PSYCHOSOCIAL ASSESSMENT 1

Psychosocial Assessment

Kamryn M. Mattison

University of South Carolina

SOWK 312

Professor Holbert
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Psychosocial Assessment

Demographics and Background

Jennifer is a 27-year-old white female from Maryland who has voluntarily reached out for

help. She is a part of the MSW program for social work at the University of South Carolina; it is

her first year. She describes herself as a “nontraditional student” because of her age. Jennifer has

been divorced for almost two years and moved to South Carolina to start over and find change

while pursuing her master’s degree. Around the time of the divorce, stress caused her to stress

eat, which went on for, at most, a year and a half; she gained around 20 to 30 pounds and did not

feel good about herself because her clothes did not fit. She saw a counselor in the 6 to 8 weeks

leading up to her divorce, which was a helpful experience. However, she did not continue to see

this counselor when the divorce was finalized. Although her family composition is unknown, all

of Jennifer’s family and friends live in Maryland; she has never lived outside her home state or

been away from them. There is no other information given about her friends or family

background, perhaps because this does not contribute to the problems that she is having in South

Carolina. She has been in South Carolina for 6-7 months since the beginning of the fall semester.

Jennifer has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, which she used to acquire professional

work at a residential inpatient facility for adolescents who are dually diagnosed (have severe

persistent mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorder). She worked at this facility for

around two years but got burnt out due to the job’s high intensity; it was crisis-heavy and

emotionally draining. Jennifer often had difficulty leaving situations at work because of her

worry for patients. Generally, Jennifer’s hobbies would include reading, eating healthy, watching

tv shows, and exercising with friends. She has a strong Catholic background and was involved in

her church in Maryland.

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Current Situation

Jennifer’s transition to the South is not going great; she has difficulty adjusting to her

new life. She has lost interest in participating in hobbies she used to enjoy and would rather lay

around her apartment after class or work. She gets distracted when trying to read or watch tv.

Besides class or her internship, she rarely goes anywhere because she feels down and wants to

avoid social interaction. However, Jennifer sometimes goes to the farmer’s market for fruits and

vegetables. Her appetite has changed dramatically, causing her to lose around 20 to 25 pounds

since her move. She cannot eat heavy meals and does not enjoy eating some foods that she used

to like anymore. Sometimes a meal for her looks like a chewy bar or a smoothie. Furthermore,

Jennifer can hardly sleep because she wakes up 3 to 4 times a night and cannot fall back asleep,

but she never had that problem before.

Since moving to South Carolina, Jennifer has yet to find much support. She lives alone in

a one-bedroom apartment in Northeast Columbia, far from campus. The complex is filled with

military families, so it is hard for her to meet anyone similar to herself; she cannot even run into

anyone from school because she is so far away from campus. She is financially stable and does

not worry about money, despite having loans to pay off, because she will receive alimony from

her ex-husband for the next two years, has money saved from before she moved, and has a work-

study job.

Jennifer has not been able to find a church to participate in because there are few Catholic

churches in the area. She has tried some out, but they are too far from her living arrangements.

Also, she has not been able to make friends because the students in her cohort are relatively

younger than her, so they have little in common. She has been invited out a couple of times but is

over the college “partying and drinking” scene; she does not find any common experiences
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between herself and the people she meets, which makes her feel isolated. As far as classes go,

Jennifer is managing, but not as well as she would like. She finds discomfort in the many group

projects in her classes because the groups are randomly assigned, and the students she gets paired

with like to meet in person. She would rather meet virtually, hoping to avoid social interaction

because of low self-esteem. Jennifer feels more self-conscious now than when she gained weight

and goes through many outfits daily to pick what she will wear. She does not like how she looks

now that she has lost weight. Although she would be open to it, she has not participated in any

school groups or organizations for like-people that would potentially help her meet new people.

Strengths, Capacities, and Resources

A strength that Jennifer has is her ability to understand that she needs help and actively

wants to get better. It can be hard to reach out for help when you are having a hard time, so her

acknowledgment of her problems and need for assistance is a big first step. Furthermore, she has

a strength in that she has a faith-based background and can find some support in a Catholic

church. Jennifer does not seem like she has coped well with her adjustment problems thus far

and has no immediate support systems, but she is willing and ready to find friends and ways to

better herself. Despite her lack of interest in doing things that she used to do, she still makes time

to go to the Farmer’s market, which keeps her connected to the healthy lifestyle she enjoyed

managing in Maryland. Another strength that Jennifer has is being experienced; once she gets out

of her head, she can be more active in her class groups, even though the members are younger

than her, because she may be able to teach them something from her prior education and work.

This will make her feel more comfortable in classes. Lastly, being a student is also a strength

because there are resources provided by the school that she can take advantage of, but she has

not yet explored what is offered.

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Impressions, Assessment, and Recommendations

After assessing Jennifer’s situation, my proposed plan includes two goals. The first goal

comes before the second because it focuses on Jennifer learning to love herself again and not

relying on others to have good experiences; gaining self-confidence will help her in social

situations because she stated she avoids being social because she feels terrible about herself, and

by not depending on others to find fun, she may become more active when she feels like going

home and laying around. The Solution-Focused Brief Treatment Model focuses on short-term

goals, positivity, and solutions rather than a client’s problems. This method makes clients think

about the future rather than the past. The Brief Treatment Model gives the idea that clients have

the right to choose the results of their situation. This model would work best for Jennifer because

she has already stated she wants help and wants to get better, so, using this method, she can

decide what “better” looks like.

The first goal is as follows: Jennifer will (re)build her self-confidence or self-esteem.

There are four outcome criteria for this goal. First, Jennifer will find joy in participating in past

hobbies. Second, Jennifer will remember why she loves herself. Third, Jennifer will find comfort

in herself and being alone. Fourth, Jennifer will continue to focus on getting to a healthy and

comfortable weight. There are four objectives; the first is that Jennifer will participate in (some

form of ) physical activity three times per week. Next, Jennifer will cook herself a nutritious

meal at least once a week in hopes of not only helping her weight discomfort but also making her

remember the joy she finds in eating healthy. Also, Jennifer will take herself on a date at least

twice a month; the expected result is that she will not feel she needs someone else to explore and

do things with. She is in a new place and should be able to enjoy it and find reasons to love

South Carolina on her own; furthermore, spending time with herself may help her rediscover the
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hobbies and activities that she enjoyed before the move, which could help her feel more

comfortable in her new life. Lastly, Jennifer will not dwell on the past. Jennifer will measure the

outcomes of this goal; if she begins to regain her self-confidence and does not feel down all the

time, then this goal will be successful.

The second proposed goal for this situation is Jennifer will gather a support system to

help in her transition to South Carolina. The outcome criterion of goal number two is that

Jennifer will become open to new people and experiences. This goal involves three objectives.

First, Jennifer will find a church she feels comfortable attending at least twice a month. Next,

Jennifer will identify and join at least one school organization where she can find people like

herself and attend organization meetings at least once a month. The result of this objective is to

show her that there is a lot more to the university than just the people in her classes, and she can

find other people to connect with; some organizations she could consider are the Graduate

Student Association, the Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society, or The Catholic Campus

Ministry. By looking into organizations that interest her, she could also complete the first

objective of this goal because The Catholic Campus Ministry is sponsored by the St. Thomas

More Catholic Church, which could be somewhere she would like to attend. Lastly, Jennifer will

not dismiss every social opportunity based on one fact about the people who asked her. For

example, she lives near many military families and may be able to find a friend in one of these

people. Furthermore, age should not be a factor; she may be able to find a younger classmate that

she can connect and be friends. There is a possibility of finding someone in her classes who does

not want to go out and party every weekend, even if they are younger than her; also, someone in

her classes may share some experiences with her. Jennifer would also measure this goal; if she

feels these objectives helped her gain friends and people to support her, this goal will succeed.