Section One – Client Identifying Information/Demographics:

Date of the interview: February 25, 2022

Name: Jennifer McArdle

Address: previously grew up and lived in Maryland all of her life. Moved to SC to pursue

masters in social work and start over.

Age: 27 years old

Gender: female

Ethnicity/ race: Caucasian

marital status: married for 4 years to high school sweetheart and has now been divorced for

almost two years

referral source: She came in order to seek counseling and support for how to feel better and

adjust to student life.

Section Two: Background

Family composition and background: all of her friends and family are currently living in

Maryland. She still speaks to her ex-husband on the phone occasionally. She moved away from

everyone in order to bring about change and a fresh start to get her master's degree. This is a

huge change because she has never been away from friends and family. She has not made any

friendships in South Carolina yet.

educational background: She has a bachelor's degree in psychology and is currently a first-year

master's student at UofSC Columbia

Employment: currently unemployed and working as a college student. Previously worked at a

residential inpatient facility for adolescents that were duly diagnosed with mental and substance

disorders. She had to stop because the emotional stresses at work became too much of a toll on

her mental health.

economic status: very secure in her financial status and still receives alimony from husband

religious/spiritual involvement was very involved in the Catholic church in Maryland. Has not

been able to find a good catholic church in Columbia. Misses the community and supports

religion.

physical functioning: good physical condition, she has been struggling with appetite and sleep.

She lost 25 pounds in the past 6 months from diet.

health conditions: no known health conditions

psychological functioning: feeling stressed and very low energy and always tired

social, community, and recreational activities: She loves to go on jogs, go to farmers markets,

eat healthy, and binge watch baking shows. She has a farmers' market near her current house that

she has visited. She has not found anybody to go on jogs with, but also has not had the energy to

workout. She tries to watch TV but lacks the attention span to focus on relaxing.

other environmental or psychosocial factors: She misses the community and social support

that she had back home in Maryland. She feels out of place due to the age gap between her and

her classmates. She has fallen behind on all group work due to the anxiety of meeting with her

peers in person and feeling out of place.

Zayda Swick
SOWK 312
Professor Morgan Candice
April 23, 2023
Psychosocial Assessment

Jennifer McArdle is a 27-year-old, female, attending the MSW program at UofSC.

Jennifer is struggling with finding community, social support, and staying ahead on group

assignments. I believe a task-centered change- oriented approach is the best method for

Jennifer’s intervention plan. Jennifer is in good physical condition but has lacked energy and

motivation to participate in the health practices she used to love. She would unwind her days by

going on walks or jogs with friends. The first task-centered goal I would make with Jennifer

would be to join one of the many running/ athletic clubs that are for UofSC students. The initial

goal will be to review all possible clubs and groups of interest to her. After gaining access to

information on UofSC clubs and programs she will reach out to one group and attend one

activity. This goal will be measured by her attendance at one USC activity by the end of her

spring semester. This allows 5 months of time for Jennifer to try to go to one activity. When

given all USC club and group resources, this should be a realistic goal. Jennifer has many

strengths that will better equip her to reach this goal. She is good at engaging in social situations

that she currently is interested in. She will be able to potentially meet other students with similar

interests to her. The potential obstacle she will have to face is putting herself out of her comfort

zone and finding something to wear. The solution for this will be the club or group will be

oriented around a certain topic so outfit options should be limited and less stressful to figure out.
The outcome from this goal will be that Jennifer has some place she feels like she belongs and

has community in. She will continue to meet with her school counselor, and he will continue to

track and measure her progress and increase confidence.

A second goal I would make for Jennifer based off a task-centered approach to change

would be to find a church or religious group to join. For her to reach this goal her counselor will

need to give her all the information regarding Catholic churches near her home as well as

catholic small groups through UofSC student life. After receiving all of this information she will

have to look over numbers to reach out to to ask questions about their church or small group.

This will give Jennifer the sense of community that she misses from back home. She practices

the Catholic faith but has not been able to find a Catholic church that is close to her residence.

We will measure this goal by putting a time stamp of finding a church or group before the start

of next fall's semester. This will make the goal very achievable for Jennifer because she will no

longer have readings and assignments to worry about. She will be able to put her energy into

herself and find places she belongs. Given all the available resources, this will be more than

achievable and help Jennifer with her mental health. The potential obstacles she could face while

trying to find a group will be experiencing a church or group she does not like. Jennifer is a very

resilient person and knows exactly what she looks for in a church. After having a bad experience,

she may struggle to keep looking. During her reoccurring sessions her counselor will check in

and discuss how she is doing with each goal.

The task-oriented approach will be best for Jennifer because she is a very work-oriented

person. Her strengths include helping others and acting as a mediator in high intensity situations.

Taking each problem one step at a time will help Jennifer to not feel overburdened as she did in

the past. This approach will allow her to alleviate immediate problems in her life and focus on a
specific goal and solution. Through making specific, measurable, and achievable goals it will

raise Jennifer's confidence and help her adjust more smoothly to being away from family and

friends. She will be able to make new connections and build up her personal confidence. Once

she finds support around her adjusting to the demands of a master's student will be easier.