A Brief Note On Agency And Status Role

Before she started her own practice, she worked as a department investigative social worker for 29 years before she retired from that profession. Mahoney decided that she wanted to be a social worker because she had a big interest in counseling and helping children with family problems. She felt that she would make a difference in their lives if she became a social worker. The purpose of her private practice is to help people to their maximum potential. There are many issues that she comes in to contact everyday at her job that she discussed with me. Mahoney has to deal with clients that suffer from anxiety, depression, life transition, grief and loss, marital and family issues. She expresses

Client (AM) is a 20-year-old heterosexual African American female, born in Durham, and currently still resides there. Her primary language is English. She lives with her 13 moth old child (NM) in a one-bedroom apartment. The client is unemployed and currently receives SSI benefits. AM resides in subsidized housing because of her social security income. Client did not finish high school and has no desire to do so.

Erin is a White female in her late forties currently going through a divorce after 24 years of marriage. She and her husband, Sam, had three children together. Sam is an agent with the FBI and Erin was a stay at home mom during her marriage, at the insistence of her husband. Sam lives in the marital home with the youngest son, who attends high school and Erin’s widowed mother moved to the state to provide a place for Erin to live. Erin’s oldest daughter lives with her and the grandmother. The middle daughter is away at college, but stays with Erin when she comes home. Erin has been estranged from her only brother for years. Neither liked the other siblings spouse, and they have been at odds for years. Erin states her husband has

issues with behavioral as well as not being punctual for her arrival to work. client was diagnosed with

The Smith family is an African American family currently residing in Bartlett, TN. The family owns a home in an established, middle class neighborhood. The Smith’s home is clean, updated and organized. John and Jane Smith, 48 and 45 respectively, live in the home with their 18 year old son, Junior. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith are college graduates and have been financially preparing for their son’s matriculation to college. Mr. Smith was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in the fall of 2015. Mr. Smith has recently been terminated from his job, leaving Mrs. Smith as the sole wage earner. Mrs. Smith is suffering from acute anxiety and is experiencing panic

Interacting with these patient taught me about the challenges they face establishing reliable care. They are often assigned to one of the few clinics in town who will accept such challenging patients for such low reimbursement. Getting to the clinic may require arranging transportation that can deliver the patient to and from an office visit or referral. Often the clinics these patients are assigned to are overcrowded and may not be able to see the patient for weeks or even

At 0824 this clinician met with the patient who reports her weekend was not unpleasant. She reports she is continuing to have problems locating housing. She reports her family members continue to refuse to allow her to live with them specifically her father and her uncle. She reports she has one friend who is considering allotting her the capability to reside with her under the condition that she speak with her Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworker first. She reports she does not want to reside in a homeless shelter with her son as she has done this before and the experience was not up to her standards.

According to Wester, Trepal, and Myers (2009, p. 91), “well counselors are more likely to produce well clients.” Thus, the mental, physical, and emotional health of the counselors has the ability to affect their clients. ACA (2005) states that “Counselors act to avoid harming their clients”. Moreover, counselors have an ethical obligation to evaluate, address, and improve their wellness when necessary (Wolf, Thompson, Thompson, & Smith-Adcock, 2014). Research shows that higher organizational stress was associated with lower client participation in the treatment program (Landrum, Knight, & Flynn, 2012). In addition, the working alliance between the counselor and the client is diminished due to high stress and burnout (O’Sullivan, 2012). A counselor who experiences burnout may lack empathy, respect, positive feeling, therapeutic gridlock, and or boundary violations (Wallace, Lee, & Lee, 2010). Therefore, it is vital for counselors to remediate their impairments when they occur. Counselors have to be aware of the signs and symptoms related to their own mental or emotional problems (ACA, 2005). Likewise, counselors should build resiliency against burnout. Resiliency is built by a continuation of healthy decision making (Wester, Trepal, & Myers, 2009). Counselors should seek help or assistance when they observe warning signs of personal impairment, not just for themselves, but for the wellbeing of

The client resides with her adult son, aged 20. The client also has two adult daughters that each live over two hours away.

My clients name is Mallory. She is a nineteen-year-old, Caucasian female attending Indiana State University as a freshman with an undeclared major. My client currently works as a support services specialist at the Indiana Air National Guard in Terre Haute and is a hostess at Chili’s. She currently lives by Ivy Tech with her grandparents, mother, and younger brother. The client has “no connections” with her biological father and appeared apprehensive when mentioning him. Her stepfather is now remarried and Mallory has limited contact with him. She mentioned that his mother, her grandmother, is very close to Mallory.

The client is a Hispanic Male age 69, who was born in the Dominican Republic. The client communicates solely in Spanish. He has two daughters who both live in the Bronx. The client suffers from Diabetes, Cholesterol and moderate Dementia. The client has shakiness in the hands as a result of a surgery he endured in the brain. The client lives in a rented room in Inwood Heights. Initially, the clients presenting problem included finding adequate housing however, after completing the intake form I became aware that the client was over income for most housing assistance programs. When the client and I talked more about the reasons he wanted to find housing it became obvious that the client wants to feel valued by his children. Also the client mentioned wanting to overcome feelings of loneliness and isolation. The client copes with feelings of seclusion and solitude by coming everyday to the senior center. He also tends to use the defense mechanism rationalization and tries to rationalize behaviors for others including his daughter’s absence from his life. My interpretation of the clients functioning in the situation is that although the client is experiencing health impairments and sadness the client is very self-sufficient. He is capable and able to take care of his hygiene, he is able to feed himself and he is able to go to doctor’s appointments on his own. I do however; think he is in need of case management and emotional support.

Jessica lives in a small town with her sister Sue and son John. Jessica just recently got a job where she receives nine dollars an hour. She works as a nurse’s aide and has a long 35 mile car ride. A problem for her is her car is not very reliable the cost of gas is really affecting her and there is no bus or other transportation for her to take. She was getting assistance from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) but is no longer receiving these funds. She works second shift and therefore she is not home when her son John gets home from elementary school. Another problem for Jessica is her ex-husband was emotionally abusive to her and physically abusive to John. Jessica says her ex still lives two blocks away and watches her

She was married for 10 years with the father of her three girls, but he never works. Then, the mother has to work two jobs to support her daughters and the husband. Two years ago they got divorce, and the mother got the girls custody by the court’s decision. The father got married aging, and the couple is making the life miserable for the girls’ mother. The girls are very affected to the point that, all three of them, are attending psychological sessions once a week to help them to cope with their

Describe how the concept of agency affected the parties’ legal positions in the case study. Did the agents help or harm their clients? Why?

Client is a 58 year-old Caucasian female who presents with difficulties due to relationship conflict. Client has recently broken up with her boyfriend of 8 years. Her boyfriend broke up with her by informing her that he was going on a date with another woman. Shortly after this first date, the woman began spending the night with him. The client knows this because she lives 3 houses down the block from her ex-boyfriend. The proximity of their living is creating an additional complication for the client in terms of moving on from the breakup. Client sees her ex-boyfriend on a daily basis, which is a painful reminder of the unwanted, hurtful break-up. She is often unable to resist initiating contact with him which complicates the situation. Client misses the small daily interactions they once shared and finds herself trapped “in a loop in her head” thinking about him. Client describes organizing a sleeping area in her attic where she is able to spend time without being hyper-aware of her ex-boyfriend’s activities. Otherwise, client attempts to spend as much time as possible at work to avoid her home. The new girlfriend spends a significant amount of time at the ex-boyfriend’s house which reminds the client of how she has been replaced and reinforces her sense of isolation.