Assessment questions guided by attachment theory

Assignment 1: Cultural Competence

As with all areas of the social work process, cultural competence is essential when engaging and assessing a child’s concerns. Being culturally competent includes understanding the unique needs of your client and asking how those needs can be fulfilled. Using an empowerment perspective treating clients as experts on their lives and their needs is essential. Not only does this establish your commitment to being culturally sensitive and aware, but it will enhance the therapeutic relationship. While it is essential to learn and master social work skills and techniques to be a successful practitioner, another significant indicator of a successful intervention is the relationship a social worker builds with his or her client. Some research suggests that the quality of the therapeutic relationship will account for 30% of the clinical outcome of the treatment (Miller, Duncan, and Hubble, 2005, as stated in Walsh, 2010, p. 7). Exhibiting a dedication to learning about a client’s culture, history, and current environmental factors exemplifies a social worker’s desire to build that client–worker bond.

For this Assignment, read the case study for Claudia (in attachments) and find two to three scholarly articles on social issues surrounding immigrant families.

In a 3 page paper, explain how the literature informs you about Claudia and her family when assessing her situation.

· Describe two social issues related to the course-specific case study for Claudia that inform a culturally competent social worker.

· Describe culturally competent strategies you might use to assess the needs of children.

· Describe the types of data you would collect from Claudia and her family in order to best serve them.

· Identify other resources that may offer you further information about Claudia’s case.

· Create an eco-map to represent Claudia’s situation. Describe how the ecological perspective of assessment influenced how the social worker interacted with Claudia.

· Describe how the social worker in the case used a strengths perspective and multiple tools in her assessment of Claudia. Explain how those factors contributed to the therapeutic relationship with Claudia and her family.

Support your Assignment with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

Assignment 2: Application of Attachment Theory to a Case Study

As you have read, theory guides the conceptualization of the client’s problem and how social workers assess and intervene relative to the problem. However, theory can also shape the self-reflective questions social workers ask themselves. Clients often come to social workers under stress or distress. This then affects how the social worker responds and thus the client-social worker relationship. As a result, Foley, Nash, and Munford (2009) employed attachment theory as a “lens in which to view the reflective process itself and to gain greater understanding and empathy for what each social worker within each unique social work-client relationship can access of that relationship for reflection”.

This week, you will apply attachment theory to the case study of Tiffani Bradley from Week 2 (in attachments). In other words, your theoretical orientation—or lens—is attachment theory as you analyze the case study.

To prepare:

· Review the same case study of Tiffani Bradley (in attachments). (Remember, you will be using this same case study throughout the entire course). Use the “Dissecting a Theory and Its Application to a Case Study” (in attachments) worksheet to help you dissect the theory. You do not need to submit this handout. It is a tool for you to use to dissect the theory, and then you can employ the information in the table to complete your assignment.

· Review attachment theory and the following article listed in the Learning Resources: Foley, M., Nash, M., & Munford, R. (2009). Bringing practice into theory: Reflective practice and attachment theory. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work Review, 21(1/2), p39–47. Retrieved http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol21iss1-2id318 (in attachments)

Submit a 2 page case write-up that addresses the following:

· Summarize the assumptions of attachment theory in 2 to 3 sentences.

· Identify the problem in your chosen case study to be worked on from an attachment theory perspective.

· Explain how attachment theory defines and explains the cause of the problem in one to two sentences.

· Develop two assessment questions that are guided by attachment theory that you would ask the client to understand how the stress or distress is affecting the client.

· Discuss two interventions to address the problem. Remember, the theory should be driving the interventions. In other words, you would not identify systematic desensitization since this is not an intervention guided by attachment theory.

· Formulate one self-reflective question that is influenced by attachment theory that you can ask yourself to gain greater empathy for what the client is experiencing.

· Explain which outcomes you could measure to evaluate client progress based theory.

Be sure to:

· Identify and correctly reference the case study you have chosen.

· Use literature to support your claims.

· Use APA formatting and style.

· Remember to double-space your paper.