Overview
The student will complete a formal case conceptualization on an assigned client Anna. The purpose of this case conceptualization is to demonstrate the utilization, application, and knowledge of theories related to human growth and development and development across the lifespan.
The titles on the template provided should serve as the student’s APA headings as the student’s level headings 2. The “body” of the paper (excluding title, abstract, and reference pages) should be approximately 5 – 7 pages in length (students are to not go over the maximum number of pages). APA style must be used.
Directions
For this assignment, students will need to address the following thoroughly in the student’s paper:
Consider Anna’s development with the following issues: What are the contributions of nature, contributions of nurture, interactions between the two?
Identify the event/crisis/trauma and onset of the event
What outcomes could be predicted for this client? (Consider continuity and change)
What are the strengths and weaknesses of each family member?
What environmental modifications would be helpful to promote healthy developmental outcomes for each family member, be specific?
Identify the individuals, interactions, and influences on this client using Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of development
Identify the client’s psychosocial stage/crisis based on Erickson’s Model of Development.
Identify 3-5 goals for working with this client.
As a reminder, the students do not want the paper to have numbers or bullets. Each of these subsections should be in APA paragraph format.
Case Study
Anna is a 9-year-old third-grade student in a public school on the outskirts of a large industrial city. She is the oldest of three children who live in an apartment with their mother, a 29-year-old White woman recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Despite her young age, Anna’s history is complicated. Anna’s biological father, Walter, is a 37-year-old man who emigrated from Eastern Europe in his early 20s. He married Anna’s mother, Karen, when she was 19 years old. The couple married hastily and had a child, Anna, but Walter abandoned the family shortly after Anna’s birth. Walter and Karen had fought constantly about his problems with alcohol. Karen was particularly upset about Walter’s behavior because her father, now deceased, had suffered from alcoholism and left her mother without sufficient resources to care for herself.
Alone with a child to support and only a high school degree, Karen went to work in the office of a small family-owned business. She met Frank, one of the drivers who worked sporadically for the company. They married within a few months of meeting and, within another year, had a son named John. With Frank’s grudging consent, Karen decided not to tell Anna about her biological father. She reasoned that Anna deserved to believe that Frank, who filled the father’s role to both children, was her parent. Anna was developing typically and seemed to be attached to Frank. However, unknown to Karen, Frank had some problems of his own. As a young man, he had been incarcerated for theft and had an inconsistent employment history. The family struggled to stay together through many ups and downs. When Anna was 6, Karen became pregnant again. Frank wanted Karen to have an abortion because he did not think the family’s finances could support another child. Karen refused, saying that she would take on another job once the new baby was born. Ultimately, the marriage did not survive the couple’s many stresses, and Karen and Frank were divorced when Anna was 7.
Karen’s situation at work is tenuous because of her medical condition. Her employer balks at making accommodations for her, and she fears she might be let go. After the divorce, Karen filed for child support, and Frank was directed to pay a certain amount each month for the three children, but Frank was outraged that he should pay for Anna’s care because she was not his biological child. Frank told Anna the “truth” that he was not her biological father during a challenging conversation. Karen, still unable to deal with this issue, insisted to Anna that Frank was her biological parent. Karen could not bring herself to mention Walter, whose existence had never been mentioned to the children before. Karen desperately needed the money for Anna’s support, especially because she had amassed substantial credit card debt. She felt her only pleasure was watching shopping shows on TV and ordering items for her children.
In school, Anna is struggling to keep up with her peers. Her academic performance is a whole grade level behind, and her teachers are concerned. The school Anna attends has high academic standards and intense pressures for achievement. Anna behaves immaturely with peers and adults, alternating between excessive shyness and overly affectionate behavior. She does not appear to have any friendships within the class.