Midterm Case Study Essay Samples

The death of husband is very disturbing for a wife, especially when she has to take care of children. Such wife becomes a victim of the low self-esteem, and several other health issues. However, such wives also develop negative thoughts regarding life and others. However, in this regard, a social worker can use evidence-based assessment, and convert the negative thinking of the wife into the positive thinking. The social worker can convert the negative statements into the positive talks. The social worker can use the evidence-based assessment for converting the hurtful thoughts of the wife into the positive and hopeful thoughts. However, the social workers can also adopt the coping strategies as well as coping efficacy in order to encourage optimistic behavior in the wife. The coping efficacy helps in effectual management of the stressful actions and events (Seaward, 2015). Further, the social worker should communicate openly and in an effective manner with the wife, and should adopt a clear and calm attitude whole communicating, so that the suffering woman feel confident that still there are some people who are there for help, and this helps in developing positive attitude in woman whose husband is dead.
Furthermore, for both the children the social worker should ensure development of the positive parent-child relationship. This is because children are already mentally disturbed with the death of their father, so it is necessary that they have positive and a friendly association for their mother. Since, one child is 14 years old and one is 7 years old, so the social workers have to adopt the convincing method according to the age and mentality of children. The social worker should try to know about the emotions of the child. A 14 year old child is capable of showing his anger, happiness, anxiety, and the guilt.A Social worker should understand the feeling of child so that it can be overcome in an effective manner in order to protect the child from the health diseases. For a 7 years old child, a social worker should engage the child in activities in order to divert the mind of the child, such as a social worker can engage a child in the art activities, and provide positive feedback on the work she does. For a 7 years old daughter, it is essential that the social worker encourage the mother to show parental warmth and affection for ensuring positive behavior.
The groups therapy as desired by the mother is an effective for reinforcing the positive attitude in the family members. After the completion of the initial assessment, the social worker can propose the treatment plan which comprises of suggestion for the mother to increase the positive family cohesions and to spend time with the family so that grief can be reduced and new identity of the family can be established. The death of a close family member affects the development of child (Shapiro, 1994). The social worker should consider the age of every member, especially children because there are certain ages of children in which they are highly sensitive. So, a social worker can suggest the mother to reduce the exposure of children, especially 7 years old daughter from the negative events of the life. According to Graham (2004), a child of five to nine years is in the operational stage of the cognitive development, and negative event can exert negative impact on their growth and development. Further, a social worker should try to induce operational thinking in children in order to make them understand the reality of losing an important member of the family, and make them understand that the loss is irreversible.

References

Graham, Philip, J. (2004). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Children and Families. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Seaward, Brain, L. (2015). Managing Stress. Jones and Barlett Learning, Colorado
Shapiro, Ester, R. (1994). Grief as a Family Process: A Developmental Approach to Clinical Practice. Gildford Press, New York