America is a 17-year-old biracial male who was left by his crack-addicted mother at a young age and placed into foster care. He lived with his foster mother Mrs. Harper and her brother Reggie but became lost in the system. After attempting suicide, he was placed in a youth treatment center where he worked with his psychiatrist Dr. Maureen Brennan. America struggled with anger and developed maladaptive behaviors due to his traumatic experiences of abuse and being in the foster care system. Dr. Brennan helped him confront his past and prepare to age out of foster care.

1. By:Samantha
Stiles

2. Characters
• America Vega (Main Character)
• Dr. Maureen Brennan (Psychiatrist)
• Reggie Harper (Mrs. Harper’s Brother)
• Mrs. Harper (Foster Mom)
• Brooklyn (Brother)

3. More Characters
• Fish (Roomate)
• Marshall (Bully)
• Susana (Mom)
• Liza (Friend)

4. Eco Map

5. SUMMARY
AMERICA IS A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD BI-RACIAL
MALE.
MOTHER WAS ADDICTED TO CRACK AND LEFT
HIM AS A YOUNG CHILD, AND SOON WAS PUT INTO
FOSTER CARE.
HE LIVED WITH MRS. HARPER AND REGGIE.
BECAME LOST IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM AND
PUT INTO THE YOUTH TREATMENT CENTER
AFTER ATTEMPTING SUICIDE.

6. SUMMARY CONTINUED
DR. MAUREEN BRENNAN WAS HIS THERAPIST IN
THE YOUTH TREATMENT CENTER.
HE WAS ANGRY, AND DEVELOPED MALADAPTIVE
BEHAVIORS WHEN FUNCTIONING IN SOCIETY.
DR. BRENNAN SUPPORTS AND ENCOURAGES
AMERICA TO CONFRONT HIS PAST AND SOON AGE
OUT OF THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3-myivwc4I.

7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGy34G0bQjw.
What is Foster Care?
• “Supervised care for delinquent or neglected children usually in an
institution or substitute home” (Princeton).

8. Person-In-Environment
(PIE)
 “The Person-in-Environment (PIE) is a system for assessing
problems in social functioning, developed by Karl and
Wandrei.”
 Social Functioning
Lecroy & Jose B. Ashford

9. Four Factors of Client
Problems
 Factor I
 Social-role Problems
Example: Abuse
 Factor II
 Environmental Problems
Example: Foster Care
 Factor III
 Mental Disorders
Example: Symptoms of PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety
 Factor IV
 Physical Disorders
Example: Did not display any in movie

10. Assessing Clients by PIE
System
1. What are the problems in social functioning presented
by the client?
2. What problems exist in the social institution in this
community that are affecting the client?
3. Are any mental health problems or strengths present?
4. What are physical problems and strengths are noted?
5. What strengths and resources does the client possess
to deal with their concerns, issues, or problems?
(Lecroy & Ashford)

11. Applying the
Multidimensional
Framework
Psychological Hypothesis
Social Hypothesis

12. Psychological Hypothesis
• Cognitive Development and Information Processing
• Psychological Hazards and Risks
• Social Cognition and Regulation

14. Cognitive Development and
Information Processing • Client’s attention span, memory, concentration, and
capacity for abstract thought
• Client’s reality base
• Client’s learning abilities and performance
• Client’s language ability and vocabulary

15. Cognitive Development and
Information Processing
• Client’s self-perception
• Client’s emotional responses
• Client’s self-statements

16. Psychological Hazards and Risks
• Client’s experience of past life events
• Client’s experience with recent life events

17. Social Cognition and Regulation
• Client’s social knowledge about others
• Client’s capacity for empathy
• Client’s capacity for impulse control
• Client’s capacity for emotional regulation

18. Social Cognition and Regulation
• Client’s social skills
• Client’s social problem solving skills
• Client’s maladaptive behavior patterns
• Client’s coping skills

19. Social Hypothesis
• Groups and Families
• Communities and Support Systems

20. Groups and Families
• Role systems and client interactions
• Family’s patterns of communications
• Family’s roles

21. Communities and Support Systems
• Communities of which the client is a member
• Support systems available to the client
• Institutional contributions to client’s problems
• Organizational contributions
• Multicultural gender and spiritual hypothesis

22. Coping
• Listened to Music
• Played Basketball
• Fighting
• Isolation
• Dissociation

23. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
• BASED ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, DO YOU SEE WHY AMERICA HAD
DIFFICULTIES WITH…
TRUST?
CONTROL?
SELF-ESTEEM?
RELATIONSHIPS?

24. REFERENCES
• America. (2009, February 9). YouTube.
Retrieved November 3, 2013, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=yUONc6MeLwI
• Ashford, J. B., & LeCroy, C. W. (2013).
Human behavior in the social environment: a multidimensional (5th ed.). Australia: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.
• Self-Injury Awareness Video 2013. (2013, March
1). YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=toOKvG9li3c

25. REFERENCES
• Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5.
(5th ed.). (2013). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
• Dee, R. (Director). (2009). America
[Motion picture]. America: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.