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Wiki Project – Advanced Clinical Studies

Create an ‘Engagement and Assessment’, ‘Recommendations for Treatment’, and ‘Evaluation’ for the ‘Description of the family system’, ‘Intervention’, and ‘Case Study’ listed below. Use the data from each of these sections to complete the ‘Engagement and Assessment’, ‘Recommendations for Treatment’, and ‘Evaluation’ sections.  The following should be answered for each section:

Engagement & Assessment:

• How will you perform your engagement? How will you perform assessment? What type of assessment will you perform?

Recommendations for treatment:

• What are your recommendations for treatment? How did you come to this conclusion for treatment?

Evaluation:

• What is your evaluation? Provide a description of your evaluation.

This should be in APA format. Provide references and in-text citations for all of your information.

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Description of the family system:

Family System: Father: Tom Smith (42) Mother: Tina (42) Children: Tom Jr. (16), Paul (13), Lucy (5). Presenting problem: Family of 5 enter treatment because parents announced they are getting divorced. Children are upset.

Engagement & Assessment:

Recommendations for treatment:

Evaluation:

Intervention:

The Generalist Intervention Model may assist in collecting data by utilizing multidisciplinary teams to gauge what is programs and techniques may work most effectively for the family and each individual. This methodology can also help in planned changed through problem solving building upon the client-base’s strengths (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2018). This can be used as a means to develop strengths with Mr. Smith’s sobriety. There can also be family-centered services that may be a means of support to help the family to succeed and have accountability.

Motivational interviewing techniques can also be used as method for the social worker not to challenge resistance but to use the momentum to further assess the views of the family/individual client (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016). This is done in an effort to decrease the probability of the client’s resistance by the social worker not reinforcing resistant behaviors. The use of motivational interviewing also allows the client to construct their own solutions to their problems, therefore decreasing the challenge that the client may predispose is present with the social worker (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016). This would be imperative in the restructuring of what will be the family’s new normative dynamics.

Ecological Approach: To integrate multiple levels of treatment goals, which will be used on the family-level.

Solution-Focused Approach: Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) and Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT)

Case Study:

Tom and Tina Smith are a middle class married couple who have three children Tom Jr. (16), Paul (13) and Lucy (5) who are presenting due to family discord resulting in Tom and Tina announcing that they are getting a divorce. The family is seeking treatment over there impending divorce due to the recent development of Tom being informed that he is not the biological father of his son Paul and his alcohol use as a coping mechanism to deal with this newsan undiagnosed mental health concern and the families negative communication patterns. Tom is a seventh grade science teacher and Tina is a high school principal they were married for 18 years before the recent events caused conflict within the family unit. Tom moved out of the family home 8 months ago upon finding out that his wife had an affair with one of his best friends from college and his life has been in a downward spiral ever since.

The children are confused and caught in the middle of the issues that their parents are experiencing and do not know how to navigate the new normal of their family dynamics. Tom and Tina want to be able to co parent in a positive way and communicate with one another as to not put additional strain on the families’ relationship with one another. Tom would also like to get help with his drinking and find healthy coping mechanisms that will allow him to deal with the issues that the family is facing and transition into new relationships with all the members as well as gain an understanding of any undiagnosed mental health diagnosis he may have. The children all need age appropriate help dealing with the issues surrounding the divorce and how to process the family dynamics.

Prior to today’s session each family member was assessed with a therapist to discuss how they were affected by the divorce and the new family dynamics. The children were assessed individually, with special attention being paid to Paul and his perspective on learning that Tom is not his biological father. During this initial assessment the family dynamics within the Smith family were cause for concern. The family has been in the community that they currently live in for the last 15 years and they have support systems in place like the local non-denominational church that they have been attending for the last ten years, neighbors with whom the family has close ties and a large extended family that offers help when and where they can.

When working with families experiencing some of the issues that the Smith family is dealing with it important to be supportive and give careful consideration to the issues that affect how the family interacts moving forward. Also important is gaining an understanding of how the family’s interactions within their systems including work, school, family and community can affect and play an important role in how they are able to cope with the issues. Focus on communication is also vitally important to the family, since misunderstandings can perpetuate the discord and cause additional issues within the unit that is already fractured. With the parents it is important to open the lines of communication and allow them to express the hurt and distrust they may be feeling and allowing the children to grieve the “death” of the family as they once knew it, so that the unit can find a new way to exist and grow together.