Ecological Context Of Client Analysis

Ecological Context of Client

The ecological context of an individual is critical to social work practice when examining and assessing a client’s situation. It provides a perspective from which a client’s relations and interactions with the larger society in which they find themselves is viewed. In this paper, I will assess the current situation of my client Margo—a 17 year-old high school student from my previous role play, whose issues predominantly involve a lack of social connections and supports, as well as progressive anxiety and worry as a result. I will further discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the person-in-environment perspective along with the strengths-based approach that has come to be the at the core of social work
As children, it is often our families that act as the primary agent of socialization until we begin to explore the world and others around us in more depth as we grow. Understandably, the importance that one’s nuclear family has on an individual cannot be understated as it from them that we are introduced to the world and learn basic values, norms, beliefs, and ways of being; their influence is the backbone from which we view and understand our interactions and relationships with others and our environment. From a family therapist perspective, it is believed that the development of individual problems is often the result of dysfunction within the family unit (Collins et al., 2013, p. 9). Margo’s nuclear family consists of her mother, her father, and her two younger brothers. At 17 years of age, Margo is still dependent on her family for meeting primary needs. While this is a time where independence, limits, and one’s self-concept is explored, Margo is arguably at an emphasized disadvantage as weak family bonds and personal supports have not seemed to allow her to develop the self-esteem and confidence to discover her capabilities and capacities as an individual. In many ways, the lack of meeting Margo’s emotional and psychological needs by her family has paradoxically stressed the necessity of the family to help fulfill
As expressed by Margo in our prior interview, her mother “sort of lives in her world of reading and smoking so she’s not really approachable… [she] pretends like everything’s fine.” As for her experience of her father, he is often absent due to long business trips and his personality isn’t conducive to having established any type of strong bond that promotes communication with Margo. The addition of having two younger brothers with whom Margo seems to have a relationship of ambivalence with, doesn’t provide a meaningful connection