Case Study for Integrated Paper (Scenario): Irene Mendez

As a social worker in a teaching hospital, you have just encountered your first 66-year-old AIDS patient, a retired widow and grandmother of five, who has not told her adult children the truth about her diagnosis. This is because she is too embarrassed to talk to them about the widower she had been dating in Florida prior to her move back to Minnesota six months ago. She goes from doctor to doctor to find out the reasons for her severe weight loss, even though the diagnosis of AIDS was already made and confirmed in Florida. She is currently living alone in a beautiful suburban condo but her AIDS is quite advanced and she will not be able to live alone at home for long.

Outline for Integrated Paper

You will be given a case study. After carefully reading the case study, complete the following steps:

Step 1: Choose the approach/theory (or theories) you think would work best in assessing and formulating an intervention with the primary client(s) in the case study. Clearly explain the theory you chose.
a. Why do you think this is the best approach?
b. How will you apply the theory/approach?
c. Identify the presenting problem

Step 2: Complete a bio-psycho-social assessment of the client system.
a. What questions do you need to ask the client in order to complete your assessment?
b. Demonstrate how you will ask the questions and why you need to ask them. (mini-process recording)
c. What skills would you use when interviewing the client, i.e., Shulman?
d. Demonstrate effective documentation skills

Step 3: Complete an intervention plan applying the theory you chose.
a. Clearly define your goals and objectives
b. Write a contract identifying the following components:
i) Client objectives ranked in priority order from most to least important.
ii) Action steps or tasks to be completed by client
iii) Action steps or tasks to be completed by the social worker
iv) Schedule or time frame for completion of above tasks.
v) Logistical details such as time of future sessions

Step 4: Evaluation
a. How will you measure the success of your intervention?

You will need to do some research as you complete your assessment and intervention. Go to the scholarly literature to inform yourself about the client’s problem and for interventions that would work best with the given situation your client is experiencing.