Important Requirement for a Youth Worker Study

Running head: YOUTH WORK
Youth Work
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1YOUTH WORK
Topic 1- Assessment of co-existing needs
There are high rates of mental illness among people suffering from autism spectrum
disorders, intellectual disabilities, drug and alcohol abuse, physical disabilities, problematic
gambling and brain injuries. Therefore, coexisting disorders refers to clients who report mental
illness and substance abuse. This part of the assessment will focus on three clients who reported
mental disorders along with coexisting needs. The interviews will provide a gateway to the
health of the clients. There were three patients. Mr. Borgart was suffering from paranoid
schizophrenia. Mr. Sly was the second client who reported symptoms of severe depression and
had made several suicide attempts. Ms. Townsend was the third client suffering from acute
psychotic disorder. Mr. Borgart and Mr. Sly were questioned for the interview.
Interview 1 (Mr. Borgart)
Where are you from?
I am from the Logan village in Queensland and 55 years of age.
Are you employed?
I owned a flower shop. My recent mental illness worsened my condition and I was unable to
work properly. Presently, my son looks after my business.
Have you ever been to a psychiatric hospital?
Yes, I have been admitted to the hospital twice by my son and am currently under medications.
What symptoms do you generally manifest?

2YOUTH WORK
I have become suspicious of my family members and think that my son is trying to poison me. I
feel social withdrawal and difficulty to sleep. I often hear strange sounds that instruct me to jump
off my terrace.
Do these sounds seem real?
Oh, yes.
Did you try to follow their instructions?
Yes, I tried to jump off the terrace but my son saved me.
Interview 2 (Mr. Sly)
Where are you from?
I am from Cabarlah, Queensland and have been living there since birth.
Are you employed?
I am working as an assistant at a childcare centre.
Tell me about the mental issues you face
I feel hopeless and irritable all the time. I do not feel the urge to go to work everyday and find it
difficult to concentrate and remember details. I often get suicidal ideation and have attempted
suicide thrice, but failed to succeed.
How is your relationship with family?

3YOUTH WORK
My family thinks my behavior is normal and did not take any initiative for a doctor’s
appointment. My friends provided me assistance and support and helped me meet a doctor to
treat my condition.
On interviewing the two clients I realized that Mr. Borgart faces impaired awareness.
Although the client knew that he had a most disorder, he sought treatment for it. I found massive
denial of the reality of hallucinations to be a primary concern (Barcg and Ceaser 2012). On the
other hand, a person does not recovery from depression overnight. Encouragement from family
and leads a patient to a healthier lifestyle and assists them to maintain a positive outlook
(Levens, Elrahal and Sagui 2016). Family support helps in improving wellness of the patients.
Moreover, I realized that it is necessary for the family to recognize the warning signs of suicidal
thoughts among such patients to prevent adverse outcomes (Turecki and Brent 2016). Lack of
adequate family support worsened Mr. Sly’s condition.
My future actions to achieve the intended goals would be:
 Approach schools to support education among students with mental illness
 Create a befriending program with community support to assist patients
 Develop mass awareness through posters and pamphlets to reduce stigma and
discrimination
 Build collaboration between schools and communities to train peers for providing mental
support (Kawakami and Kobayashi 2015)
Strength based interventions depend on focusing that that humans have capacity for growth
and change. Often people have knowledge needed to define the problems of their situations. This