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Culture, Diversity, And/Or Forms Of Oppression: Case Study

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Section F
The Impact of Culture, Diversity, and/or Forms of Oppression on the Case There are a number of cultural issues that pertain to the client. The first is the client’s lack of identifying with an ethnicity or race. While he did indicate “Other”, he did not specify which this may be. The client has the right to determine how he wants to identify, but this may be indicative to another way in which the client feels disconnected. “Ethnic identity requires a connection to a community and a set of shared norms and behaviors” (Marsiglia, & Kulis, 2009, p. 16). As an adolescent the client was sexually abused. This traumatic event had a negative impact on the client’s self esteem and instilled a sense of mistrust in others. The client’s lack …show more content…

As an ethnic minority (of unknown origin), he faces discrimination in a white privileged society. However, as a male in a sexist society, the client gains privilege. “Individuals hold positions within multiple systems of inequality based on race, gender, social class, sexual orientation, age, and ability status; particular sets of identities carry important social implications” (Marsiglia & Kulis, 2015 p. 52). The client faces the stigma of being a male nurse in a predominantly female field, he also will be respected for the education he received and the economic advantage this provides. Similarly, the client may face ostracism for having a mental health condition, he also is fortunate to have all (or most) of his medical costs covered by the Veterans Health …show more content…

The client has been seeing a VAMC staff psychiatrist and the client was given a diagnosis of Bipolar II disorder with major depressive disorder, alcohol use disorder, cannabis dependence in partial remission, cocaine use disorder in remission, and high risk sexual behavior. Although the chart did indicate the sexual traumas at age thirteen and twenty two, there was no associated diagnosis. The client may in fact have had issues with substance use, he has not used cocaine or cannabis in over two years. The client smokes less than a half a pack of cigarettes a day, and continues to binge drink but only every two or three months, along with the high risk sexual behavior. The client’s “manic” episodes appear to be unhealthy coping behaviors of a young adult as they have never lasted more than a day at a time. Therefore the client does not meet the criteria for Bipolar II. The medications prescribed appear to have helped the client’s extreme moods and include Lamictal, Lamotrigine, Lithium, and Naproxen. It is not clear if these would change with a diagnosis of Posttraumatic stress disorder and to what degree. It is concerning that the client’s sexual trauma has not been addressed, even if the client chooses not to talk about it. It certainly wouldn’t be appropriate for a social work intern to question the psychiatrists diagnosis but a conversation regarding the information the client

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