Application of Social Work Models to a Case

The Ecological Life Model Approach To Anne's Case

The Ecological Life Model was originally developed by Carla B. Germain (1980). This model explained social work practice in terms of life transitions, interpersonal dynamics, and environment. Applied to Anne's situation, the model would hold that Anne's emotional disturbance arose as a result of her transactions with an ongoing stressful environment; this because the model holds that it is the interrelationship or transaction between a stressful environment and the child which make for psychological problems.

The model, therefore, holds that assessment should be directed toward determining those stressors producing the problem. With respect to Anne, even a cursory perusal of the case would indicate stress arising from family interactions and relationships (an addictive mother and grandmother most likely interact with Anne in a dysfunctional manner). Also, with respect to the environment, Anne's life has been one of ever changing placement; this also would be highly stressful due to the lack of continuity and stability so important to making a child feel secure.

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nt. The third principle of the functional approach is that case work is an ongoing process in which the client determines the goal and the social worker steers the process. Treatment in the functional approach centers around the worker: (1) arriving at a diagnosis by attempting to both ascertain the service need and the client's general views and feelings about that need; (2) reducing client fears so as to work together toward a common goal; (3) assisting the client to use the helping service(s); (4) structuring the intervention in a time-efficient matter; and (5) identifying how the agency can best respond to the client's identified purpose. With respect to Anne, the functional model would attempt to diagnose her service needs; e.g. need for placement, need for certain types of psychological services, need for educational services, need for behavioral control, and so forth. Once these needs had all been identified, there would be discussions with Anne, her family members, and relevant others in which the worker would attempt to explain the goals, objectives, processes, purposes, etc. of the services. This explanation would be focused toward showing the family how services will meet their purposes with respect to remediating
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Some common words found in the essay are:
John Dewey, Virginia Robinson, Youth Consultation, Psychosocial Model, Life Model, Center Anne, Applied Anne's, Gordon Hamilton, Pennsylvania Press, Robert White, problem-solving approach, family therapy, psychosocial model, life model, service delivery, ecological life model, ecological life, functional model, social worker, social practice, ego functioning, columbia university press, ny columbia university, child care development, care development center,
Approximate Word count = 2657
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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