SWTP622: Social Work Assessment Framework - A Case Study of Jason

This case study examines the situation of Jason, a 16-year-old Chinese Malaysian teenager in Australia, using a social work assessment framework. Jason faces conflict with his parents regarding his career aspirations (arts versus family business) and is experiencing an identity crisis, leading to withdrawal, drug use, and a suicide attempt. The assessment involves gathering information about Jason's background, family dynamics, and social relationships, particularly his friendship with Troy. A multidimensional approach is proposed, considering physical, psychological, social, structural, and cultural dimensions. Intervention strategies include addressing Jason's immediate needs (drug use, mental health), fostering communication with his parents, leveraging art therapy, and involving school resources. Ethical considerations include cultural sensitivity and ensuring Jason's well-being throughout the intervention process. The goal is to provide Jason with the necessary support to overcome his challenges and improve his mental and physical health.

Running head: CASE STUDY OF JASON THROUGH SOCIAL ASSESSESMENT FRAMEWORK
CASE STUDY OF JASON THROUGH SOCIAL ASSESSESMENT FRAMEWORK
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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CASE STUDY OF JASON THROUGH SOCIAL ASSESSESMENT FRAMEWORK
Case scenario: Jason
This case study is concerned with Jason who is an 16 year old teenager of Chinese
Malaysian ethnicity. Jason’s family history tells that his parents migrated to Australia when
he was four years old. Jason has two sisters who were born in Australia. In Jason’s case, the
main issue identified is that there is a conflict of interest between him and his parents. His
parents want him to pursue higher education and remain in core academics whereas Jason is
inclined towards arts. His father wants him to bequeath the legacy of the family business
whereas Jason wants to purse arts and aims to build a career in arts. Apart from this conflict
of interest between Jason’s family and Jason’s personal interest, another issue has plaguing
the family. Recently, Jason has been found to have become withdrawn, reticent and prefers
isolation. He has befriended a boy named Troy who is bullied by his peers for his so-called
effeminate nature. It is being predicted that Jason’s proximity with the boy has led him to a
whirlpool of gender and identity crisis. As a result, Jason have resorted o drugs as a coping
mechanism to fight against this complexity. Jason has attempted suicide and has become a
patient of depression. Therefore, this case study of Jason would give me, the social work
supervisor of Jason’s school to analyse his issues and suggest a social work assessment plan
to deal with his problem.
Social work assessment framework and knowledge of social in the
treatment of Jason: Short-term and long-term concerns
According to Payne (2014), the term assessment refers to the process of collecting
information about specific factors that have implications on the life a person like the origin of
the person, family, ethnic identity, and membership to a community or an organization. The
interpretation of the available information, and identification and assessment of the strength
and weakness of the client follow this (Haggerty, 2016). This further entails mutually agreed

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upon intervention strategies that would alleviate the plight and ordeal of the patients. This
selection of the appropriate intervention would be helpful in dealing with the case of Jason.
Considering the first step in the procedure of social work assessment it is important to collect
information and then embarking on a systematic analysis (Hepworth et al., 2013). In Jason’s
case it can be found that his parents have migrated to Australia from China when he was four
years old, therefore his ethnic background is different. Secondly, it can be found that he
speaks different language from that of the dominant Australians. Thirdly, a communication
gap has been widened by the conflict of interest between Jason and his family. On the
financial front, Jason’s parents have their family business and there is not enough data to
support whether the business is successful. However, given the condition that his family
wants him to take over the business it may be assumed that their family restaurant is doing a
decent business. Therefore, financial constraint is not an issue in case of Jason. Jason has
become completely repulsive towards academics and have a recluse post his friendship with
Troy. Art is his passion and therefore, art can be understood as his strength. It needs to be
understood that Jason is an involuntary client as he was not the one to approach me with his
problems but it was the counsellor of the school who has sent me to assist him. Therefore, I
need to make my position and role clear to Jason.
I would request him to share his views about the changing scenario and the trigger
that led him to become a recluse. I would also request him to share his views about his family
and is there any tension between the two parties. I would maintain confidentiality and respect
the code of ethics during the course of interaction. This assessment will be addressed though
a solution-based approach (Groenewoud et al., 2015). The immediate goal would be to
identify whether gender is going through a gender identity crisis especially after his
interaction with Troy he has felt that he cannot identify with his given gender role. The
short-term goal would be to remove the drugs and anti-depressants in possession of Jason and

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talk with him. This will enable him to ease his pain and articulate his suppressed voice. The
long-term goal would be to rebuild the trust between Jason and his parents. Since, art plays an
instrumental role in Jason’s life art therapy can be used where Jason can be asked to articulate
his feelings through pictures and therefore, it would become a medium to vent out his angst
(Sorokin, 2017). It is also important to find whether the Confucian belief prohibits the gender
fluidity and Jason’s family being a strong believer of the Confucian religion may have impact
on Jason’s psyche.
Multidimensional framework of social work
After the completion of the initial assessment it can be compounded that the
multidimensional approach as propounded by Harms (2010) and the collaborative approach
as propounded by Maidment & Egan (2015) is most appropriate in this situation.
` The multi-dimensional approach would be effective in understanding the role and
impact of different social factors and institutions that circumscribe the life of an individual
Physical
dimensions
Psychological
dimensions
Spiritual
Dimensions
Social
Dimensions
Structural
Dimensions
Cultural
Dimensions
Age: 16 Language
capacity:
Chinese and
English (since he
has moved to
Australia,
although no
clear data is
available)
Religious
institution link:
Confucianism
Relationship
with the
family: Family,
mother and two
sisters
Financial
circumstances:
Have their
restaurant
business
Ethnicity:
Chinese
Malaysian
Sex: Male Sense of Relationship Legal Cultural beliefs

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motivation: Not
motivated and
have become
withdrawn and
prefers to remain
in isolation
with friends: no
other friends
except for Troy
circumstances:
There is no legal
history of Ivanka
and practices:
Needs more
exploration as
it is not clearly
mentioned in
the case
scenario
Physical health Mental health:
she is an
Suffering from
depression and
isolation and
have attempted
suicide.
Therefore, he
has suicidal
symptoms
Socio-economic:
Chinese
Malaysian
migrant in
Australian
belongs to a
middle-income
family
Drug use:
Drugs and anti-
depressants
Although the above information is useful for the case study of Jason, however the
data is not sufficient to address the current issues plaguing his life. Therefore, it can be
inferred that there is a lacunae in the information. Some of these gaps are that whether it is
the cultural belief that creating any hindrance for Jason to deal with this supposed gender
crisis and therefore, seek refuge in drugs and isolation as an alternative. It is important to talk

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with Troy and study the nature of conversations they had to understand the trigger that
pushed Jason to the present situation. Another information, that is absent is that whether
Jason has ever tried to communicate about this to his family and in return he was admonished
and his voice got suppressed due to the fear of stigmatization. It is also important to know
whether there is any history of drug addiction in Jason’s family. Supplement of all these
information would be more helpful in studying the situation of Jason.
Intervention strategy
After gathering all these information, a transformation can be brought in the life of
Jason through synergy and help. The first step would be to contexualized the situation of
Jason to understand whether there are any internal beliefs that have exacerbated his present
situation. The next step would be to outline the goals that he aims to achieve and the hallmark
of these sessions that I am going to conduct with Jason (Milner & O’Byrne, 2015). Therefore,
keeping all these in mind, my intervention strategy would involve two steps one would be to
ensure that there are necessary resources so that his goals are met without any problem. The
second strategy would be to ensure that Jason is able to identify the strength and tap its use.
The third strategy would be slacken the communication gap between Jason and his parents
and sensitize his family about Jason’s internal conflict and that he needs the support of his
family to come out of this situation. Considering his present academic decline, my suggestion
would be to the academic skill unit of the school to take care of him and pay attention to class
participation. Regarding his drug addiction, my role would be to sensitize him about the
negative impact of drugs on the mental and physical health of an individual (Trotter, 2015).
Since art can play a therapeutic role, I would keep him busy with art work. I would also place
him away from Troy as the presence of the latter may have negative impact for Jason and
hinder in his rehabilitation. I would also meet and talk with Jason’s parents, understand their

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CASE STUDY OF JASON THROUGH SOCIAL ASSESSESMENT FRAMEWORK
viewpoints and make them collaborators in the recovery of Jason. This will foster a closer
bond between Jason and his family.
Professional values and ethics
The Australian Association of Social Work (AASW), 2010 along with Socila Work
Practice Standards would guide me in the adoption of values and ethics in dealing with the
case of Jason. My goal would be to prioritize Jason’s interest and make him a participant in
his recovery. I would not try to make him feel guilty for drug abuse but rather would be a
friend and embolden him to come out of the situation. I would keep all our conversations
confidential and sensitize him about his right as a client. Since he belongs to a different
ethnic background it would be my responsibility to respect that diversity and proceed with the
intervention. Since he is dealing with identity crisis, I need to ensure that he does not feel
stigmatized.
Ethical dilemmas
One ethical dilemma in this context is that I do not have the adequate knowledge
about his ethnicity and the cultural practises. This may make my position as an outsider all
the more prominent. Secondly, I need to ensure that at no point Jason feels stigmatized or
ashamed of his activities (Giurgiu & Marica, 2013). The third ethical dilemma would be to
convince his family to under the dimension of gender fluidity and the possibility of an
alternative career choice for Jason based on his interest.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be stated that Jason should be intervened through a solution centred
approach and a multi-dimensional approach to deal with his drug abuse. Jason’s family

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should also be made participants in this endeavour as it would provide Jason the necessary
support to battle his declining mental and physical health condition. During the course of the
intervention, I would maintain the professional and personal ethics and values of social work
as enshrined in AASW Ethics (2010) and Practice Standards (2013).
References
Australian Association of Social Workers. (2010). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from
https://www.aasw.asn.au/
Australian Association of Social Workers (2013) Practice standards. Canberra: AASW.
http://www.aasw.asn.au/practitioner-resources/practice-standards.
Giurgiu, L. R., & Marica, M. A. (2013). Professional values in social work students and mid-
career practitioners: A comparative study. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences,76, 372-377.
Groenewoud, S., Van Exel, N., Bobinac, A., Berg, M., Huijsman, R., & Stolk, E. A. (2015).
What influences patients' decisions when choosing a health care provider? Measuring

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CASE STUDY OF JASON THROUGH SOCIAL ASSESSESMENT FRAMEWORK
preferences of patients with knee arthrosis, chronic depression, or Alzheimer's disease, using
discrete choice experiments. Health services research, 50(6), 1941-1972.
Haggerty, K. (2016). Ethics creep: Governing social science research in the name of ethics.
In Engaging with Ethics in International Criminological Research (pp. 29-51).
Routledge.
Harms, L. (2010). Understanding human development: A multidimensional Approach (2nd
ed.). Australia: Oxford University Press.
Hepworth, D.H., Rooney, R.H., Rooney, G.D., Strom-Gottfried, K., & Larsen, J. (2013).
Direct social work practice: Theory and skills (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Chapter 14.
Maidment, J., & Egan, R. (20015). (Eds.) (3rd ed.). Practice skills in social work and
welfare: More than just common sense. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin.
Milner, J., & O’Byrne, P. (2015). Assessment in social work. (4th ed.). New York: Palgrave,
Macmillan.
Payne, M. (2014). Modern social work theory (4th ed.). Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Sorokin, P. (2017). Social and cultural dynamics: A study of change in major systems of art,
truth, ethics, law and social relationships. Routledge.
Trotter, C. (2015). Working with involuntary clients: a guide to practice. (3rd ed.). St.
Leonards, Australia: Allen and Unwin.

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