sure of who he was, what he wanted from
life, and who he was attracted to. There were moments where Chiron often questioned his
sexuality and his friendship. Having his first sexual encounter with his close male friend placed a
challenge within himself. Chiron began showing signs of questioning himself in terms of who he
really was.

Conclusion

Chiron started off lacking confidence in himself along with feeling alone without fully having his
mother. This abundance loneliness and insecurity was an obstacle for him. He felt as if he did not
fit in and all the boys saw him as “gay” or a “faggot”. He was always smaller and leaner than the
other boys, so he was seen as an easier target. When he got older, life became harder for him. His
mother became more absent and he became more dependent and more closed-off. His friend
Kevin had a huge impact on his life. He was his first friend and always tried to take up for him.
But their dynamic changed and so did Chiron’s feelings. For a small moment, he was able to
embrace who he truly was inside without having a second thought. But after that moment, it was
all ripped away from him in a split second. This action is what molded him into the person he
became in his future.

Chiron’s relationship with his mother is very fragile. Their relationship is filled with tension and
frustration. Chiron cared for his mother dearly, but he knew that she was ill. His mother was
sober in the beginning, but her addiction started to become worse over time. Having to deal with
his mother having a drug addiction, Chiron really did not have stability. She would often yell and
scream at him or even tell him that he had to find somewhere else to stay most nights. These
actions began driving a wedge between Chiron and his mother. Without her love or affection,
Chiron was lost when it came to being personal with other people.

Chiron is very closed-off with people. In the beginning, he barely spoke more than three words.
He would often stare at people and nod his head for responses. However, during his teen years,
he began speaking more. He was still closed-off, but he would speak when spoken to. He was
still unable to be personal with anyone other than his friend and Teresa. This shows that Chiron
has a very stand-offish personality and has issues with making social connections. When he did
let his guard down, he trust was broken and it caused a change within himself. Letting his guard
down allowed him to make a change in his life for better and for worse. He began to place a
façade over who he really was and became the very person that ruined his mother, a drug dealer.

Chiron and I have come up to an agreement on some future goals for him to pursue. Chiron
would like to work on accepting himself for who he really is and working on communicating his
emotions in healthier ways, so he does not go through the same struggles he has for most of his
life. He would also like to work on his relationship with his mother as well considering that she
has been in rehab working on herself. This may consist of Chiron visiting his mother more along
with expressing himself to her about his past aggressions when it came to their relationship.
Lastly, Chiron will begin working on embracing his sexuality without caring about outside
opinions. This is something that he struggled with the most, so this is a core goal of his to help
bring together the overall acceptance of himself. I plan to connect him with some programs and
groups that I have worked with before