Week 11:
Case Example: Family Work
Case Situation A: John, Rico, Sophia, Lila, and Lisa
John is a 16-year-old male who attends a small private all-male Catholic
high school. He is an honor student and plans to attend an Ivy League
college. John has two older sisters. John was born in the United States.
His parents emigrated from Colombia due to his father’s job eighteen
years ago. His family is very involved in their local Catholic church,
which has special services for Spanish-speaking families. John attends
the youth group at his church. John was referred to you at the local
mental health center for family intervention after a serious suicide
attempt. John had tried to hang himself. John’s suicide attempt occurred
after his parents found alcohol in his car. John was ashamed to have
disappointed his parents. His parents, Rico and Sophia, are worried
about John and see him not respecting their rules. John has been
breaking curfew and getting into verbal fights with his father for the past
two years. Sometimes, John takes off after one of the verbal fights and
goes to his paternal grandmother’s apartment (two blocks away). John
says that his grandmother understands him. His mother says that she is
scared that the family is falling apart. John’s two sisters are away at
college but want to be involved in the family sessions. John’s oldest
sister, Lila, reports that she has problems with her father, too. She finds
him too controlling. John’s other sister, Lisa, says that she does not
understand why John doesn’t just follow the rules at home. Lisa is upset
that John is making their mother anxious all the time and she worries
about her.
Case Example: Group Work
Case Situation B: Peter, Sally, Trey, Tina, and Rich
You co-facilitate a group with another colleague that focuses on helping
veterans who have recently returned from overseas deployments. The
purpose of the group is to provide support and to help group members to
address challenges they are having in their day-to-day lives since their
return to the U.S. The group is a closed group with only five members.
The group meets once a week for two hours, and each group session
involves using problem-solving skills to address challenges. Peter, a
Mexican American male, is 26 years old. He has been back in the U.S.
for one month. He is having difficulty relating to his children, ages two
and four years old. His wife reports that he also has anger issues. Sally is
a 22-year old Caucasian female. She is single and lives alone. She finds
that she is often lonely and has no one to share her life with. She is
depressed most days and stays at home. Trey, an African American
male, is 24 years old. He was wounded and only recently returned to his
family’s home. He is now in a wheelchair and is actively engaged in
physical rehab most days. He joined the group because he doesn’t know
how to relate to his family anymore and he feels frustrated with all their
helpfulness. Tina is a Native American female and is 30 years old. She
joined the group because she found herself drinking too much most days
and getting into disagreements with coworkers, which resulted in her
being fired from her job. She recently broke up with her partner, Cindi.
They had been in a relationship for over eight years. Rich, a Caucasian
male who is 21 years old, joined the group after completing his physical
rehab program. He has lost the use of his right arm, and he limps with
his right leg due to war injuries. He is a new father and is worried that he
will not be a good father and that no one will want to hire him. He uses
several pain medications on a daily basis to cope with his pain.