SWK 3320 Troy University Motherhood Menopause and Pregnancy Case Study
I'm going to put all the directions in a file from the instructor, it will make things much easier. This is an important assignment so please take your time**** If you have questions please ask and you can use your own real reference(This is from a social workers prspective). This Introduction to Critical Thinking II In week 5, you were introduced to a girl named Pia and her family in the number four discussion question.Pia had many things going on in her life that could result in her feeling a great amount of pressure, uncertainly and stress. Pia had a lot of things to think about and decisions were going to need to be made. It is typically not a good idea to make decisions when a person is experiencing stress because often times the right decision can be clear as mud. Pending decisions can be overwhelming and intervention approaches may appear to be slim to none. It would be your job as her clinician/counselor to assist Pia with sifting through uncertainties, stressful decisions and adjustments. Pia is most likely dealing with thoughts of confusion, guilt, anger, embarrassment, dreams, goals and fear. All of these conflicting feelings can resemble a disassembled jigsaw puzzle thrown across the floor. It is in Pia’s best interest to try to reassemble the pieces of her life in order to gain clarity and direction. Practitioner’s often use a tool when working with clients that help them assess specific troubles and plan interventions accordingly. This tool is called an “Ecomap”, and it is a pen and paper drawing of the client and their social environment. Many clients can benefit when working with the ecomap because it helps to break down the bigger picture into smaller, more manageable parts. Think of it this way … if you have to reach the top of a mountain, it can look very overwhelming when you are at the bottom looking up. But if you plan camps along the way then each point does not seem to be so overwhelming to reach. Before you know it, all points have been reached and you find yourself at the top of the mountain. Achieving each point or goal requires thought, preparation, clarity and direction. Pia’s personal Ecomap would place her, the client, in the center of her Ecomap. She is the focus of her Ecomap, so she would be placed in the center circle. There would be several circles surrounding Pia’s larger circle, and each of these outer circles would serve as points, or topics to address. Each circle would require recognition, planning and goals to accomplish. Each circle would have indicating or connecting lines of attachment to Pia’s circle. These lines could represent stress, uncertain relationships, strong relationships, or weak relationships. For example, Pia is experiencing a great amount of stress with her parents. I would place Pia’s parents in a circle that is outside of Pia’s circle. I would draw a stress line, and a strong line that connected the two in order to represent their current relationship. I would also include a pregnancy circle, financial assessment circle, housing circle, boyfriend circle, education circle, welfare circle/food stamp circle, support circle etc.… Each circle would be determined by Pia, as well as the practitioner/counselor. However, it would be the counselor’s responsibility to point out areas of concern that this 19-year-old client may be overlooking. After the drawing is complete, each circle would be discussed, and potential resources would be addressed. In Critical Thinking II, you are going to work with a family and use the Ecomap to assist the family. Please review pages 579 – 582 before beginning this assignment. Please note that Pia is not part of the CT 2 assignment. Pia’s case was used for example purposes only. Your clients Ecomap should look very similar to the Ecomap that is displayed in Chapter 12, Figure 12.4. Also, your clients in this case consist of a family, and not just one person. When you are addressing a topic, the connecting line must go to the person that you are referring to, and not simply to the large circle in the middle. I need for you to be specific and clear. Remember, you are trying to keep this very understandable and clear for the client’s benefit. Critical Thinking Assignment #2 ECOMAP Assignment 20 points Instructions: Read the case scenario below and address the situation. Your entry will be evaluated for clarity, integration of information, and for evidence of proofreading. Read the instructions to the end before attempting to begin this assignment. This is not an APA assignment. Case Scenario You are a caseworker and you have just received a file with this family’s name on it. This family has needs collectively, as well as individually. As you will see, there is not a lot of initial information, however the information that you have been given is packed with concerns and possible needs. Luis, 41, and Maria, 40 have immigrated to the US from Paraguay with their seven children and Luis’ parents. Luis and Maria have started a new business. Luis’ father has died, leaving a grieving elderly mother. Maria, who thought she was experiencing menopause, is actually pregnant and Luis has just found out that he has a progressive, debilitating disease. Preparing After reading the file, you must start preparing to meet with this family. You need to start thinking about needs the minute you get this folder. Let’s start there. Do they speak English? What should you do in case they do not? This should cue you to future needs as well. Think about the children. Who may need to know that the children will be enrolling in the school system (school counselor)? Who may need to realize the history of this family and that these children will have needs? (They have moved to a new country.) I wonder what services we could find to help keep the kids busy and interacting outside the home. What about grief? This entire family has gone through many changes. What do you think may be beneficial regarding these changes? Maria is 40. Does being 40 and pregnant raise any red flags for you? She is caring for a grieving family, 7 children and her ill husband. I am wondering if any churches or any local volunteer services could help her. I wonder what type of healthcare/prenatal care she is receiving or if she realizes the importance of prenatal care. I wonder if she has insurance or if she will need to go to a clinic for care. What about Luis? The same attention needs to be placed on providing care for him as well. This family is experiencing overwhelming changes. Sometimes when working with clients if they have a visual aid, such as an Ecomap, they can relate to the magnitude of change and they can relate to interventions better as well. PART A An Ecomap is really for you to use as a tool to help explain to clients what their relationships are to things (you will place these “things/topics” in outlying circles), and then you will use the key to display the relationship between the two. Example: Maria is a solo circle within the big circle. She will need an outlying “healthcare” circle that has a connection line to her solo inner circle. She should have a thick line going between the circles to display a strong relationship, as well as a dashed line to display stress. Luis, who is represented as a solo square in the large middle circle, will have the same lines representing the relationship of a strong connection and stress to the healthcare circle, because he too will need healthcare. (She will need pre-natal care and he will need medical care for his debilitating disease). PART B Write Part B of this assignment with the intention of explaining your Ecomap to the client. This means you will need to address everything on your Ecomap with clarity and simplicity. “The ecomap is a wonderful tool that practitioners use to assess specific troubles and plan interventions for the client. The ecomap is a drawing of the client/family in its social environment. An ecomap is usually drawn jointly by the social worker and the client. It helps both the worker and the client achieve a holistic or ecological view of the client’s family life and the nature of the family’s relationship with groups, associations, organizations, other families, and individuals. The technique helps users (clients and practitioners), gain insight into clients’ problems and better sort out how to make constructive changes. The technique provides a “snapshot view” of important interactions at a particular point in time” (Pg. 579). You are to have no less than 10 numbered circles on the ecomap. Each numbered circle will coincide with the same numbered paragraph in Part B. (10 topics = 10 paragraphs) Part “A” of this assignment is the eco-map drawing. Part “B” of this assignment are the explanation paragraphs that explain what the ecomap drawing means. Circle # 1 on the Eco-map “Part A”, will be explained in paragraph #1 in part “Part B”. Circle #2 on the Eco-map will be explained in paragraph #2 in “Part B”, and so on. Your outer topic circle may be attached to more than one name inside the center circle. This is fine. This means that you will address each person that you have connected to the outer topic circle. You will also be providing TWO resources for each person(s) and their topic that you are addressing. You will explain how the resources could be beneficial for the person. You are to provide the name, address and phone number of each resource. You are to research the area where you live and provide resources from your area. If you need to research the next closest town then do so. Do not provide a link as a resource. You must open the link that you wish to provide as a resource and provide the client with a name, address and a contact number for service. Do not expect this family to know how to navigate a computer. If I were writing this assignment, I would start with Luis and address his needs, as well as my intentions as his caseworker. For example, I would make a list for myself and write down everything that is concerning to me regarding Luis. Do not submit your own list in this assignment. Example of my concerns: I know Luis has a progressive debilitating disease. (What assistance is needed?)I know Luis has just started a new business. (What assistance is needed?)I know his father has recently died. (The stress! The grief!)I know his elderly mother is grieving, and this must be concerning Luis. (Stressful!)I know his wife is pregnant. (The stress!) You should be able to look at this short example and come up with more than one concern to place in an outer circle. Explain your concern and provide at least two resources for each concern in “Part B”. I would move to Maria in this same manner and write my concerning notes, then the children, and then the Grandmother. Address everyone please. Their care is placed in your hands. Key Do not forget the “key” on your ecomap. Without the key, I will not know how to translate “relationship lines” in your diagram. You are to explain the relationship of the lines that extend to the outlying circles from the person in your inner circle. Ex: If you draw a stress line, (----------------), explain why you feel that there is a stressful connection. Explain the stressors. You may also draw a thick line (______________), to display a strong relationship to a circle that already has another identifying line as well. You may construct your own “key”, however, here are a few traditional symbols. Triangles are often used to represent children. Circles are often used to represent females. Squares are often used to represent males. An “X” on a representation indicates death. Case Scenario and Instructions Luis, 41, and Maria, 40 have immigrated to the US from Paraguay with their seven children and parents. Luis and Maria have started a new business. Luis’ father has died, leaving a grieving elderly mother. Maria, who thought she was experiencing menopause, is actually pregnant and Luis has just found out that he has a progressive, debilitating disease. Draw an ecomap using the provided information. Ecomaps are discussed in Chapter 12. A word template for an ecomap is attached.Discuss each of the 10-outlying circle’s in depth in paragraph form. You are to address each concern in section B, as well as possible resources regarding assistance for each concern that you place in an outlying circle. You must explain the relationship between the concern and the resource. Explain how the resource can potentially benefit the person(s). 2 resources per person/topic. You may address the children in groups such as “older and younger”, or as “upper school, middle school, elementary school, preschool, and still at home”. This will enable you to address concerns and needs without being specific to individual children. However, individual needs may surface as you continue to work with this family. Here is an example that you may use: I would write in one outlying circle: ESL (English as a Second Language). I would explain in paragraph from that I would assess if the family speaks English, and if they do not I would have at least two resources for them to select classes/instruction from. I would have a line from my outlying ESL circle to the family members. I would certainly try to locate free English classes as resources as well. (Explore what resources are available in your community and share the contact information.) I would also explain in my paragraph how not speaking English is a concern because it could create unnecessary barriers or boundaries for this family. ECOMAP EXAMPLE 10 Topics = 10 CIRCLES (at least), must have a topic. (.50 x 10 = 5 points) Relationship Key addressing each = (.50 x 10 = 5 points) 10 Paragraphs of explanation = (.50 x 10 = 5 points) 20 Resources (At least TWO per topic) (.25 x 20 = 5 points) Resources: Explore your town, or the nearest town and find resources for each circle that you have presented as an area of concern. Example: If you have placed “Healthcare” in an outer circle, and you have a line going to Maria, what are two names of places that you going to link Maria to for healthcare services? Provide the name, address and phone numbers for each. By providing at least two resources, you are empowering the client to make their own decision regarding care, rather than you making the decision for them. If you only supply one name, then they have only been linked to one resource. Part “B” formatting example: #1 –Healthcare = Maria My paragraph of explanation of why healthcare is a concern. What is my plan of action? How do I plan to assist? What could I offer as a resource for assistance? Resource 1– Name Address Phone number. Resource 2 – Name Address phone number. You need to know: 2.0 deduction for every late day. .5 deduction = Every 3 grammatical errors. (Contractions are grammatical errors.) You may draw your eco-map if you prefer or use the one below. However, it must be clear in order for me to read it! Part “B” must be typed. This is not an APA assignment.