Case Study

Marica is a 50 year-old woman with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Marica lives with her elderly mother. She does not work but spends most of her time drawing and painting in her bedroom and has always dreamed of having a showing of her art in a gallery. Marica is supported financially by her mother. She doesn't have a social network but sometimes goes to the markets on her own to look around.

Case Study continued...

Marica wants to apply for a disability support pension (DSP) to become more financially independent but her mother is not keen to support her to do this as she is concerned the application process will cause Marica more harm than good and she may not be approved.

1. Working from a strengths-based perspective, how would I uphold Marica's rights to access a pension?