Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014).Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader]. Working With Children and Adolescents: The Case of Dalia Dalia is a 14-year-old, biracial female of African and Irish American descent who resides with her parents in a middle-class suburb. She is the youngest of three children and is currently the only child remaining in the home. Dalia’s parents have been married for 25 years. Dalia’s father works in the creative arts field with a nontraditional work schedule that has him gone overnight and sleeping late into the morning. Dalia’s mother is an executive who works long hours. Dalia was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia in early childhood and was hospitalized multiple times. At present, Dalia’s health is stable with the last serious episode occurring 2 years ago. Dalia’s parents reported that until middle school, Dalia was an easygoing, good-natured youngster who enjoyed singing and participating in activities with her peers and family. Dalia denied any problems with drugs or alcohol but admitted to drinking with friends. Dalia described her family relationships as tense, stating, “My dad lets me do what I want” and “My mother is always trying to control me.” Dalia described her relationship with her older brother, who lives in another state, as “cool,” and her relationship with her older sister, a college sophomore, as “not cool.” Dalia’s parents sought out counseling services for behavioral issues on the recommendation of her school. The issues included argumentative behavior with authority figures, physical altercations with peers, poor concentration in class, irritable mood, verbal combativeness when confronted, truancy, and highly sexualized behavior with male peers. At home, Dalia had become more argumentative and physically threatening. Her parents had discovered that she and her friends drank alcohol in their home. Dalia’s parents also reported that she was up most of the night and slept most of the day. They also reported that her mood was highly irritable and that she was extremely impulsive. She had no interest in getting involved with any extracurricular activities, stating that those things are “corny and boring.” In the first meeting, Dalia and her mother both appeared agitated with each other and became argumentative when going through the intake information. Dalia quickly told me that she was not planning to talk about anything because this meeting was her parents’ idea. She stated, “I don’t have any problems, my parents do.” Soon into this first visit, Dalia blurted out that her mother was upset with her because she had just shown her a tattoo she had had done recently, purchased by using a fake ID. I acknowledged her news and asked if this was the way that she usually shared important information with her mother. Dalia shrugged and stated, “I don’t know. I figure I better her tell her now.

1. Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.).
(2014).Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore,
MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital
Source e-reader].
Working With Children and Adolescents: The Case of Dalia
Dalia is a 14-year-old, biracial female of African and Irish
American descent who resides with her parents in a middle-
class suburb. She is the youngest of three children and is
currently the only child remaining in the home. Dalia’s parents
have been married for 25 years. Dalia’s father works in the
creative arts field with a nontraditional work schedule that has
him gone overnight and sleeping late into the morning. Dalia’s
mother is an executive who works long hours. Dalia was
diagnosed with sickle cell anemia in early childhood and was
hospitalized multiple times. At present, Dalia’s health is stable
with the last serious episode occurring 2 years ago.
Dalia’s parents reported that until middle school, Dalia was an
easygoing, good-natured youngster who enjoyed singing and
participating in activities with her peers and family. Dalia
denied any problems with drugs or alcohol but admitted to
drinking with friends. Dalia described her family relationships
as tense, stating, “My dad lets me do what I want” and “My
mother is always trying to control me.” Dalia described her
relationship with her older brother, who lives in another state,
as “cool,” and her relationship with her older sister, a college
sophomore, as “not cool.”
Dalia’s parents sought out counseling services for behavioral
issues on the recommendation of her school. The issues
included argumentative behavior with authority figures,
physical altercations with peers, poor concentration in class,
irritable mood, verbal combativeness when confronted, truancy,
and highly sexualized behavior with male peers. At home, Dalia
had become more argumentative and physically threatening. Her
parents had discovered that she and her friends drank alcohol in

2. their home. Dalia’s parents also reported that she was up most
of the night and slept most of the day. They also reported that
her mood was highly irritable and that she was extremely
impulsive. She had no interest in getting involved with any
extracurricular activities, stating that those things are “corny
and boring.”
In the first meeting, Dalia and her mother both appeared
agitated with each other and became argumentative when going
through the intake information. Dalia quickly told me that she
was not planning to talk about anything because this meeting
was her parents’ idea. She stated, “I don’t have any problems,
my parents do.” Soon into this first visit, Dalia blurted out that
her mother was upset with her because she had just shown her a
tattoo she had had done recently, purchased by using a fake ID.
I acknowledged her news and asked if this was the way that she
usually shared important information with her mother. Dalia
shrugged and stated, “I don’t know. I figure I better her tell her
now before she gets too busy.”
I asked both Dalia and her mother what their expectations were
for counseling and what each would like to get from these
visits. Dalia’s mother seemed surprised and stated, “This is for
her. She better change her attitude and start to focus on school.”
I explained that often it is helpful to have sessions both
individually and with family members. I pointed out that
because family issues were identified it might be productive to
address them together. Dalia’s mother agreed to attend some
meetings but also stated that her time was limited. I was told
that Dalia’s father would not be able to join us because he was
never available at that time.
Dalia and I began sessions alone, and her mother joined us for
the second half. During the family sessions, we addressed the
communication breakdown between Dalia and her mother and
Dalia’s at-risk behaviors. Individual sessions were used to
address her impulsive behavior and self-esteem issues.
In individual sessions, Dalia talked about how the family had
changed since her sister left for college. She said her parents

3. stopped being present and available once her sister went away
to school. She said she spent more time on her own and her
behavior was under more scrutiny. Dalia also talked about her
sister, describing her as an excellent student and very popular.
She said her teachers in middle school would often compare
Dalia to her sister, making her feel unsuccessful in comparison.
During a family portion of a session, Dalia’s mother initially
disagreed with Dalia’s point of view regarding how the family
had changed, stating, “She’s just trying to trick you.” I
encouraged them to discuss what was different about the family
dynamics now compared to when the older sister was at home.
We discussed how the family had changed through the years,
validating both perspectives.
In time, I was able to have Dalia’s father join us in some of the
family meetings. He said he felt Dalia’s behaviors were just a
stage and part of being a teenager. Dalia’s parents disagreed
openly in our sessions, with each blaming the other for her
behavioral issues. During these sessions, we addressed how they
each may have changed as their children matured and left home
and how this affected their availability to their youngest child. I
helped them identify what made Dalia’s experience distinct
from her siblings’ and examine what her high-risk behaviors
might be in reaction to or symptomatic of in the family.
In the course of the family work, the realities of being a biracial
family and raising mixed-race children were also addressed. We
discussed how the parents navigated race issues during their
own courtship and looked at the role of acculturation and
assimilation with their children in their social environments as
well as respective families of origin. Educating both parents
around race and social class privilege seemed fruitful in
understanding distinctions between what they and their children
may have faced.
After 12 weeks it was agreed that therapy would end because
Dalia would be starting high school and the family felt better
equipped to address conflict. The family had made some
changes with the household schedule that increased parent–child

4. contact, and Dalia agreed to more structure in her schedule and
accepted a position as a camp counselor in a local day camp for
the summer. Termination addressed what was accomplished in
this portion of therapy and what might be addressed in future
counseling. The termination process included reviewing the
strategies of conflict resolution and creating opportunities for
family contact and discussion in order to reinforce those
behavioral and structural changes that had led to improved
communication and conflict reduction.
Project: Bio-Psycho-Social Assessment
Assessing a client’s biological, psychological, and social
history is a holistic approach that is an essential aspect of social
work practice. Since one area often affects the other two, it is
important to get as accurate an assessment as possible when
working with a client. Social workers use the bio-psycho-social
tool to communicate specific information, and possible
conclusions, about a client to other professionals. It is, at once,
a summary of current issues and problems; a listing of past
factors that may be relevant to the current situation; and a
description of potential issues that may have an effect on the
client in the future. In addition to describing the client’s
challenges and problems, the assessment identifies strengths
and assets that are available to provide support. For this
Assignment you create a bio-psycho-social assessment.
Submit a paper that focuses on an adolescent from the case
study above and complete a bio-psycho-social assessment. The
assessment should be written in professional language and
include sections on each of the following:
Presenting issue (including referral source)
Demographic information
Current living situation
Birth and developmental history
School and social relationships
Family members and relationships
Health and medical Issues (including psychological and
psychiatric functioning, substance abuse)

5. Spiritual development
Social, community, and recreational activities
Client strengths, capacities, and resources
After addressing the 10 categories, answer the following
supplemental questions.
What specific intervention strategies (skills, knowledge, etc.)
did you use to address this client situation?
Several theories are woven through this case study—Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs, Systems Theory, Engagement and
Assessment Skills. Explain which of the theories you used to
guide your practice.
Describe the challenges faced by the client(s)—for example,
drug addiction, lack of basic needs, victim of abuse, new school
environment, etc.
Describe the identified strengths of the client(s).
Explain the agreed-upon goals to be met in order to address the
concerns.
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?
What, if any local, state, or federal policies could (or do)
impact this situation?
How would you advocate for social change to positively impact
this case?
Are there any legal/ethical issues present in the case? If so,
what were they and how were they addressed?
How can evidence-based practice be integrated into this
situation?
Is there any additional information or material you think is
important to the use of the case?
Provide any personal reflection regarding the case that you
think would be relevant to the course.
8-Pages in APA
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