Instructions Read the case on p. 149 of the textbook: Writing a New a Way– Queerness, Latinidad, and Young Adulthood. Then following the instructions below. SECTION 1 Social workers use psychosocial assessments to plan the most effective treatment plan for clients. Psychosocial assessments provide social workers with a holistic or multidimensional overview of a person’s life to help them identify physical, mental, and social connections. Based on the case study, use the following elements of the psychosocial assessment form (found below) as the basis for your psychosocial assessment. Based on the case, complete the different aspects of the psychosocial assessment. Psychosocial Assessment Form Topic Example(s) and Hints Presenting Problem history of problem, prior attempts to solve problem Developmental History childhood, adolescence, adulthood, education, relationships, parenthood or not, divorces/separations, losses Current Ego Psychological Profile significant relationship, family situation, general mood functioning including defensive functioning, anxiety, impulses, superego, object relations History of Trauma abuse, violence, substance abuse, traumatic losses, etc. Factors of Diversity culture, race, ethnicity, gender, age, class, sexual orientation, religion/spirituality, differential physical or mental abilities, intergenerational factors Psychosocial Effects of Oppression "violations of clients space, time, energy, mobility, bonding, or identity due to membership in a marginalized population group; alienation from self or others due to institutionalized oppression, stage of identity formation as member of a group; strengths, resources, and sources of personal power in responding to oppression; primary patterns of coping with membership in a marginalized group" (Van Voorhis,. 1998, p. 124) Grief Issues death of a loved one, disbelief, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, and acceptance/hope Attitudes Toward Parenting and Nurturing and Development joys and problems Social Networks Family, friends, coworkers, etc.; short-term or long-term; supportive, draining, conflictual, etc. Home Environment conditions, hazards, supports, source of stimulation, peace, conflict, etc. Other Relevant Information Immigration status, etc SECTION 2 CLINICAL FORMULATION Write a clinical formulation/case conceptualization based on the information you gathered. This section is where you take your descriptive information and present your hypotheses. The formulation should involve your creative thinking, including your understanding/conceptualization, pulling all relevant data into an integrated, cohesive statement, including how the past affects the present, how the current behavior reflects both past and present patterns of behavior, and how all the systems involved have affected the client’s current functioning. Weave together biological, psychological, and social aspects of the client's past and present into speculation about the dynamics and the interaction of factors contributing to the client's current difficulties. The goal is to move beyond "what" of a person's self and situation into “how" and “why.” This aspect of the assessment aims to bring all salient aspects of a person's story into a critical speculation about his/her current situation to set parameters for the treatment plan. Base your hypothesis on theories included in this week’s readings. The client data from Section 1 above should be related as fully as possible to the theoretical approach that you have chosen. (2 pages) Guidelines (10 points) Cite a minimum of 5 scholarly sources Follow APA guidelines 3-page word minimum (excluding sources) Include an APA format reference list Write N/A if the client information is not included in the case Work individually or in groups (Maximum of 4 group members and each group member must upload the assignment readings: https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.21101001 https://www.proquest.com/docview/1804471601/fulltextPDF/C6D36EEA15FD43A4PQ/1?accountid=8204&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3235726/ vidos : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0ZQZEFTqB0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v9XeApSYNY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHwIP7l3nW0 CASE STUDY FROM TEXT BOOK MUST USE: Case Study: Writing a New Way—Queerness, Latinidad, Young Adulthood Ethan and I met when he was 16 years old, he having been referred to a community-based mental health group practice by his mother. At the time, I was working as a trauma-focused therapist at a Latinx-owned and Latinx-serving group psychotherapy practice where Ethan and I met for weekly sessions together. Ethan is now 25 years old, and he has continued to engage with behavioral health care through my individual psychotherapy practice for the last 7 years. When we first met, Ethan’s mother shared that he was experiencing violent bullying at school, had stopped attending classes, and had been absent from school for most of the semester. Ethan lived a few blocks from my office, with his two brothers, mother, father, and his paternal grandmother. Ethan’s intergenerational household was described to me as very busy and full of perpetual noise; space was limited, and there was frequent conflict about the scarcity of resources. When describing his home environment, Ethan states, “If you had money to spend, you were expected to spend it on everyone you lived with. If you could save money, spend it immediately.” Ethan used his sessions with me to share his experiences with school bullying, his awareness of his own nonheteronormativity within his Latino family, and his pas- sion for writing and music. We often explored the gendered and socialized norms of his family, the direct messages he received about growing older, and how his identities pushed against these expectations. Ethan shares about these expectations, “You grow up with two values. The first was to stay in school, and the second was to make a lot of money. You’re not sure how they correlate or how that works, but don’t need to know. You are going to be the savior your parents need, and that’s enlightening enough.” Ethan was fearful of both sharing his political viewpoints and newly discovered insights about his sexuality with specific family members due to the outward homophobia and sexism he witnessed; and he worried that rejection would also mean rejecting his family’s collective needs. Together, we worked using somatic approaches for anxiety self-management and to support Ethan to share his truth in the therapeutic space as a way of holding the complexity of all his identities—with no part left behind. Ethan states: When you’re a teenager you decide you don’t like school because you don’t like feeling small or insignificant and you don’t like that everyone talks to you like you know less than them. Sometimes you know more, sometimes people like that you know more, but who can you trust, anyway? It’s hard to go outside. Your values are warped. Your parents don’t make you feel like the savior you were supposed to be. Sessions with Ethan were structured by lighting a candle when we began to talk and included breaks for brief meditations, games to build connection, and writing prompts for him to use and explore his inner wisdom outside of our weekly meetings. About his experience following these prompts, Ethan remembers: I took a whimsical approach to getting to know myself: writing about myself like a character in a movie. The rest of the cast was the city, my family, and the feelings that surrounded me the more I neglected them. Through writing I got more practice with identifying and processing my feelings. This act directly contradicted my family, masculinity, and my role as an angsty, secretly angry teenager in New York City. Ethan was often escorted to the office for our sessions by his aunt, his brother, and sometimes multiple family members. There was curiosity about what he was doing “in therapy.” Occasionally, sessions also included a “chosen” family member, usually a friend, and we were able to discuss the importance and power of naming and choosing family as we age. Queer youth in transition may experience family-of-origin rejection and, like Ethan, find reflection in shared representation with peers. Kinship family structures are diverse in structure and complex in function as adolescents move through unique identity formation processes. When working with TAY it can be useful to evaluate and explore notions of family that are expansive and encompass individuals and communities unique to the social and emotional needs of the individual—and are not bound by birth or family of origin. As a teenager, Ethan spent most days alone at his grandmother’s house. His brothers were in school, and older adults were working or outside the home. We worked together to address his mother’s concerns about a safety transfer to a new school, as he increasingly expressed interest in returning to school and it was clear that he felt ready to socialize again. I provided Ethan’s mother with psychoeducation about sexuality, gender, and adolescent development. These collaborative sessions were important to building trust with Ethan’s family, supporting Ethan’s self-advocacy skills, and understanding the generational narrative of his family. The stories shared in these sessions illuminated grief for the loss of his mother’s own adolescence and the disappointments and guilt that she has carried. The family’s cultural perspectives about Ethan’s role in the family and the constant labor of managing a large family with housing instability often left Ethan feeling invisible. Ethan’s requests to bring in a friend or family member broadened my capacity to understand and connect with the larger context of this environment he was in while moving through adolescence. Ethan shared the following about this time in our work together: The truth is that I wasn’t entirely aware of what I was doing. I didn’t want to go to school, I didn’t want to talk to people my age, I didn’t want to participate in anything. Still, these were things that were expected of me, and I couldn’t stand to disappoint anyone. Before I was an adult driven to do right by myself and my complex relationship with my inner child, I was a teenager driven toward my goals by a deep fear of disappointing people. A reflex rooted in Catholic guilt, or by how heartbroken I felt when I disappointed my mother as a kid. If I let some- one down, they would hate me and I would be unlovable. I was an empathetic kid who often tried to guess what my parents were thinking and feeling. I would take on the task of fixing whatever was stressing them out because that’s how I understood my role in the family. My mom confessed to me that when I was a kid, she would sometimes want to shake me by the shoulders and go, “Please act like a kid!” I found that if I fixed my own behavior, my own personality and habits, I could make life for my parents just a little bit better. It was how I learned to approach every problem: How am I wrong, and what can I do differently? Ethan’s internalization of his family’s conflicts and stress contributed to a sense of responsibility that collided with his developmental tasks to individuate, to come out, and to express himself. We worked together, exploring his outlets for queerness in film, writing, and music while he simultaneously balanced a need for safety with his growing sense of self. Within a year of collaborative sessions, Ethan felt ready to transition to a new school, and I supported a referral to an all-LGBTQ high school in New York City. Ethan’s new school was made up of many TAY, small classes, and personalized support for life outside the classroom. The high school offered wraparound case management services through a partner LGBTQ youth-serving organization, a food pantry, community meals, after-school programs, and college readiness support. When Ethan entered high school again, he took a risk by not only joining a new community but also breaking a legacy cycle. When we reflected on this school transfer experience, Ethan included this narrative: There was a time in my 11th year where I skipped a day of school and I pan- icked over the teachers I was letting down. To avoid those feelings, I skipped the next day and the day after that. My principal, a sharp and direct woman, had a meeting with my mom and where I confessed I didn’t show up because I couldn’t face disappointing anyone. “I’m not going to lie, Ethan, I was incredibly disappointed,” she said. She was calm, she sounded sad, and for the first time I wasn’t heartbroken. I’d disappointed my community, but they weren’t going to close any doors on me. I spent an afternoon at school one semester trying to explain my feelings for a chosen family member in my life. One of the many readily available guidance counselors at school explained: “I think it’s safe to say you hold love for this person.” That is what it was: a deep respect and love for the community that showed me unconditional support. It was a personal and fundamental component to who I am today and to what I needed to disassemble my family’s legacy cycles. I’ve learned later as an adult that my mother used to sleep with the weight of the world every night, and in the moments where she was just as confused and scared as I was, she was her most human. But she was never disappointed in me. Prior to the school transfer, Ethan spent his days writing chapters of a novel that he was dreaming up and organizing musical playlists for different emotions for each day of the week. We incor- porated reading his novel chapters and engaging in creative writing together in our sessions. Ethan increasingly agreed to read his own work out loud and to practice hearing his own voice. These listening and reflection sessions became a strategy for building confidence to engage in school groups, writing projects, and eventually an LGBTQ youth public speaking board. As a member of the youth speak-out project, Ethan traveled citywide to schools and organizations telling his coming-out story and describes this experience: With a narrative focusing on defining queer identity, we shared our most vul- nerable stories with audiences from middle school to college, answered their questions, connected with them. In the end we were trying to help young people recontextualize their vision of LGBTQ people from what they’d previously known to the human beings we are, to the kids we were. At 18, Ethan’s narrative about his struggle shifted from centering a personal pathology of depression and anxiety to a nuanced narrative that spoke to the socioeconomic conditions of his family’s life at home, the complexity of his relationship to gender and sexuality in his Latinx family, and his analysis of the impact of his internalized oppression. Ethan’s ability to use writing for emotional catharsis and as a strategy to connect with others supported him to gain a summer internship at The Huffington Post. Ethan describes this time: I spent two summers with that internship. The second time was fueled by the success of finishing high school and fitting into stylish clothes for the first time, so I had both the confidence and shamelessness to harass my internship manager or an essay spot on their online arts and culture publication. I’d always been a writer, only now with the backing of published work. Key adults who worked with TAY supported Ethan as he made the transition from high school. His guidance counselor, teachers, therapist, and friends created a network of resources as he left the school and planned what was next. Ethan’s confidence to show up as himself with a multitude of identities, including his queerness and Latinidad, represented his process of self-actualization as his self story grew to encompass pride. In his senior year, Ethan applied for scholarships as he continued to focus on his writing while starting classes at a local undergraduate institution. Ethan’s journey from adolescence to young adulthood was marked by risk-taking to try on new identities such as “intern,” “graduate,” and “writer.” Ethan now produces 7 the Magazine, an arts-focused magazine printed in New York City. Ethan says that he chose the name because the number 7 represents a complete cycle. Ethan continues to live with his family in lower Manhattan, where he continues to write and attend college use the above case study to answer the assessment below: or an essay spot on their online arts and culture publication. I’d always been a writer, only now with the backing of published work. Key adults who worked with TAY supported Ethan as he made the transition from high school. His guidance counselor, teachers, therapist, and friends created a network of resources as he left the school and planned what was next. Ethan’s confidence to show up as himself with a multitude of identities, including his queerness and Latinidad, represented his process of self-actualization as his self story grew to encompass pride. In his senior year, Ethan applied for scholarships as he continued to focus on his writing while starting classes at a local undergraduate institution. Ethan’s journey from adolescence to young adulthood was marked by risk-taking to try on new identities such as “intern,” “graduate,” and “writer.” Ethan now produces 7 the Magazine, an arts-focused magazine printed in New York City. Ethan says that he chose the name because the number 7 represents a complete cycle. Ethan continues to live with his family in lower Manhattan, where he continues to write and attend college
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