engagment strategy

Engagement Strategy
Major Obstacles
Joseph, the client, is a 70 year old Jewish-American homosexual male who shows signs of being a victim of domestic violence. Joseph appears malnourished and bruising on his forearms is visible. He voluntarily asked to speak with a social worker/therapist to discuss low income housing options for him and his partner, Marcus.
There are four major obstacles that a therapist would need to consider during their first meeting. First, victims of domestic violence (DV) are often in denial of the abuse and this is a safety issue that can easily lead to Joseph being homeless, seriously injured, or dying from the abuse. Second, since Joseph is over
65 years old, there is also the possibility of elder abuse. The therapist would need to gather enough information to see if this is reportable to Adult Protective Services (APS) or local law enforcement. Third, as a gay male, Joseph may not have the same type of resources or support from the Jewish community as would a heterosexual male. The Jewish community tends to have more of a conservative viewpoint.
The therapist would need to be sensitive and considerate of the lack of resources that clients may have.
Fourth, Joseph is elderly and that puts him in a vulnerable situation where he may have other high risk factors that should be explored in addition to just finding lower income housing. Joseph is facing multiple isms as an elderly homosexual, and the discrimination that comes from being a domestic violence victim.
In addition, since mandated reporting is a possibility, building a trusting relationship may be an obstacle.
Victims may misinterpret a social worker’s intentions and easily blame the social worker for reporting the abuse.

Countertransference
According to Hepwarth, Rooney, Rooney, and Strom-Gottfried (2012), “Countertransference refers broadly to the ways that a worker’s experience and emotional reactions influence his or her perception of and interactions with a client.” My training and experience as a formal police officer and DV advocate,
I would be extremely bothered if Joseph is not willing to deal with the domestic violence issue first. DV calls are one of the most frustrating dispatches that officers can get, because many times the officers are willing to help the victim by writing a thorough report, booking the suspect, and referring the victim to multiple resources for assistance, but often the victim will drop the charges, not testify, and not go forward with the referrals. Instead, officers are called back to a victim’s house where the victim is still with the abuser.
I understand that as a social worker it is important to start from where the client is and it is necessary to make systematic steps to connect with the client and gradually empower them. Countertransference would take place in this case, me knowing the urgency of the matter, and I would look for an opportunity to report this crime as elder abuse or DV. I will probably have a very low tolerance seeing

an elder malnourished with a bruise, thus my focus will be geared towards the abuse or putting the suspect in custody more than anything else at this point. Even as a therapist, I would not be passive about this issue; instead I would have the urge to articulate in my mandated report in such a way that the proper authority will have to take action. Being passive would mean I would only ask basic questions to see if Joseph would be willing to share more about the bruises and possible relationship conflicts that he may have, but not be as persistent. My countertransference would probably influence me to be very persistent and spend most of my session on that issue, not on the low income housing. I know that if the criminal elements are met, I have enough probable cause information to report the crime not only as elder abuse, but also as domestic violence. If I can properly articulate and report the crime to local law enforcement, they would be mandated to investigate and, at a minimum, visit with
Joseph and Marcus.
Research
There are multiple theoretical and practical perspectives to recognize when a therapist is working with
Joseph, the client. This section will briefly discuss sexual orientation, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender
Questioning and Queer Intersexed (LGBTQI) perspective under the empowerment theory, heterosexism, ageism, and the concept of intersectionality.
Joseph is a gay Jewish male who is attracted to the same gender to satisfy physical and affectional needs.
According to Green and Peterson (2003-2004), homosexual is defined as “a person primarily emotionally, physically, and/or sexually attracted to members of the same sex.” It is highly likely that Joseph is disconnected from and discriminated against by the Jewish community. Mariner explains that in the
Halakhic tradition (Jewish law), homosexual Jews are no longer considered as Jews - “there is no room in society for the sodomist (referring to gays) who is, as it were ‘the Jew who must not be allowed to be.’”
(1995). Thus, Joseph may feel a sense of alienation and marginalized due to his sexual orientation. It is important to know where Joseph is in terms of acceptance and if sexuality is a presenting issue, understanding the stages (six development stages: identity confusion, comparison, tolerance, acceptance, pride, or synthesis) is even more important.
Joseph not only faces heterosexism, but also ageism – he is a 70-year-old elderly man. Ageism is a form of discrimination and prejudice, particularly experienced by seniors (“Ageism,” 2013). Being an elderly man puts Joseph further into oppression from society. In addition, he lacks the support in overcoming
DV and finding low income housing, which shows that he also faces economic discrimination or classism.
Joseph may be faced with multiple forms of discrimination due to ethnicity, sexual orientation, social economic class, age, and religious preference. In other words, he is an individual facing intersectionality.
Intersectionality is a “theoretical concept that examines the ways that various socially and culturally constructed identity categories interact to produce, maintain and perpetuate inequality in society”
("Glossary," 2012). Looking through the intersectionality perspective, the therapist can better analyze
Joseph’s life experience because it looks at multiple dimensions that intersect and creates a variance of oppression. Engagement Strategy

When engaging clients for the first time, it is important to meet the client where they are. Respectfully, every client has their own unique background and belief systems, and a good therapist or social worker should create a safe holding environment, pay attention by actively listening to his or her concerns, and aim to build rapport with the client. The therapist should always be mindful of transference and countertransference issues that may arise, and always maintain good boundaries and accountability through supervision.
Joseph’s rights include confidentiality, but circumstances in which it might be abridged must be discussed before going into assessment or giving advice. In Joseph’s case, explaining the limits of confidentiality is important. Especially because the supervisor has already shown concern about the possibility of elder abuse or DV, this may be a case where a therapist would need to report the incident to the proper authorities to seek appropriate help (Hepworth et al., 2012).
After addressing the confidentiality issue, there are multiple ways to start engaging with the client.
Although there are multiple styles and approaches, the main goal is to build rapport and “the key to rapport is to attend to the feeling of another person. Consider how the person feels. After attending to the patients feeling, the next step is to respond to those feelings (Mariner, 1995). Some of the key elements to establishing rapport include something as simple as: showing respect to the client, introducing oneself, sharing one’s role as a social worker, affirmations, validation, and being mindful of one’s body language. When done successfully, Joseph will feel safer and possibly more receptive towards the treatment or intervention that a therapist may present. Not to mention, the therapist can gather more information to complete a thorough holistic biopsychosocial assessment, which is vital to understanding the client’s past and present condition.