Assignment 1: Supporting Your Client with a Mental Health Concern

Assignment out of 15 marks total

Please read the case study below and answer the questions provided. Please submit your completed assignments to your lab instructor as per your instructor's directions.

Julia Smith, a 26-year-old graduate student, is in her last year of master's studies in Social Work. She is under a lot of stress to be successful and complete her courses on time. With the completion of her degree, Julia will be able to apply for very high-paying jobs in her field. Julia got into the program on several scholarships and student loans (that she must pay back).

Julia is the eldest daughter of a family of 4 siblings, and has been working since she was 16 years old. Her mother is permanently disabled, and her father passed away when she was 5 years old.

Recently, Julia has been feeling irritable, angry, and impatient with herself. She finds herself being short with her mother, who she also takes care of. She has been getting into heated arguments with her younger siblings, and has punched a hole in the wall after one such argument last week.

Julia has also noticed bumps on her face appearing around her jaw line, and has started losing chunks of her hair.

After much encouragement from her friend Anna, who Julia has been ignoring lately, she reluctantly decides to visit the Walk-In Wellness Center at her University, where she meets you, the PSW assigned to initially assess walk-in patients.

Questions:

1. What three (3) objective observations would you make about this patient? (3 marks)
2. Do you think Julia would be a patient that would be open to communication and dialogue with you? Why or why not? (3 marks)
3. List three (3) ways Julia's situation is affecting the people around her? (3 marks)
4. What type of stress do you think Julia might be under? List three (3) (3 marks)
5. How would you communicate with Julia? What approach do you think will help, and what approach may not work with this particular client? (3 marks)