psychological theories
The purpose of this assignment is to facilitate students’ deeper understanding of the three psychological theories from this middle section of the course and how they can be used to guide practice with individuals and families.
This is not the type of assignment that students can complete the night before it is due. The questions in the prompt are designed to be challenging and to push students to understand the course material more deeply. They are as much an assessment of where students are at with the course material as they are part of the learning process in this course.
To begin, select one of the following case studies, as presented by Hutchison (2019). For your convenience, these cases have been duplicated at the end of this webpage below the section labeled “Rubric.”
“Anthony’s Impending Assessment” (p. 154)
“Carl’s Struggle for Identity” (p. 190)
Now, select two of the following theories as the focus for your assignment.
Social-cognitive theory
Psychodynamic theory
Attachment theory
Then, answer the questions below. Students should complete this assignment by developing well-formulated sections with respect to the following questions. No additional introductory or concluding sections are needed, nor are transition sentences between sections. The assignment should reflect students’ own thoughts and analysis—not that of classmates, work colleagues, or anybody else.
Section #1
Summarize the main points of the case study and show how it relates to material from text. Discuss which issues are normative for the given developmental phase (i.e adolescence, middle childhood) and show how an understanding of this can help you develop a plan of action for the client.
Section #2
Select one of the theories and discuss how it would frame your understanding of the case and guide what interventions you would use (integrating at least 2 key concepts from the theory). This analysis should include a discussion of the presenting problem, key areas to explore, and general directions for intervention, specific to the theory.
Section #3
Select one of the theories and discuss how it would frame your understanding of the case and guide what interventions you would use (integrating at least 2 key concepts from the theory). This analysis should include a discussion of the presenting problem, key areas to explore, and general directions for intervention, specific to the theory. Throughout this discussion, make explicit how the insights from this theory are similar or different from the theory discussed in section #2.
Section #4
Look at the implications for social work practice in your selected Hutchison chapter and. Select two, and state them verbatim. If you were going to actually be working with the client in the case study, discuss how this skill can enhance your practice from a certain theoretical orientation (for example, how would this skill help me better work with a client if I am working from attachment theory). How would you go about developing this skill “in real life”, citing specific examples.
