Case Study Instructions
Students will review the cases placed on Blackboard and choose one to answer questions about the student’s mental health, causes of the student’s mental health problems, prevention strategies for home, school and the community and intervention strategies for home, school, and the community. The case study should be 3-6 pages, double spaced, APA style. The case study should use the text and other resources with discussing the student’s mental health problem. Students should refer to the DSMV for proper diagnosis of the student’s problems and IDEA Special Education categories. Make sure you review the rubric, you must come up with a diagnosis and explain how you came up with it, talk about interventions and prevention that can be placed in school to support the student’s academic success. Tell what the interventions are supposed to support and the intended outcome. The preventions should focus not only on the student in the case study but things that can be put in place in the school to address several students who may be experiencing the same problems. The text covers many causes of maladaptive behaviors and provides possible interventions and preventions. You should refer to the text and examine information in the ASCA position statements about how the counselor should address the issues the student is facing. The intent of this exercise is to promote problems solving skills when addressing students with maladaptive behaviors that are impacting their mental health and school performance.
Case Study #2
Joshua is a 14‐year‐old Caucasian male in the ninth grade, who was referred by the Department of Children and Families for an ongoing assessment of his level of risk to the community and treatment needs following a substantiation for sexualized behaviors toward a 6‐year‐old girl in a previous foster home. Joshua’s modus operandi (tactics used to gain sexual compliance) included bribes, telling the girl to pull down her pants, exposing his penis, and giving her toys if she “kissed his privates.” He told the young girl that he would give her necklaces and toys if she complied. Case Studies in Individual Treatment and Assessment 89 Joshua acknowledged that he told the victim not to tell and stated the abuse may have occurred once or twice, and consequently, he does not believe she was harmed by his actions. Joshua maintained that he does feel shame talking about the abuse, and he initially denied bribing the young girl. He indicated that when he is around younger children, he sometimes experiences sexual urges, and he stated, “sometimes I need to be away from little kids.” Joshua attributed the emergence of these urges, and his overall underlying anger, as related to physical, sexual, and emotional victimization by his parents (discussed in the family section). There were ongoing reports of Joshua having inappropriate sexual behavior with other younger girls beginning at age 9 (exhibiting “subtle” behaviors, as well as more intrusive touching behaviors) when Joshua lived with his biological parents, and with same‐age or younger boys, involving fondling (their penises). His victim selection appears diverse (in age and gender), and his offense patterns are associated with high levels of impulsivity. Additionally, social workers and therapists have described his tendency to minimize his behavior and to exhibit low empathy following his actions. Joshua has a history of downloading hard‐core pornography, and he has stolen the credit card numbers of foster care providers to pay for the images. The sexual evaluation revealed a history of frequent masturbation to pornographic material, involving younger male and female children, and with same‐age females. Joshua also has an extensive history of nonsexual offenses, including animal cruelty, destruction of property, stealing, fire‐setting, and verbal and physical aggression toward younger children and adults, including social workers and treatment providers.
Family History Joshua is the second child born to Joan and Bob, who divorced when he was 4 years old. His siblings, Jill (17) and younger sister, Tracy (12), are living with a foster family, and they have sporadic contact. He reported being closest to Tracy, and that he would like to regain contact with his biological father “someday.” Joshua recalled that he was exposed to domestic violence, and he was physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by his mother. He reported that his father was also abusive, and he recalled being harshly disciplined with a belt and forced to “drink soap.” Additionally, his maternal grandmother (with whom Joshua and his sisters were initially placed) physically abused him and his siblings. Joshua was initially reluctant to discuss this trauma history, and he reported that his memories are sometimes vague and that he “checks out.” In treatment, he has begun to address his trauma history, his feelings of betrayal, and his anger toward his parents (particularly toward his mother) as contributing factors toward his own abusive behavior.
13 IDEA disabilities
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Deaf-Blindness
Deafness
Emotional Disturbance
Hearing Impairment
Intellectual Disability
Multiple Disabilities
Orthopedic Impairment
Other Health Impairment
Specific Learning Disability
Speech or Language Impairment
Traumatic Brain Injury
Visual Impairment, including Blindness