Question
You are required to assess and apply the following practice theories to the provided case review:
- Psychoanalytic Theory
- Reality/Choice Theory
- Adlerian Theory
- Feminist Theory
- Family Systems Theory
Using each theory, you must assess and apply each theory to the case provided. For each theory, explain how the given theory would use the information and form the assessment. Then explain how the theory would approach the case, i.e. what kind of interventions would be utilized, what would the social worker be expected to do, ETC.
Be certain that explain the theory’s beliefs, perform the assessment while explaining the theory’s viewpoints, and explain the change effort based on the theory. You must do it for EACH theory! Write the paper as if you were writing a professionally-worded report about the client.
Guidelines to help complete the Assessments:
- Provide an overview of each theory
- Provide an assessment of the case using each theory
- Provide an overview of individual patterns
- Provide an overview of familial patterns
- Provide what each theory focuses on
- Provide each theory’s interventions
RUBRIC: PAPER IS WORTH 100 POINTS.
EACH THEORY IS WORTH 15 POINTS FOR 75 POINTS
APA STYLE AND GRAMMAR ARE WORTH 25 POINTS
CASE REVIEW:
I am Leroy. I have “officially” had my diagnosis for at least two years now but my struggle has been for a lot longer than that. It started back in 1996 when I was 10 years old. That was the year my mom died unexpectedly. Quite frankly my life has never really been the same since. You might say that I really never had a mom but she was what she was and did the best she could. See, she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. For most of the time I was growing up she was in and out of mental hospitals. My mom acted kind of crazy. I remember once she chased my dad around the kitchen with a butcher knife. What a scene that turned out to be. The police came over and Mom was right back in the hospital for a few days. She talked funny, too, and most times didn’t make much sense but she was my mom and I loved her with all my heart. Sometimes I was kind of scared that I would turn out to be like her. Looking back, I guess I missed out on having a childhood because Mom was so odd and unpredictable. I couldn’t have my friends over because I never knew what she might do and she would never allow me to sleepover at someone else’s house either. Mom worried that my friends would poison me. My dad was always busy at work. Even though he wasn’t around much, like to take me to baseball games and stuff, I still knew he was concerned about me. I was never sure if he worked just to get out of the house or for the health insurance. We used it a lot what with my mom’s condition. Anyway, when I was about 12 or 13 years old, I remember that he took me to see some kind of therapist who gave me all sorts of tests—I think just to make sure I was not crazy. She recommended to my dad that I take medication but I refused. My mom had died about two years before that and I was having trouble concentrating on my school work. My grades were going downhill and I was almost kicked off the baseball team.
I always loved school and was a good student. Reading all those books was a great escape. They took me away from all the commotion at home. But in my last year of high school I remember that I used to think seriously that I wanted to get away from life entirely. I just didn’t know what I would do with myself but I didn’t have the energy for suicide. Well here I am; 19 years old, ready to go to college, and I still feel out of place.
I’ve started counseling again and I am taking meds. I feel much better; like I’m finally on track with life. I even have the hope that maybe someday there will be a college degree in my future. I have to admit that I hate taking medication. Somehow I feel like I’m branded. Sort of like having an invisible tattoo right there on your forehead. After a couple of months, I experimented and took myself off my medication. A few weeks later I felt the ghost of death and destruction slowly returning. I tried to fight it without my meds but it just kept getting worse and worse. I finally decided that I could not continue like this. Funny, I didn’t want to live but I didn’t want to die either so I went back on my meds. I figure I will probably have to take them for the rest of my life, a little better but I still don’t like the idea. Taking that pill is a daily reminder of the ghost in my life and wishing that death would bring an end to my pain. I wonder if addicts ever feel this way. Ever since that “experiment,” I’ve been back on my meds and have been feeling freakin’ OK but I still don’t like the idea of having to take a pill. I’m not feeling down or suicidal right now so they must be doing something. Is this what it feels like to be normal? For the first time I feel alive, which is a damn strange feeling for me.
Anyway, so…here’s my story of my mental illness. For the record, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke or take drugs, and my health is good. My first therapist suggested it would help if I kept track of the events in my life with a journal and I would like to share some of my entries with you just so you can get an idea of the hell I lived in when it all started. You know, some of the highs, the lows, and then nothing in between.
May 2003
Even though it has been about seven years since Mom died, Mother’s Day is always hard for me. My first therapist said I should write a letter to her. I did it again this year but this time it didn’t seem to help as much. I also lost my job this month. I had worked for Mr. Becham at his grocery store since I was 15. It was really better working there than at the local fast-food joint. I was in charge of stocking shelves and loved the work. Mr. Becham took a fatherly interest in me and we used to have long talks about going to college. He never went to college and said that it was important for me to go in order to make something of myself. I was devastated when he told me that he was retiring and closing the store.
Then I started having trouble concentrating in school. I really think it started a couple of months earlier but it has been getting worse. I seem to be having mild mood swings, too. I can be happy one minute and rude and mean to customers the next. I was really better off than my friends. Behind my back I know they called me a “big shot” but I know that I was really doing much better than they were. When I was on top of the world, I really didn’t need much sleep. It was those times that Mr. Becham would give me a lot of overtime. He said that I was the best worker he ever had. Imagine that! I had a million plans for how I would spend my overtime money. When I was in my hyper phase, I could skip from sorting cans in one aisle in the store to helping a customer in the meat department and then back to fixing the shelves. I was the best! I’m sure that’s why Mr. Becham gave me all that overtime. It was hard to focus sometimes but I loved getting so much done. Well, without my job at the store I guess I don’t have to worry about being distracted anymore!
June 2003
Found a new job; it’s not the greatest and it’s only part time on the weekends but it’s a job. Have been dating a really nice girl on-and-off since Valentine’s Day but I think something is still wrong with me. My concentration is getting worse. I have a hard time doing my homework and forget about trying to study for my final exams.
July-August 2003
Things are not going well on the new job. I’m so disorganized and can’t seem to sleep nights. I am awake all night and then sleep until I have to go to work at 2 in the afternoon. I’m losing weight, too. Food is unappealing and I have no appetite. The mood swings are coming on more frequently. In between them I feel like I’m okay but then I go spiraling out again.
September 2003
Keeping up with school is getting harder and harder and work is a real drag. Decided to quit my job at the end of this month. Things are not going well with the girlfriend, either. I get the feeling she knows there is something wrong with me because she is starting to come up with a lot of excuses when I call. We used to just go over to the mall and hang out for hours but now she’s suddenly too busy. I really need a friend.
October-November 2003
Well I got the news; my girlfriend is moving away. She’s only going to be an hour away and claims she still wants to date. I’m not sure I really want to keep this thing going. I need a friend right now not all the demands of a girlfriend.
Just before Thanksgiving I got in a really bad accident and practically totaled my car. It was my fault. I had trouble concentrating and smashed into the car in front of me. When they took me to the ER, I was told that I had a concussion and somehow I broke my ankle. Things are stressful at home, too. Dad complains about the bills I caused from the accident. On top of it all, he always gets stressed around the holidays. Starting to feel depressed.
December 2003
Things are really bad. I cannot sleep at all no matter when I go to bed. I am unable to concentrate on anything and doing terrible in school. Seems like I cry all day and every night. My girlfriend who moved said she would always be there for me but I know she doesn’t understand what’s happening to me. I try to tell her what’s going on with me but she doesn’t know what to say. That only makes things worse between us. Heck! I don’t know what’s happening to me.
Solution
Theory Paper
Psychoanalytic Theory
According to Psychoanalytic Theory, an individual gains insight into their present state of mind by the unconscious content into conscious awareness. Therefore, a person can use this process to find relief from psychological distress. According to this theory, conscious drives have a significant impact on an individual’s behavior. In Leroy’s case, he experienced maternal mental health problems as a child, a very crucial stage concerning his development. With his father staying away from home most of the time and his mother constantly being hospitalized, he faced neglect as a child and had a poor attachment with his mother. The neglect and frightening events form the events of Leroy’s early childhood, which according to Psychoanalytic Theory they heavily influence personality development. This explains why he had suicidal thoughts because he tends to protect himself from the information found in his unconscious. The residuum of his early experiences, including his mother’s death, is the root cause of his digressive symptoms.
Since the psychological and emotional problems that Leroy experiences are rooted in the conflicts between the unconscious and conscious mind, as the theory suggests helping him would mean focusing on bringing the unconscious into the conscious awareness. To achieve this, psychoanalytic strategies such as dream interpretation and free association will be utilized. At first, this theory views dreams as the best road to the unconscious; thus, the social worker will have to interpret Leroy’s dreams to get an insight into what information is in his unconscious mind. Furthermore, free association is another psychoanalytic intervention where Leroy will be encouraged to freely share his thoughts, leading to the emergence of unexpected memories and connections. Therefore, in psychoanalytic interventions, the social worker will spend a lot of time listening to Leroy talk about his life.
Choice Theory……………for help with this assignment contact us via email Address: consulttutor10@gmail.com
Adlerian Theory……………for help with this assignment contact us via email Address: consulttutor10@gmail.com
Family Systems Theory……………for help with this assignment contact us via email Address: consulttutor10@gmail.com