Section One: Choose one of the three Case Studies focusing on a family in crisis. Each member of the family has unique issues that you must address. You must also determine the primary problems (this may include diagnostic impressions but not formal diagnoses), intervention, prevention, and education required to assist the family. In your project, do the following: Identify the client and the presenting problem or symptoms. Briefly explain if anyone else is involved and how they contribute to the problem. Explain if anyone other than the “identified client” also could be identified as a client. If so, describe who and why. Briefly describe any underlying problems or potential mental health diagnoses contributing to the primary problem that should be noted as you proceed with the client. Briefly describe the presenting problem from the family’s perspective and what theoretical perspective you will use to assess, analyze, and develop a treatment plan for this case. Identify the unique needs of each individual in the family. Briefly describe the culture of the family, societal expectations, gender roles, and cultural norms. Briefly explain how each of these might contribute to the problem. Briefly explain the child and adolescent culture and at least one general contributing factor to the identified issue and explain how this may or may not impact the family dynamics. Describe one intervention you might use for the identified client that would address the presenting problem and any related psychosocial factors. Justify your intervention with evidence-based research to support the use of the interventions you have identified. Briefly describe one preventative technique that you might use to reduce the likelihood of further crisis or the perpetuation of the current crisis. Section Two: Reflect on your journal entries throughout the course and consider what you may have learned about yourself as a future clinician working with children, adolescents, and families. Explain any areas of strength you have identified by completing this course that will assist you in working with children, adolescents, and families. Explain any areas of strength you identified as you worked on this course that will assist you in working with children, adolescents, and families. Explain any areas of knowledge you might want to further develop to become more effective as a clinician working with children, adolescents, and families. Explain any insights you had or conclusions you drew as you worked on this course regarding your interest in becoming a clinician that works with children and adolescents. Working With Children and Adolescents: The Case of Chase  Chase is a 12-year-old male who was brought in for services by his adoptive mother. He  is very small in stature, appearing to be only 8 years old. He also acts younger than his 12 years,  carrying around toy cars in his pockets, which he proudly displays and talks about in detail.  Ch ...

1. Section One:
Choose one of the three Case Studies focusing on a family in
crisis. Each member of the family has unique issues that you
must address. You must also determine the primary problems
(this may include diagnostic impressions but not formal
diagnoses), intervention, prevention, and education required to
assist the family. In your project, do the following:
Identify the client and the presenting problem or symptoms.
Briefly explain if anyone else is involved and how they
contribute to the problem. Explain if anyone other than the
“identified client” also could be identified as a client. If so,
describe who and why.
Briefly describe any underlying problems or potential mental
health diagnoses contributing to the primary problem that
should be noted as you proceed with the client.
Briefly describe the presenting problem from the family’s
perspective and what theoretical perspective you will use to
assess, analyze, and develop a treatment plan for this case.
Identify the unique needs of each individual in the family.
Briefly describe the culture of the family, societal expectations,
gender roles, and cultural norms. Briefly explain how each of
these might contribute to the problem.
Briefly explain the child and adolescent culture and
at least one
general contributing factor to the identified issue and explain
how this may or may not impact the family dynamics.

2. Describe
one
intervention you might use for the identified client that would
address the presenting problem and any related psychosocial
factors.
Justify your intervention with evidence-based research to
support the use of the interventions you have identified.
Briefly describe
one
preventative technique that you might use to reduce the
likelihood of further crisis or the perpetuation of the current
crisis.
Section Two:
Reflect on your journal entries throughout the course and
consider what you may have learned about yourself as a future
clinician working with children, adolescents, and families.
Explain any areas of strength you have identified by completing
this course that will assist you in working with children,
adolescents, and families.
Explain any areas of strength you identified as you worked on
this course that will assist you in working with children,
adolescents, and families.
Explain any areas of knowledge you might want to further
develop to become more effective as a clinician working with
children, adolescents, and families.
Explain any insights you had or conclusions you drew as you
worked on this course regarding your interest in becoming a

3. clinician that works with children and adolescents.
Working With Children and Adolescents: The Case of Chase
Chase is a 12-year-old male who was brought in for services by
his adoptive mother. He
is very small in stature, appearing to be only 8 years old. He
also acts younger than his 12 years,
carrying around toy cars in his pockets, which he proudly
displays and talks about in detail.
Chase was adopted at age 3 ½ from an orphanage in Russia. The
adoptive parents are
upper middle class and have three biological children (ages 9, 7,
and 5). Chase is reported to
often get upset with his siblings and hit or kick them. His
mother stated that Chase has always
had issues with jealousy, and when her other children were
younger, she had to closely monitor
him when he was around them. She reported several occasions
when she found Chase attempting
to suffocate each of his younger siblings when they were
babies.

4. The mother stated that Chase came to the United States without
knowing any English.
She knows very little about his family of origin other than that
he lived with his biological
parents until age 2 and then lived in the orphanage until he was
adopted. She reported that the
plane ride from Russia was horrible and that Chase cried the
entire flight and refused to sleep for
the first 2 days they had him.
The mother reported that Chase often hides food in his room
and gorges himself when he
eats. She does not understand this behavior because he always
has enough food, and she never
restricts his eating. In fact, because of his small size and
weight, she often encourages him to eat
more. She also reported that Chase hates any type of transition
and will get upset and have
temper tantrums if she does not prepare him for any changes in
plans. He is reported to kick and
hit both parents, and they have had to restrain him at times to
stop him from hurting himself and
others. The parents have never sought help before, but recently
the school has been complaining

5. Working With Children and Adolescents: The Case of Chase /
Page 2 of 4 © 2016 Laureate Education, Inc.
of his inability to focus and increasing disruptive behaviors. His
teachers report that he -struggles
with school, has no friends, and often has “meltdowns” when he
does not get his way. Prior to
our meeting, Chase had never had any testing for special
education nor had he ever received any
counseling services.
During intake, I met briefly with Chase alone. He appeared
anxious, had pressured
speech and facial tics, and was unable to keep his legs still. He
chose to play a board game
during our time in the session and talked in detail about World
War II and each of the boats in
the game. When asked how he knew all about warships, he
stated that he often watched
television documentaries on the subject.
Plan:
Initially Chase’s parents were unsure what to do about their
son’s behaviors. His mother
was the primary caretaker and his father thought she should
handle any therapy or problems

6. related to school. His mother reported that she was “at the end
of her rope” and was ready to give
her son up to foster care. She shared her frustration with her
husband who “just did not
understand how hard it was.” It was concerning that Chase had
never received any services prior
to our meeting and that the school had not properly referred him
for testing to address his
behaviors and his academic struggles.
Both parents were asked to come in for sessions together to
work as a united front in
addressing Chase’s behaviors and to be supportive of each
other. The parents were taught
behavior modification, and they were successful in establishing
a reward system that motivated
Chase to follow the rules in the home. In addition, the parents
were provided with
psychoeducation regarding autism spectrum disorders, including
how to parent a child with these
symptoms and how to advocate for Chase in the school system.
The school complied with the
Working With Children and Adolescents: The Case of Chase /
Page 3 of 4 © 2016 Laureate Education, Inc.
parents’ request for testing, and Chase was found to meet

7. criteria for special education, and an
individual education plan (IEP) was established. In addition, a
referral was made to psychiatry,
and medication was prescribed to help Chase with his outbursts,
his tics, and with focus while at
school. Lastly, Chase was offered a socialization group with
other children on the autism
spectrum, and he developed better skills in making friends and
eye contact and self-soothing and
calming himself to avoid tantrums.
Reflection Questions
The social worker in this case answered these additional
questions as follows.
1. What specific intervention strategies (skills, knowledge, etc.)
did you use to address this client situation? Chase obviously
had major developmental issues and issues related to
socialization. Both parents were unaware of their rights and
how to advocate for their son. In addition, the father was very
traditional and thought that his wife was responsible for taking
care of the children and that he did not need to be involved in
parenting. It was necessary to get the father involved and for
both parents to act as a unit. In addition, neither parent had

8. demanded help for their son within the school system and they
needed to be educated about their son’s educational rights and
how to get his needs met. 2. Which theory or theories did you
use to guide your practice? Theories used in working with
Chase included structural family therapy, behavior
modification, parenting, case management, and
psychoeducation. The use of these interventions was very
successful in getting Chase diagnosed and receiving needed
services in the educational system. 3. What were the identified
strengths of the client(s)? Chase was very bright and had a very
loving family and two parents who were motivated to make
parenting changes to keep Chase in their home. 4. What were
the identified challenges faced by the client(s)? The most
serious challenge for Chase was that he went undiagnosed for
autism spectrum disorder (ASD) until he was seen by me at age
12. Early intervention may have been useful to help mediate his
social challenges as well as his educational challenges.
Working With Children and Adolescents: The Case of Chase /
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5. What were the agreed-upon goals to be met to address the
concern? Identified goals included the reduction of tantrums, an
increased response to parents’ requests within three prompts,
and an increase in age-appropriate socialization. 6. Did you
have to address any issues around cultural competence? Did you
have to learn about this population/group prior to beginning
your work with this client system? If so, what type of research
did you do to prepare? Chase was adopted from Russia, so
research was done to understand challenges for children who
were adopted from an orphanage as well as what type of support
this family may receive from outside agencies to maintain
placement. In addition, research was done to determine what
option they had for relinquishment if the parents decided they
could not continue to raise Chase. 7. What local, state, or
federal policies could (or did) affect this case? Chase had an

9. international adoption but it was filed within a specific state,
which allowed him and his family to receive services so he
could remain with his adopted family. In addition, state laws
related to education affected Chase and aided his parents in
requesting testing and special education services. Lastly, state
laws related to child abandonment could have affected this
family if they chose to relinquish custody to the Department of
Family and Children Services (DFCS). 8. How would you
advocate for social change to positively affect this case?
Advocacy within the school system for early identification and
testing of children like Chase would be helpful. 9. Were there
any legal or ethical issues present in the case? If so, what were
they and how were they addressed? There was a possibility of
legal/ethical issues related to the family’s frustration with
Chase. If his parents had resorted to physical abuse, a CPS
report would need to be filed. In addition, with a possible
relinquishment of Chase, DFCS could decide to look at the
children still in the home (Chase’s adopted siblings) and
consider removing them as well.
Adapted from:
Working with children and adolescents: The case of Chase.
(2014). In Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.).
Social work case studies: Concentration year (pp. 10–12, 97–
99). Baltimore, MD: Laureate Publishing. [Vital Source e-
reader]