Directions
In this assignment you will assume the role of a clinical social worker. You conducted interview with the Nic and collateral contacts, and now will write the client assessment with the following prompts:
Splitted into 3 part that’s highlighted!
1.This brief section includes essential data to allow for immediate recognition of participants in the current situation, descriptive roles, relationships among participants, and social characteristics. This data usually includes:
1. Identification of agency and person responding to the applicant’s request for services (including agency name, philosophy, goals, services available and position of person responding to the request). *Identify an agency in your area. Write 2-4 sentences about the program and services. Include yourself as the social worker responding to the application. (Please use the agency in Louisville, KentuckyThe Healing Place Services: Provides substance use disorder treatment, including detox, residential programs, and recovery support. Website: The Healing Place Phone: (502) 585-4848)
2. Identification of person(s) who contacted the agency requesting help. David Sheff, Nic’s father.
3. Applicant’s statement of problem(s) for which help is requested (including stated purpose and circumstances surrounding the application). Write 1-2 sentences. The request is made by David Sheff on behalf of Nic Sheff.
4. Description of how the person contacted the agency (including manner in which linkage occurred and source of referral).
5. Identification of family members and significant other persons involved in the request (including names, ages, relationships to the person requesting services, occupations, addresses, phone numbers). David Sheff. Optional to include his mother. You can make up addresses and phone numbers.
6. Identification of collateral sources. David Sheff, Nic’s stepmother and biological mother.
2. Problem Assessment
The purpose of this section is to facilitate the process of gathering information and formulating presenting difficulties and factors of causation into a coherent picture of the individual and their circumstances by utilizing the identifying information and psychosocial description and applying relevant practice theory.
Presenting difficulties and factors of causation
1. Precipitants of the presenting difficulties, i.e., specification of factors which brought the client(s) to a point of seeking professional help. Be clear and concise and focus on the present/recent events.
2.Underlying factors which contribute to presenting difficulties; underlying predisposing factors; and underlying factors which perpetuate the presenting difficulties. This should include intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental, and situational elements. In this section discuss the known interpersonal, intrapersonal, environmental, and situational elements.
3. Effects and significance of the presenting difficulties in the client(s)’ life. In this section
discuss how the above affects Nic’s life – consider housing, safety, employment,
finances, and social supports.
3. Psychosocial Description
This includes a summarization of essential elements of the client(s)’ current psychosocial situation, for example, strengths and obstacles, biophysical functioning, cultural factors, the use and abuse of substances, cognitive/perceptual functioning, health and safety factors, and social support systems. Additionally, this section includes the development of an ecomap and a discussion about the family system and services/supports.
This summary is individualized and takes into account the following factors:
1. Observation of the client(s), including physical description, behavioral characteristics, and attitudes. Refer to Assessment example 9.7 on a description of client.
2. Identification of biological factors and symptoms of intrapersonal disturbances affecting client(s), e.g., diagnosed medical conditions, complaints, symptoms, physical disabilities, developmental stage, stated fears, stated attitudes toward self, general outlook on life. In this section, consider Nic’s age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, the age he was diagnosed with depression and bi-polar disorder, etc. See Figure 9.1 to guide your discussion.
3. Description of the family system, i.e., significant current family relationships, functioning of the family as a whole, cultural identity of family, salient values expressed within family, characteristics of family communication, identification of support networks. Discuss Nic’s current family system. Avoid discussing his past family experience. His past family history will be discussed at the end of the assessment. When reviewing your ecomap diagram, think about the following:
-are they reliant on professional agencies for support? Or do they have family, friends and neighbors who are supportive?
-If they are reliant on professional agencies for support, what is the quality of support provided? Is it meeting their needs?
-Do they have links with people from their own cultural background?
– Are their values appreciated or in conflict with the surrounding environment?
-Do they engage in any activities outside school or work or belong to any groups?
– Do they have access to good quality health care?
-Are there areas of need that are not being met and is there capacity to access needed support within the local community?
– Description of interpersonal relationships outside the family, i.e., social role functioning, range and diversity of roles, communication, interactions between and general attitude toward social relationships external to family. Discuss Nic’s social and romantic relationships.
5. Identification of interactions with impinging environmental systems having impact on the problem situation, e.g., physical environment and safety, transportation, support networks, community, neighborhood, institutional resources, and deficits. Discuss Nic’s homelessness.
When reviewing your ecomap diagram, think about the following:
-Are the services the person is engaged with meeting the individual ‘s needs?
-Are the service providers communicating with each other? Is there a coordinated approach to service delivery?
-Are there areas of need that are not being addressed?
– Is there duplication of service delivery?
-What is the quality of the relationship between professional and support workers and the person?
-What energy is going into work with the person and is it having any measurable results?
6. Past life events which have current relevance to the client(s) situation and problems, including place and circumstances of birth, developmental transitions, marriage and child birth dates and circumstances, geographic transitions, education and work background, main events in the life of the client, e.g., periods of illness, other stress periods, significant achievements. In this section Nic’s life growing up, his family unit, transition to college, etc. After completing your summary, create an ecomap diagram that corresponds with the information included in the content you generate to address the aforementioned areas. You will include this ecomap at the end of Part 1 as an appendix. Refer to the video example of ecomap or the course text figure 1.1. Note: Because you are completing an ecomap using a case study, you may not be able to answer some of these questions in detail or at all. If this is truly the case, then simply state this clearly in your paper. It is also possible that the family member received service support in the past but no longer does. If this is the case, you can also state this. This is important because an individual might tell you she received services in the past but currently does not. If these services helped her in the past, at minimum, this demonstrates her help-seeking behavior and perhaps a level of trust between the individual and formal services. Also, it suggests that if the individual has been successful with formal services in the past, she can be again. That said, it is highly possible that some family members will be engaged in services. For example, government programs such as TANF, SSI, SNAP, unemployment/job training, counselin