Social Work Theories and Practice: Caroline Kelly Case Study Analysis

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the Caroline Kelly case study, focusing on the application of two key social work theories: psychodynamic theory and systems theory. The introduction emphasizes the importance of social work theories in guiding practice, highlighting how they provide a framework for understanding client issues and informing interventions. The essay then delves into each theory, explaining their core concepts, strengths, and limitations. Psychodynamic theory is discussed in terms of its focus on internal processes, early childhood experiences, and the role of the subconscious. Systems theory is examined for its emphasis on the interconnectedness of individuals within their environment. The case study of Caroline Kelly, a 15-year-old with Down syndrome facing various challenges, is then analyzed through the lens of both theories. The essay explores how each theory helps to conceptualize the key issues in Caroline's case, including the impact of her mother's death, her diagnosis, and social media bullying. It proposes how each theory can inform a social work response, considering factors such as her emotional state, family dynamics, and social interactions. Finally, the essay weighs the strengths and limitations of each theory in the context of the case, providing a nuanced understanding of their applicability in social work practice.

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SOCIOLOGY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction:
The context of social work practice in relation to help clients enhance their wellbeing
brings the development of social work practice into the purview of our study. The success of
applying social work theory in practice depends how social practice is perceived and defined
by the social workers and at the same time identify the role played by the theory with relation
its practice. The major goal of the social work practice is to yield a positive and constructive
result while improve the conditions of the people who are being counselled through various
practices of social work (Gentle-Genitty, Chen, Karikari, & Barnett, 2014). The effectiveness
of social work also depends on the effective response of the clients which would only occur
when the social worker involved in delivering the service is equipped with adequate
knowledge and experience. It also greatly depends on the understanding of the social worker
on the needs and the requirement of the client. When discussing social work, it is a classical
debate whether theories are necessary for social work practice. This issue of conforming the
necessity of theories in delivering practice of social work, it has to be understood that these
the effective response and deliverance of social practice would definitely need the help of
theories which would actually back the practices with evidence and prove their competence
in the field. However on the contrary it has been argued by Beckett (2018) that the teaching
of theories to social workers for practice and that theories do not actually serve a good result
for teaching practice. Simon on this regard has contradicted the non-teaching of theories and
have stated that theories make the base of social framework on which the various social
practices can be developed, their rate of success or failures be evaluated and an overall
assessment of the social practice can be performed to make an evaluation of the outcome
(Howe, 2017).

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This paper will discuss a case study in the light of two different theories and will
propose a way to deliver effective response system for the case. The theories will be
discussed in brief and their positive and negative outcomes will be weighed and the reasons
for selecting these theories will be described to clearly state the reasons behind using these
theories in the social practice. Before the introduction of the case is done, a better
understanding of the various theories is required to get an idea of how the theories are used
and the way these theories are implemented to deliver effective results. Along with the most
important aspect of the theories will also be discussed after the case is introduced in the latter
section of the essay. The theories have various approaches that have to be understood to get a
clear picture of the theories that are to be implemented, therefore it is immensely understand
to get a basic idea about the various theories of the social work practice and the approaches
that they follow and the issues that re addressed by these theories. The basic theories in social
practice involve addressing the various psychosocial issues of the clients and of individuals.
The theories that will be discussed in the paper will include two major theories that
involves psychodynamics theories and system theories. Before we discuss the case study in
the light of the two theories we need to understand what these theories are, the way they are
implemented, the advantages and the disadvantages of this theories.
Psychodynamic Theory
Psychodynamic psychotherapy involves the internal processes of an individual and
include the needs, drivers and emotions that motivate the human behaviour. According to the
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, emotions have a major role in shaping human behaviour. The
motivating factor of the human behaviour is guided through the subconscious and the
conscious mental activity of the human mind and is extremely important in shaping the
human behaviour (Waddell, 1989). The psychodynamic theory also states that early
childhood experiences create a central pattern in the individual and therefore develops a

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central theory through the model. These childhood patterns are reflected throughout the
problems in the entire life and therefore it is immensely important for the social worker to
understand and identify the patterns from the childhood experiences (Steckley, 2018). The
theory also states that the individuals are many time overwhelmed through internal or
external demands and therefore these demands are to be noted carefully before applying
practice to any individual. These overwhelming results in creating an ego defense mechanism
for the individual whereby the individuals frequently use ego defense mechanisms to avoid
becoming overwhelmed by the external or the internal demands. In Social Work Practice, by
using the psychodynamic theory the worker generally uses at the early attachment
relationships of the client and the tries to relate the current scenario of trauma through the
developmental history of the client or the individual (Beckett, 2018). The social worker also
uses the theory to understand the dynamics of transference and countertransference which
outline the helping relationship of the client.
Since the psychodynamic theory involves dealing with the subconscious, there are
certain limitations to the implementation of the theory. The theory ignores biological
components and therefore ignores the biological components which can create a gap while
implementing this theory in social practice. The most important aspect of the psychodynamic
psychotherapy that limits it in implementation is that outcomes of the subconscious might be
hard to believe for the individuals and therefore the social work practice might not be fruitful
in delivering desired outcome.
System theory
The system theory tries to understand the reciprocal relationship of the individual and
its surrounding. The theory emphasises on the relationship of the elements that are around the

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individual and play a major part in shaping the mental framework of an individual. The
systems theory creates an understanding by taking into account the various role played by the
relationship among the individual, among the environment, the communities, various
organisations and the personal environment that is played by the environment of the
individual as a whole (Howe, 2017). The major aspect of the system theory is that it
emphasises on the interrelationship of the numerous elements in the nature through the
physical world, the biological world, the chemistry between the individual and the
environment, the social relationship. The systems theory helps us to understand and
differentiate between the social work and other professions through links of the social and the
personal and which state the purpose and the definition of the social work. It focuses on the
interactions across multiple systems mostly interpersonal, formal and informal systems. The
major advantage of the social system theory is that it allows to understand the complex social
problems. The theory also plays a role in determining individualistic intervention that do not
address the social justice issues and the issues of structural change.
The weaknesses of systems theory lies in the fact that it emphasizes the role played by
the various elements and believes in an equilibrium state through interdependency. The
theory believes in the development of the functional unity and a balance which is not always
possible since nature has its own laws and responds accordingly which is not explained by
the systems theory. The systems theory is very subjective in nature and cannot provide a
generalised idea about the any assessment. The complex nature of the systems theory
provided varied results depending on the scenario and therefore it cannot deliver a general
understanding and unless it is completely analysed based on its various parameters. Thus
systems theory fails to give a common idea about any social work practice and requires in-
depth analysis for implementation of the theory. The psychodynamic practice also fails to put
into use the social uses that affect an individual and also social work practice. This approach

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also reduces the opportunities and the range of interventions for social reform and also have
very few recommendations for social reform and social practice.
The case study
“Caroline KellyYou are a student on placement in a mainstream high school in the city. Your supervisor
Mike is the school counsellor. Caroline, a student at the school, is 15 years of age and has
Down syndrome. She lives with her father John and younger brother Tom aged 10.
Caroline’s mother died when she was nine years of age. Caroline has attended the high
school since she was age 12 and has achieved very well in her studies with the help of
Jenny, a committed and skilled teaching assistant.
Over the last year, Caroline’s progress with her studies has slowed down significantly and
Jenny has reported that she has trouble concentrating on her work and often becomes
angry and tearful in class.
Last week, John contacted the school head teacher and reported that Caroline told him
that one of the pupils at the school recently took a photograph of Caroline using their
mobile phone and posted it on Facebook (social media) with some disrespectful
comments. John also said that Caroline has been isolating herself in her room at home for
the past few months and has ceased attending her weekly social activities at the local
Church.
The head teacher has referred the matter to Mike. Mike has asked you to meet with
Caroline and John at the school.”
Looking at the above case study we can understand that Caroline has been experience
social trauma through various incidents which involved various incidents that have affected
Caroline. In this case we need to understand how Caroline’s Life has shaped and the way
they have affected her since her childhood. Through the social system theory we will identify
the various interactions that Caroline have experienced by interacting with her. The social
work practice through the development of the issues of Caroline involves the understanding
her background, her interaction with the social environment and the various incidents that
have affected her and have turned her into being isolated.

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Caroline is a victim of Down syndrome which makes her all the more vulnerable to the
social environment and the death of her mother at an early age of nine have left her with
emotional and social stress. The major implications of the issue that is involved here can be
identified as follows:
 Caroline is affected by Down syndrome, which makes it all the more difficult to
handle the social stress and the peer pressure.
 Caroline has lost her mother, so most her emotional comfort is unstable.
 Caroline has been in her teen age therefore it is obvious that she would be
experiencing various hormonal changes which can affect one’s emotional and mental
mood adversely.
 The peer pressure and the incident at school has drained her emotional capacity and
has made her very vulnerable. This can greatly lead to a damage to the emotional
quotient of Caroline and lead her to severe depression.
On meeting Caroline
On meeting Caroline, as a social worker we need to allow her express her anxiety or
emotional stress and make her comfortable through engaging her in activities and discussion.
Through this process we would be able to understand her perspective of the environment and
the relationship that she holds with the environment. Once this is understood through the
various activities that will be involved with Caroline, a better understanding of her emotional
aspect can be identified. The social systems theory when applied allows us to gauge the
impact of the environment and the various interactions that Caroline is experiencing. This
will allow us to understand her relationship with the family, the school and most importantly
with her peers which play a major role at the adolescent age.

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The psychodynamic psychotherapy will involve understanding the psyche of Caroline
and the way she creates defense mechanism to the outer world and the issue that make her
adopt certain defense strategies such as locking her up in a room or skipping school. The
psychodynamic theory will allow us to understand the needs, the priorities and the
subconscious and the conscious attributes of Caroline and therefore a social work practice
can be designed for Caroline to help her out of the current scenario. The most important
aspect of understanding Caroline will also involve a discussion session with her father and
her brother which would also give an idea about the various development that have occurred
within Caroline over the time and therefore a better understanding about her relationship with
her family can be understood.
The two different theories will enhance the understanding of the psyche of Caroline
and therefore we can create a social practice for Caroline to help her face the challenges and
also enable her to encounter the situations which otherwise make her adopt a defense
mechanism. The systems theory is extremely important in understanding the relationships of
Caroline with respect to her environment, her family with her brother and the relationship
that she had with her mother. This will also allow us to understand the attributes that allow
Caroline to draw her emotional power and thereby stress on that to help her become a strong
individual. The aspect of Down syndrome is also important and has to be noted that these
elements create a conscious and more importantly a subconscious aspect of the issues that
develop only with the various experiences throughout her life (Steckley, 2018). Through this
theory of psychodynamics we can understand the internal strengths and the weaknesses of
Caroline which can allow us to shape her mental framework in accordance with her
environment. This theory coupled with the systems theory will allow to us to understand
Caroline better but will give us very great opportunity to figure out the aspects of Caroline
that have been ignored with relation to her likings and dislikes. The theories when put to

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practice of social work can bring out effective results and as for the case of Caroline it would
allow us to design a coping mechanism for Caroline which at the same time would allow her
to deal with her environment and also make her internally stronger than she currently is
(O’Sullivan, 2019).
Conclusion:
The theories that have been discussed therefore gives us an idea about the understanding
social practice and their implementation. The most important aspect of the issues that these
theories allow us understand is the psyche of an individual which involves the unconscious
and the conscious aspects. These aspects when analysed in the light of the system theory
gives a better understanding of the individual’s character and response mechanism. This
theories when applied to the case study gives us an real life understanding of how these
theories can help understanding individuals and therefore enable the social workers to create
more constructive practice approaches which can bring effective results. It is However also
important to note that not all cases may be handled with similar theories and it depends
entirely on the requirement of the individual and the problem at hand. Therefore before
identifying the various attributes of the scenario the selection of the theories had to be done
and also the strategies that have to be implemented the field has to be devised on the basis of
the theory which would ensure a better organisation of the social practice and would also
yield a better result that is desired from the social work practice.

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