Single System Design - Case Study Example

Single System Design Client The client is a young African American mother who is 16 years old. The client is not married and has three young children. The eldest child is a son aged four years old, followed by a daughter who is a year his minor. The last born is a son who is a year old. In addition, the client is six months pregnant and does not have any possible means to generate income to feed her overwhelming family. The client reports that she is a high school dropout and lives in deplorable conditions in Detroit. Following the dropout and subsequent pregnancies, her parents became very angry and chased her away from home. The lack of support from any of her close family members is a situation that has made her conditions even worse. The client further reports that her children are from different fathers who are still in their teenage and jobless. Therefore, each one of them fled when they realized that she was either expectant or had a child at home. At this moment, none of them answers to her cry for help in terms of child support. Due to unemployment, the client has experienced rough times when it comes to finding a house maid to tend to her young ones as she goes out to find a sustainable job. Having no income to meet the needs of the family, things have become so extreme that she has contemplated on abandoning her children to fend for themselves in the streets. Description of Client’s problem The client reports that she has experienced the feeling of failure for a while now. She claims of lack of motivation when it comes to looking after her children due to lack of food or even diapers for her youngest son. She reported that her eldest son and daughter were to enroll in school early this year but that was inhibited by the lack of resources so sustain their education. The teen mom reports that the situation got worse when she had a relationship with a married man in a move to help her family, but she once again became pregnant and the same trend of men running away from her life occurred once more. Due to constant depression, the client said that she experienced loss of appetite, painful migraines, and lack of anger management when dealing with her children. She feels that it would be better if she abandoned her children instead of watching them suffer on a daily basis. The client’s parents back in New Orleans, advised her two brothers and relatives against carrying out any measures to offer help to her. The woman claims that her parents look forward to punishing her for her mistakes. In fact, when she got pregnant six months ago, she reported that the thought of terminating the pregnancy prematurely through abortion had crossed her mind. She emphasized that the only reason as to why she did not carry out the unjust practice was due to lack of money to facilitate the procedure. The client reported that she was in dire need of help in the management of her situation. She has been to her few friends who could not offer any sufficient and reliable information on how to control the depression. In reference to Sampson (2013), most low-income victims of depression suffer from the fear of sharing their situation, as they are not sure of who can help them. Our client in this context has been unable to find support and, therefore, she expects us to see her through her pain. The client is afraid that the lack of resources to attend to her children is developing into a bigger problem where the urge to inflict pain or cause harm to her children increases. The teen mom is determined to work on a plan that will enhance the relationship between her and the children regardless of her current economic status. Analysis of how to change the target behavior For clients having similar problems such as financial problems and postpartum depression, methods such as client-centered counseling have been deployed. Motivational interviewing is an effective means that enable the client to become aware of their situation, understanding the implications of the depression to their loved ones and also boosts their urge to change for the better. Social workers have exploited the benefits of a minor pre-treatment session that enables depressed mothers to become more engaged to the treatment process. The prescription of antidepressants such as venlafaxine, hormonal therapies, and counseling have also been deployed in depression treatment (Fish, Draguns & Gielen, 2004). In the case of my client, we will embark on motivational interviewing that will enable her to realize the importance of undertaking this step of managing depression. After completion of the motivational interviewing, we will embark on therapeutic therapy. The purpose of the anti-depressants is to bring a state of brain calmness as our client has shown symptoms of anxiety and lack of proper anger management. The drugs will achieve their efficacy by correcting the hormonal or chemical imbalances in the body. Hypothesis: After successful completion of the treatment strategy, my client will see the importance of taking such a broad move in terms of improving her relationship with her children. The strategies deployed will enable her to do away with improper anger management. Client Goals and Objectives: In the chart below, the goals and relevant objectives have been described for my client Planned Intervention For my client, we have formulated three steps that include motivational interviewing, therapeutic intervention and counseling. Motivational interviewing will involve establishing a rapport with the client and listening carefully to their problem. I will ensure that open-ended questions are asked to the patient. In addition, we will emphasize on affirming the clients positive decision to change. The length of the motivational interviewing will be determined by the state of depression in the client (Bernstein et al., 2005). Once the client identifies why she intends to undergo the treatment, we will embark on therapeutic models that will ensure hormonal stability. Counseling will be used as soon as the patients level of depression symptoms improve. At this stage, the client will be asked to bring her children along who will be advised accordingly on how to handle and support their mother. Discussion The need for the patient to understand the importance of her step towards handling to depression has to be emphasized. According to Sampson (2013), client-centered therapy ensures that individuals seek help before they cause harm to themselves or their loved ones. The choice of therapeutic therapy has to consider that the client is six months pregnant and, therefore, drugs that do not affect the progression of the fetus are used. In reference to Hersen & Rosqvist (2005), a depressed person poses a great risk to the society. My client claimed that she had contemplated on abandoning her children and as a result she will cooperate with us in bringing her children during the counseling sessions scheduled as the final step of the therapy. The advantage of family counseling will ensure that the children will get to learn about issues affecting their mother. However, it is prone to failure especially where the children are young and dont necessarily understand everything. Her relatives are still uncooperative hence counseling cannot mend such relationships. As a result of these interventions, I strongly believe that my client will do away with her depression and that she will be in a better position to handle future uncertainties in life concerning her financial problems.. Measuring Change Data Collection Plan Goal one: The client will be treated of depression . Method: Duration: Result Objective 1: Client will demonstrate better behavior after the treatment. Observation of proper behavior Continuous process. Therapist to provide a certificate of good conduct at the end of the session Objective 2: Client will attend the scheduled sessions Session records Weekly attendance of all sessions and absenteeism with apology Goal 2: The client’s relationship with her children will improve . Method: Duration: Result: Objective 1: To client will work on a proper relationship with her children Client self-report Weekly A certificate of completion. Objective 2: The client will bring the children to one inclusive counselling session. Session records At the end of the therapy The client will bring her children for the final session. The expected changes in my client will be measured by the ability of the deployed interventions to give results. Data to analyze the change will result from the ability of my client to attend the scheduled sessions in time. The ability of the client to wait for the session to end and keenly follow the proceedings. Her ability to connect appropriately with her children without any signs of improper anger management and anxiety are some of the criteria we will use in justifying the change. My tools of measuring the change have to incorporate several factors that might influence the reproducibility of the results. To begin with, my client cannot afford a lot in her life, and that means that she would use public means of transport that are much slower hence her inability to attend some of the counseling sessions.. Implementation Implementation steps Problems in implementation Overcoming the problem Clients enroll in the program Lack of transportation Financial issues Provide childcare Provide transportation Find sponsors to take care of client expenses. Clients attend the designated MI sessions, therapy, and parenting classes. Stigmatization Lack of Transportation Lack of child care Inconvenient times for services Provide client with information on how to deal with stigma. Provide vehicles for easy access In reference to Senft et al. (1997), there are many barriers that influence the output of the chosen means of intervention. These vary from the low level of income, stigmatization, lack of efficient transport means, childcare and illiteracy. My client is at the center of a world that looks down upon her as a result of her early pregnancies and poverty. These are issues that have the capability of compromising the efficiency of our proposed strategies to rectify her situation. However, we have organized for well-wishers who will sponsor the overall expenses incurred by my client in terms of transportation. A vehicle will be at her disposal during the appointment dates to avoid delay. The client has also been taught in ways to adapt to her ruthless environment of gossip and mockery. References Bernstein J., Bernstein E., Tassiopoulos K., Heeren T., Levenson S. & Hingson R. (2005). Brief motivational intervention at a clinic visit reduces cocaine and heroine use. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 49-59. Jefferson M. Fish, Juris G. Draguns & Uwe P. Gielen. (2004). Handbook of Culture, Therapy, and Healing. Mahwah: L. Erlbaum Associates. McClain Sampson, L. Z. (2013). Treatment Engagement Using Motivational Interviewing for Low-Income, Ethnicall Diverse Mothers with Postpartum Depression. Clinical Social Work Journal, 41:387-394. Michel Hersen, Johan Rosqvist. (2005). Encyclopedia of Behavior Modification and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Senft R. A, Polen M. R, Freeborn D. K. & Hollis J. F. (1997). Brief intervention in a primary care setting for hazardous drinkers. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 464-470. Read More