You walk into the room and announce your presence, “Hi, Z. I'm Officer ___.” You attempt to empathize by frontloading the conversation. You acknowledge the information and your experience deficit with what they are dealing with. You can understand though that it must be a challenging situation when it feels like there is little support. You ask Z if they'd share their struggle and how it makes them feel. ā
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Z explains that their mother always treated them well but when Z got older, they felt like dresses and makeup weren’t a good fit. Z felt like maybe they were supposed to be a boy. Z rejected the idea of being Ashley anymore. Since they were unsure how they fit into the world, they chose Z because it has no gender. Z’s mother hates this because boys are boys and girls are girls. ā
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Z and their mother got into a huge argument this morning. Z got dressed in their normal clothes - black jeans, band t-shirt, self-customized Chuck Taylor shoes, and jewelry. Z’s mom started picking at Z about not being feminine enough. She said boys would not want to date a girl who hides the fact they are a girl. ā
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This interaction put Z on a deep, downward spiral. The loss of identity and the realization there was no support at home created this sense of loneliness. Z has contemplated suicide but had no active method or means available. They mention that could “probably just hang themselves” when they get home. ā
Do you:
A) Detain Z and tell them they are going to the hospital for a psych eval even though they say that they are fine
B) Try to convince Z to go to the hospital to speak to a mental health professional to get some coping help