Description
For some adolescents, experiencing physical pain becomes a regular practice for managing psychological pain. Whether used as a coping mechanism, a way to express anger, or to deal with intense emotional pain, self-harming is often a call for help.
In school settings, faculty and staff are charged with protecting students, but how can they protect those students who choose to harm themselves? The importance of educators understanding the circumstances, causes, and effects of self-harming behavior so they can respond quickly and effectively cannot be overstated. For this Assignment, consider your role as a social worker and think about how you would raise awareness for educators to respond to this increasing maladaptive coping mechanism.
Submit by Day 7 a 6- to 8-slide PowerPoint presentation explaining the indicators of self-harm, appropriate interventions, and follow-up steps for educators needing to respond to those who self-harm.
Include detailed speaker notes with peer reviewed references
Reference
- Moorey, S. (2010). Managing the unmanageable: Cognitive behaviour therapy for deliberate self-harm. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, 24(2), 135–149.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
- Working With Children and Adolescents: The Case of Dalia
- Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
- Chapter 7 (pp. 333-375)
Working With Children and Adolescents: The
Case of Dalia
Dalia is a 14-year-old, biracial female of African and Irish American descent who resides with
her parents in a middle-class suburb. She is the youngest of three children and is currently the only
child remaining in the home. Dalia’s parents have been married for 25 years. Dalia’s father works
in the creative arts field with a nontraditional work schedule that has him gone overnight and
sleeping late into the morning. Dalia’s mother is an executive who works long hours. Dalia was
diagnosed with sickle cell anemia in early childhood and was hospitalized multiple times. At
present, Dalia’s health is stable with the last serious episode occurring 2 years ago.
Dalia’s parents reported that until middle school, Dalia was an easygoing, good-natured
youngster who enjoyed singing and participating in activities with her peers and family. Dalia
denied any problems with drugs or alcohol but admitted to drinking with friends. Dalia described
her family relationships as tense, stating, “My dad lets me do what I want” and “My mother is
always trying to control me.” Dalia described her relationship with her older brother, who lives in
another state, as “cool,” and her relationship with her older sister, a college sophomore, as “not
cool.”
Dalia’s parents sought out counseling services for behavioral issues on the recommendation of
her school. The issues included argumentative behavior with authority figures, physical
altercations with peers, poor concentration in class, irritable mood, verbal combativeness when
confronted, truancy, and highly sexualized behavior with male peers. At home, Dalia had become
more argumentative and physically threatening. Her parents had discovered that she and her
friends drank alcohol in their home. Dalia’s parents also reported that she was up most of the night
and slept most of the day. They also reported that her mood was highly irritable and that she was
extremely impulsive. She had no interest in getting involved with any extracurricular activities,
stating that those things are “corny and boring.”
In the first meeting, Dalia and her mother both appeared agitated with each other and became
argumentative when going through the intake information. Dalia quickly told me that she was not
planning to talk about anything because this meeting was her parents’ idea. She stated, “I don’t
have any problems, my parents do.” Soon into this first visit, Dalia blurted out that her mother was
upset with her because she had just shown her a tattoo she had had done recently, purchased by
using a fake ID. I acknowledged her news and asked if this was the way that she usually shared
important information with her mother. Dalia shrugged and stated, “I don’t know. I figure I better
her tell her now before she gets too busy.”
I asked both Dalia and her mother what their expectations were for counseling and what each
would like to get from these visits. Dalia’s mother seemed surprised and stated, “This is for her.
She better change her attitude and start to focus on school.” I explained that often it is helpful to
have sessions both individually and with family members. I pointed out that because family issues
were identified it might be productive to address them together. Dalia’s mother agreed to attend
some meetings but also stated that her time was limited. I was told that Dalia’s father would not
be able to join us because he was never available at that time.
Dalia and I began sessions alone, and her mother joined us for the second half. During the
family sessions, we addressed the communication breakdown between Dalia and her mother and
Dalia’s at-risk behaviors. Individual sessions were used to address her impulsive behavior and selfesteem issues.
In individual sessions, Dalia talked about how the family had changed since her sister left for
college. She said her parents stopped being present and available once her sister went away to
school. She said she spent more time on her own and her behavior was under more scrutiny. Dalia
also talked about her sister, describing her as an excellent student and very popular. She said her
teachers in middle school would often compare Dalia to her sister, making her feel unsuccessful
in comparison. During a family portion of a session, Dalia’s mother initially disagreed with Dalia’s
point of view regarding how the family had changed, stating, “She’s just trying to trick you.” I
encouraged them to discuss what was different about the family dynamics now compared to when
the older sister was at home. We discussed how the family had changed through the years,
validating both perspectives.
In time, I was able to have Dalia’s father join us in some of the family meetings. He said he felt
Dalia’s behaviors were just a stage and part of being a teenager. Dalia’s parents disagreed openly
in our sessions, with each blaming the other for her behavioral issues. During these sessions, we
addressed how they each may have changed as their children matured and left home and how this
affected their availability to their youngest child. I helped them identify what made Dalia’s
experience distinct from her siblings’ and examine what her high-risk behaviors might be in
reaction to or symptomatic of in the family.
In the course of the family work, the realities of being a biracial family and raising mixed-race
children were also addressed. We discussed how the parents navigated race issues during their own
courtship and looked at the role of acculturation and assimilation with their children in their social
environments as well as respective families of origin. Educating both parents around race and
social class privilege seemed fruitful in understanding distinctions between what they and their
children may have faced.
After 12 weeks it was agreed that therapy would end because Dalia would be starting high
school and the family felt better equipped to address conflict. The family had made some changes
with the household schedule that increased parent–child contact, and Dalia agreed to more
structure in her schedule and accepted a position as a camp counselor in a local day camp for the
summer. Termination addressed what was accomplished in this portion of therapy and what might
be addressed in future counseling. The termination process included reviewing the strategies of
conflict resolution and creating opportunities for family contact and discussion in order to reinforce
those behavioral and structural changes that had led to improved communication and conflict
reduction.
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Case of Dalia
Dalia is a 14-year-old, biracial female of African and Irish American descent who resides with
her parents in a middle-class suburb. She is the youngest of three children and is currently the only
child remaining in the home. Dalia’s parents have been married for 25 years. Dalia’s father works
in the creative arts field with a nontraditional work schedule that has him gone overnight and
sleeping late into the morning. Dalia’s mother is an executive who works long hours. Dalia was
diagnosed with sickle cell anemia in early childhood and was hospitalized multiple times. At
present, Dalia’s health is stable with the last serious episode occurring 2 years ago.
Dalia’s parents reported that until middle school, Dalia was an easygoing, good-natured
youngster who enjoyed singing and participating in activities with her peers and family. Dalia
denied any problems with drugs or alcohol but admitted to drinking with friends. Dalia described
her family relationships as tense, stating, “My dad lets me do what I want” and “My mother is
always trying to control me.” Dalia described her relationship with her older brother, who lives in
another state, as “cool,” and her relationship with her older sister, a college sophomore, as “not
cool.”
Dalia’s parents sought out counseling services for behavioral issues on the recommendation of
her school. The issues included argumentative behavior with authority figures, physical
altercations with peers, poor concentration in class, irritable mood, verbal combativeness when
confronted, truancy, and highly sexualized behavior with male peers. At home, Dalia had become
more argumentative and physically threatening. Her parents had discovered that she and her
friends drank alcohol in their home. Dalia’s parents also reported that she was up most of the night
and slept most of the day. They also reported that her mood was highly irritable and that she was
extremely impulsive. She had no interest in getting involved with any extracurricular activities,
stating that those things are “corny and boring.”
In the first meeting, Dalia and her mother both appeared agitated with each other and became
argumentative when going through the intake information. Dalia quickly told me that she was not
planning to talk about anything because this meeting was her parents’ idea. She stated, “I don’t
have any problems, my parents do.” Soon into this first visit, Dalia blurted out that her mother was
upset with her because she had just shown her a tattoo she had had done recently, purchased by
using a fake ID. I acknowledged her news and asked if this was the way that she usually shared
important information with her mother. Dalia shrugged and stated, “I don’t know. I figure I better
her tell her now before she gets too busy.”
I asked both Dalia and her mother what their expectations were for counseling and what each
would like to get from these visits. Dalia’s mother seemed surprised and stated, “This is for her.
She better change her attitude and start to focus on school.” I explained that often it is helpful to
have sessions both individually and with family members. I pointed out that because family issues
were identified it might be productive to address them together. Dalia’s mother agreed to attend
some meetings but also stated that her time was limited. I was told that Dalia’s father would not
be able to join us because he was never available at that time.
Dalia and I began sessions alone, and her mother joined us for the second half. During the
family sessions, we addressed the communication breakdown between Dalia and her mother and
Dalia’s at-risk behaviors. Individual sessions were used to address her impulsive behavior and selfesteem issues.
In individual sessions, Dalia talked about how the family had changed since her sister left for
college. She said her parents stopped being present and available once her sister went away to
school. She said she spent more time on her own and her behavior was under more scrutiny. Dalia
also talked about her sister, describing her as an excellent student and very popular. She said her
teachers in middle school would often compare Dalia to her sister, making her feel unsuccessful
in comparison. During a family portion of a session, Dalia’s mother initially disagreed with Dalia’s
point of view regarding how the family had changed, stating, “She’s just trying to trick you.” I
encouraged them to discuss what was different about the family dynamics now compared to when
the older sister was at home. We discussed how the family had changed through the years,
validating both perspectives.
In time, I was able to have Dalia’s father join us in some of the family meetings. He said he felt
Dalia’s behaviors were just a stage and part of being a teenager. Dalia’s parents disagreed openly
in our sessions, with each blaming the other for her behavioral issues. During these sessions, we
addressed how they each may have changed as their children matured and left home and how this
affected their availability to their youngest child. I helped them identify what made Dalia’s
experience distinct from her siblings’ and examine what her high-risk behaviors might be in
reaction to or symptomatic of in the family.
In the course of the family work, the realities of being a biracial family and raising mixed-race
children were also addressed. We discussed how the parents navigated race issues during their own
courtship and looked at the role of acculturation and assimilation with their children in their social
environments as well as respective families of origin. Educating both parents around race and
social class privilege seemed fruitful in understanding distinctions between what they and their
children may have faced.
After 12 weeks it was agreed that therapy would end because Dalia would be starting high
school and the family felt better equipped to address conflict. The family had made some changes
with the household schedule that increased parent–child contact, and Dalia agreed to more
structure in her schedule and accepted a position as a camp counselor in a local day camp for the
summer. Termination addressed what was accomplished in this portion of therapy and what might
be addressed in future counseling. The termination process included reviewing the strategies of
conflict resolution and creating opportunities for family contact and discussion in order to reinforce
those behavioral and structural changes that had led to improved communication and conflict
reduction.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
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