Essay Sample: John's Case Counseling Therapy

Case Formulation

John, a Hispanic man aged 55 years has been happily married to his wife for more than twenty years. Recently, he was admitted to the hospital where he was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. The mental health condition has adversely affected him to the extent that he is unable to pay for his apartment rent. What is more, her wife is currently ailing from a chronic disease. She was diagnosed with lung cancer, a condition that has put her in a deplorable situation. The issue coupled with being homeless has severely affected him. John's Social Security Insurance income per month amounts to around $1,665. The assessment's findings further indicate that he is deducted expenses relating to nutrition, child support, health insurance, and apartment lease. These expenses amount to a total of $1,350. The monthly social security income for his wife is $600. Noteworthy, this amount is not sufficient enough to cover up her medications and the apartment lease. The family has no other sources of income.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

As a result, he has sought counseling therapy from the Met Council agency. He views this move as the best alternative to help me regain financial stability as well as abate the depression and anxiety that are highly plaguing him. Indeed, his situation is very demanding, and at this point, it is very critical to seek all the help that he can to address the issues that are facing him. Sadly, even after his admission to the guidance and counseling firm, he seems to hold the view that there is no help that he can get from the agency. He has stressed about repeating the root causes of his problem. At times, John would shout to the social workers and walk away while crying. Considering his condition, Met council agency has classified John as a crisis client.

The comprehensive clinical assessment conducted as identified some outcomes. First, it has been revealed that John is in a critical crisis stage. As seen, he is unable to make appropriate decisions in his life. For this reason, he needs a lot of guidance and counseling. This will help him to find purpose in his life. The state of depression and anxiety that is he is facing has rooted from negative thoughts because of his ailing wife and his homelessness condition. As a social worker who is tasked with the role of guiding and counseling John, I would create a 1:1 session with him. The meeting would last for one hour where I would gather information that relates to his mental condition.

After that, I would analyze the client's problem stressors. This analysis is essential since it would form the basis for understanding the patterns or steps of implementing intervention care. The clinical assessment is paramount since it gives a clear picture of the client's circumstance. Consequently, it becomes easier to develop intervention strategies aimed at addressing the conditions facing John. Shulman mentions that;

"Social workers should explore some of the question associated with assessment and examine some innovative models for determining associated with assessment and examined some innovative models for determining where the client is (Shulman, 2013)"

From the assessment, it is apparent that John needs the motivation to complete his counseling sessions. In light of this, am obliged to help the client to gain self-determination and most importantly to be devoted in his counseling therapy. Thus, it is clear that John needs guidance to help him overcome his depressing state in order to find purpose in his life.

Developing an effective intervention plan is paramount based on the findings of the case formulation. The recommended intervention for John is to implement a SMART treatment plan. The abbreviation stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Result, and Timely. The tool will help in identifying solutions to the problem being faced by the client. The intervention framework was developed by George Doran in 1981 to help manage clinical intervention goals and objectives (Bennett et al., 2017). Markedly, the SMART treatment plan is a tool that is leveraged by psychotherapists to assist the patient to recover from the problem he or she is facing. It provides a map that acts as the road to recovery. The tool will help address the problems that were identified during the client's formulation case assessment. Bennett et al. mention that it defines intervention measures that are to be espoused by the therapist as well provide a measure of the patient's recovery progress during the treatment process.

Specific

Without a doubt, a specific goal is more feasible to accomplish than a general one. It is clear, concise, and to the point. It aims at answering six questions

Who- in this case, a client is a Hispanic man aged 55 years who is suffering from depression and anxiety.

What- the long-term goal is to ensure that John can manage his financial resources effectively devoid of depression and anxiety. The short-term goal is to help the client gain public assistance by enrolling him to programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program and Home Energy Assistance program.

Where- this will be achieved via the counseling session that will be based at the Met Council agency.

When- each counseling therapy session will last for one hour and the whole intervention plan will take one month. However, there will be a monthly follow up to assess the progress of the recovery.

Which- cooperation between the therapist and the client. This will need a lot of dedication and self-motivation to attend all sessions.

Why- this will help him to recover and reestablish himself. Overcoming his current problem will help him find purpose in his life.

Measurable

The identified goal is measurable. The therapist will know that the client is recovering well if, within one week after commencing the therapy, he can identify at least five positive thoughts about him and his family.

Attainable

Moreover, the set goal is realistic and easily achievable. This is because, after one week, it is expected that the client will show signs of improvement. In this case, it is envisaged that he will start showing signs of improvement in his self-identity. Markedly, setting unrealistic goals can lead to a lot of frustration.

Result Relevant

The identified long and short-term goals are result driven and relevant. This is because the client can meet the set objectives given his condition. Moreover, they are related to the client's therapy needs. His rate of improvement is expected to increase gradually, and within one month, he will be able to make sound financial decisions.

Timely

There is sufficient time to attain both the short-term and long-term goal. Moreover, a follow-up assessment will be conducted to identify whether John has fully recovered from his present condition.

In overall, the goals set are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and can be achieved within the time frame given. As the therapist overseeing his recovery, I will ensure that all requirements needed to achieve these goals are available. Moreover, the treatment plan will be structured putting into consideration the client's needs. There will be a follow up to assess the client's progress on a monthly basis until all goals are achieved. It is important to mention that goals were developed based on the client's depressing state, her wife ailment condition, and the financial problems facing him.

Noteworthy, the intervention plan was based on the discussion between the client and the psychotherapist. The latter documented the intervention strategies that were then shared with the client. Emphasis was put on helping the client gain financial stability and recover from his depressive state. The espoused SMART intervention plan is key to the client's wellness and recovery. Indeed, the counseling services offered by the Met counseling agency are crucial in helping fight many vices that are plaguing contemporary society.

As a social worker, I ultimately believe that it is my core duty to help clients such as John to regain hope and find purpose in their lives irrespective of the situation that one is facing. To achieve, am obliged to develop an intervention plan that puts into consideration the crisis plaguing the client. The plan can last for a short or an extended period depending on the needs of the patient. However, for the care program to be successful, it is integral to have the client's full cooperation.

Essentially, the core objective is to have the client gain full independence of his life. Before the commencement of the program, it is crucial for the social worker and the client to sign an agreement to work together to accomplish the set goals within the stipulated time frame. Importantly, a lot of dedication and determination to achieve the results are required, especially form the client.

Myriads of strategies are adopted to ensure that the proposed intervention plan is attained. First, the social worker met with the client and assessed his needs. Information gathered include he is homeless and is in a deep depression state. He is aggressive and seldom uses abusive words. Moreover, her wife is ailing from lung cancer, an issue that could be exacerbating his depression and anxiety. Besides, his self-esteem is low and has almost exhausted options of gaining self-wellness and determination. For this reason, I will motivate the client to ensure that he attends all therapy sessions. Throughout the treatment plan, I will encourage him and give him hope that he will reestablish his life. This way, he will have full control of his life stressors and finally, he will triumph the challenges that he is facing.

I would not recommend any changes to the way Met Counselling agency handles tentative/case formulation assessment. The agency handles a client's crisis in a manner that is directed toward solving the health problems facing the client. Noteworthy, the intervention plan is founded on the priority of establishing self-care to the clients.

Undeniably, having a clear plan for how the intervention goals will be achieved is critical in ensuring the client's self-care success. As noted, there was a short and a long-term goal that was developed based on the client's needs. Also, there was a follow up that to ensure that these goals are achieved. Markedly, if these expected results are not obtained within the stipulated time frame, then I will have to consult with my colleagues within the agency on how new goals can be implemented to ensure success in our endeavors.

Conclusion

To wrap up, it is a challenging task to work with a client that is in a severe crisis state, as is the case in this context. However, I believe that the use of case formulation to assess the needs of the client is the first step to the recovery client's recovery process. Upon identifying the problems being faced, it is important to develop a feasible intervention plan. In this case, the SMART treatment plan was leveraged.

References

Bennett, M. I., Mulvey, M. R., Campling, N., Latter, S., Richardson, A., Bekker, H., ... & Flemming, K. (2017). A feasibility study assessing the SMART intervention and trial processes. In Self-management toolkit and delivery strategy for end-of-life pain: the mixed-methods feasibility study. NIHR Journals Library.

Shulman, L. (2013). The skills of helping individuals, families, groups and communities. New York: Empowerment Series