M6: Case Scenario Assignment

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 Due Sunday by 11:59pm

 Points 25

 Submitting a file upload

Instructions
The case scenario assignment is offered to help you practice applying what
you have learned in this module. It presents a client situation that you might
come across in either your practicum placement or professional practice.
Read the case carefully, tuning in to the client's reported experience,
symptoms, strengths, and challenges. Answer the questions below and
remember this is a learning exercise to prepare you for professional practice.

Case Scenario
Sally is a 19-year-old, heterosexual, Afro-Latina female who is
able-bodied. She resides with her parents in a middle-class
neighborhood and is attending community college locally. She was
referred by the hospital for outpatient mental health services
after alcohol intoxication, in addition to which she also
reportedly consumed a significant amount of Advil (20 pills). Her
parents are in the waiting room and you meet with Sally for the
intake as a social worker at the outpatient mental health clinic
where she has been referred.
Upon asking Sally what brings her to treatment she states, “I
have a lot going on” and appears guarded. Sally reports she is in
a long-term relationship with her boyfriend since high school,
which she describes as “a roller coaster . . . some days I hate
him, other days I know that I can’t live without him.” According
to Sally, they have broken up at least three or four times over
the course of their relationship, always getting back together.
When asked about her recent visit to the hospital, Sally stated
that she wasn’t trying to kill herself, and that she used alcohol
with the pills because “I didn’t want to feel anymore and just
did it.” Sally reported difficulty coping, which at times leads
her to be impulsive. When asked how many times she consumes
alcohol weekly, she states, “A few times a week, but so does
everyone my age. It’s normal and helps me feel better.” Sally’s
affect shifted to being intense when discussing her alcohol use,
and defensive. “I know what you are thinking,” she stated.
Upon further exploration, Sally reports she has engaged in
cutting herself in the past, superficially on her wrists and leg,
to numb her feelings. Sally stated, “I feel like I don’t know who
I am sometimes and especially when I break up with my boyfriend.
It is like, I am empty inside, and that is a horrible feeling.”
Sally denied suicidal or homicidal thoughts, intentions, or
planning. However, she did share that at times she engages in
risky sexual behavior when she is on a break from her boyfriend,
in an effort to not feel empty and alone.

CASE SCENARIO QUESTIONS

 Given the diagnoses in this module that you have learned about,
what are some of the symptoms that you can identify Sally is
experiencing/demonstrating/reporting during her intake?
 As the intake clinician, what diagnoses would you consider for Sally?
Justify the reason for each diagnosis, reporting the symptom criteria
leading you to consider the diagnosis.
 What differential diagnosis would you consider? For example, what
are similar diagnoses that you would explore in order to rule out
and narrow down the client’s specific diagnosis?
 Related to the presenting symptoms and the client’s diagnoses,
what would you recommend for the client’s plan of treatment?
Please offer a rationale.
  Would you consider asking the parents to come into the session?
Why or why not? Please offer your justification.

Requirements

Please review the written assignment rubric Download written assignment

rubricto ensure your assignment meets all grading criteria.

 Respond to each case scenario question with a meaningful and

thoughtful response.
 This assignment should be 2-3 pages in length, double spaced.
 Although this is a case scenario assignment where you are required
to answer questions in a professional manner, you may use a
reflective and personal style of writing (for example, you can use
first-person references such as "I" and "my").
 You are not required to incorporate APA references and will not be
graded for APA referencing in this assignment.
 Ensure that you have proofread your assignment for grammatical
accuracy before you submit it.
 Please submit your assignment as a Word document.