Child Abuse Counselling: A Case Study on Interviewing McLeod's Family

This case study delves into the aggressive behavior of a child named Jimmy, potentially stemming from a lack of paternal support and unknown familial relationships. The proposed solution emphasizes the importance of interviewing Jimmy's parents to uncover underlying factors contributing to his behavior. Preparatory activities include contacting the family, explaining the purpose of the investigation, and obtaining permission for a home visit to assess the family environment. Engagement strategies involve establishing rapport with family members, conducting one-on-one interviews to understand individual perceptions, providing emotional support to the mother, and communicating child protection acts to the father, all aimed at building a helping relationship and gathering accurate information. Desklib provides students access to similar solved assignments and study resources.

Running head: CHILD ABUSE COUNCELLING
CHILD ABUSE COUNCELLING
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

1CHILD ABUSE COUNCELLING
Assignment 1(300 w)
Part A
The case study helps one to understand that Jimmy’s aggressive behavior may be due to the lack
of support and affection from his father. It is also not known how Jimmy gets along with his
other members. Before doing further investigation, it is first necessary to interview his parents
and it may reveal some undermining facts that can be related to Jimmy’s behavior , which would
actually help the family and the social worker to work together for chalking out a treatment plan
for Jimmy (Wilson & Powell, 2012).
Preparatory activities for meeting McLeod’s family
 I would first call up the McLeod’s family and explain to him all the details regarding my
purpose of investigation.
 I would try to convince the family that their child needed care and it is our duty as a part
of the social worker.
 I would explain in details about our organization and would suggest them to have a one-
on-one interview.
 I will take permission from the McLeod’s, if the interview arrangement can be made at
their place, as that would help me to assess the ambience of the house and will also give
me a chance to interact with the other siblings.
 In case any confusion arises, regarding the authenticity of my qualification or the
organization. I would carry all the necessary documents with him.
 I would make arrangements such that all the documents are recorded electronically.

2CHILD ABUSE COUNCELLING
Engagement
 On meeting the family, I would try to establish a rapport with the family members, such
that they can freely express their concerns regarding Jimmy.
 After I have interacted with the family, I will go for a one on one interview as that would
help me to identify the perception of each and every family member.
 While interacting with Mrs. McLeod, I would try to assess what I how she feels about
Jimmy’s behavior or if she had identified any precipitating factors behind this.
 I would try to provide mental support to the mother and would assure her about the
confidentiality of our discussion. Words like, “We understand your concern and feel the
same”, “we assure you”, can really provide condolence to a concerned mother.
 As I encounter with Mr. McLeod, I would converse with him in a friendly tone yet in a
professional and dignified manner. I would personally try to assess what the he feels
exactly being the father of Jimmy, which can be done by the expressions. For example
facial grimacing can help us to understand the sense of disgust of discontent (Socha &
Stamp, 2013).
 I would make sure that I inform him everything about the litigations regarding the child
protection acts and the human rights.
 To establish a helping relationship, in order to extract the exact information.

3CHILD ABUSE COUNCELLING
References
Socha, T. J., & Stamp, G. H. (Eds.). (2013). Parents, children, and communication: Frontiers of
theory and research. Routledge.
Wilson, C., & Powell, M. (2012). A guide to interviewing children: Essential skills for
counsellors, police lawyers and social workers. Routledge.