Case Management and Assessment Plan - Essay Example

CASE MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT PLAN [Insert al Affiliation] Introduction This case study presents a client management and assessment plan for an aging client whose daughter, Talia, is visibly upset by the sliding scale agency’s decision to prevent her from assessing her aging mother’s financial plan. Talia, a 17 year old girl, drives her mother, aged 65, from the Staten Island borough to our agency. Her middle-class mother seeks financial advice on how to plan her will, estates and care during her old age. As Talia and her mother arrived, the mother went with an advisory officer into an enclosed room where they discussed a number of financial issues. However, Talia, against her wish, was told to wait in the reception. Seemingly, she was angered by the act and later on, she called to request about her mother’s financial plan. Noteworthy, the agency has created a working relationship with the mother and has since accessed her medical and financial information. However, as one of its cultural value and ethical requirement, the agency must maintain the privacy of client information. The law also prevents the agency from revealing a client’s information without their written permission. As such, the agency cannot reveal the client’s financial plans. As our client aged 65 is an aging senior, the agency is not interested in accumulating wealth, but is rather concerned with preserving the client’s assets and passing them to next the next generation, Talia’s being one of the beneficiaries. Long-term care is a matter of concern as we also we also strive to ensure the mother and the daughter have a good relationship that will make Talia to willingly provide care and interact with the mother to reduce the mother’s morbid concern with worthlessness and consequent depression and dementia (Walker, 2000). The mother’s chances of developing depression can be reduced or eliminated through best intervention plans, and having an assessment plan that the counselor can use in gauging the success of interventions. Interventions Firstly, the mother is at the point of entering into the old age group. At her age, 65, people start becoming overly preoccupied with death and develop a feeling of worthlessness (Walker, 2000). These feelings can cause depression and fatal mental problems which further increases their reaction time making it hard to undertake simple activities such as cooking or driving without exposing themselves to hazards. As Talia has been denied access to her mother’s financial plan, she will develop unnecessary hatred and disrespect towards her mother. From the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, love or rather the sense of belonging is a high level need, and essential for one’s growth and peaceful existence within the family. Talia’s disrespect towards her mother increases the chances of our client developing depression (Walker, 2000). To avoid this, a counselor must subject the mother to a geriatric counseling program where the mother will be advised on how to handle old age issues as well as to stop the excessive preoccupation with death or uselessness. Moreover, the program will help the mother understand Talia’s behavior and psychologically prepare her for the young people’s behavior of avoiding the old to prevent the mother seeing it as a form of detested discrimination. Daily counseling sessions that run 45 minutes for approximately 2 months will enhance the mother’s ability to counterbalance the fear associated with losing the loved ones, think less about receiving care from her daughter as well as improve her association with Talia. In the geriatric program, the mother will also learn how to utilize her financial resources to meet nutrition and care needs. Secondly, the mother should be subjected to a custom-made community-based physical activity program. The program should include moderate to intense activities such as shopping, walking, swimming, and dancing. These activities will improve their wellbeing by improving their physical appearance and liveliness, and mental health by reducing their chances of thinking about the welfare of their children or even death which often leads to depression (Walker, 2000). As an agency, going through the mother’s medical history will help in apportioning her financial resources to sufficiently cater for the cost of the physical activity program while avoiding elderly poverty or misuse of the mother’s financial resources. Moreover, the agency will help the mother acquire an insurance cover. With this, there will be no need to worry about death and the thereafter wellbeing of dependents since the insurance provider will take care of this (Walker, 2000). The medical expenses which upsurge as one grows older will also be covered by the plan. With time, these interventions will overpower the mother’s current unhappiness and help her embark on a normal life. Obstacles While the above-mentioned interventions seem reasonable resolutions for the mother’s need, various obstacles threaten to hinder their successfulness. The leading obstacle lies in the mother. As a person, the mother has the right to decline the suggested physical activity plan, the geriatric counseling program or any form of help offered. According to Summers (2009), therapies can only be effective when the client is willing and positive to participate in it. Thus, since the mother is at the center of the proposed treatments, her denial of the treatments will render the entire program useless, and her chances of developing depression or dementia. Moreover, as it is within her domain, the mother might refuse to participate in the suggested physical activities; shopping, walking, swimming, and dancing. Apparently, old people are less willing to accept lifestyle changes. As such, we are obliged to respect the mother’s individual preferences. Whereas some find the suggested activities highly enjoyable, the mother might have a poor insight towards the allocation of resources towards the physical activity program as she might perceive it as a way of the agency to exploit her. If she chooses to have a poor insight, there will be need to undertake a long process of looking for a psychologist specialized in elderly people to assist in combating the mother’s self-neglect. What’s more, Talia might recognize that the increased parental love is untruthful. She might perceive it as a strategy to suppress her interest and might thus develop more hatred towards her mother. While this is unexpected, a counselor must admit the clear fact that Talia, might avoid any parental love and decide to live her own life. The friendly mother-daughter that was expected to reduce the mother’s distress and nervousness will thus be imaginary. Evaluation While the mother’s change is coming, the proposed treatments will have to be evaluated to determine their successfulness and develop corrective action once abnormality is detected. Firstly, the counselor will maintain constant communication with the instructors of the physical activity community-based program as well as Talia. This will inform the counselor whether the mother is feeling safe and loved, and whether she is cooperative within the physical training and home environment. According to Proctor (2002), while this might seem unrealistic at the moment, its importance will be realized once the treatment plan begins and the mother agrees to cooperate. Additionally, the geriatric program will be monitored on a daily basis where the mother’s physical and mental health will be assessed. This will help in preparation of reports that document the mother’s progress and help the counselor suggest any perfections that might be essential in the plan from time to time as suggested by Proctor (2002) and Summers (2009). The program’s goals attainment will represent a forthcoming success of the program. Plan for next session The next session will revisit the goals of treatment and try to concentrate on the mental aspects, particularly personality and conscience, in trying to address the mother’s needs. This involves delving into the internal factors motivating her to have the feeling of hopelessness and the anxiety of death. Clearly, this will help towards development of finer goals of treatment and developing of intervention strategies that do not excessively concentrate on therapy, but rather emphasizes on mental activity and social interaction as one strives to define themselves within the society (Proctor, 2002). As part of homework, the mother will be given a list of physical activities which they will participate in within the home environment. In the form, the mother will be required to tick the activities they participate in as well as indicate the duration of the activity. References Proctor, G. (2002). The dynamics of power in counselling and psychotherapy: Ethics, politics and practice. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS Books. Summers, N. (2009). Fundamentals of case management practice: skills for the human services. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Walker, A. J. (2000). Families in later life: Connections and transitions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Read More