Psychosocial Assessment Case Studies

Introduction Psychosocial assessment is a social work tool that helps a social worker summarize a client's problems that need to be worked on and to understand a client's mental health, social well-being, support systems, strengths, and barriers they face. The following paper is a psychosocial assessment written by a Wayne State University student based on a fictitious case study. The case study follows Tara, an African-American teen, who has run away from multiple foster homes and has come to live at a residential program. She has many different areas of concern reported by previous therapists, and foster parents such as: a history of abuse, a breakdown in relationship with her mother, and a romantic relationship that is demonstrating signs
She says she makes friends easily and maintains contact with the friends she made at each of her foster placements. She identifies as a member of the Baptist faith, and she finds participation within a church setting to be helpful and comforting. Tara expressed a desire to marry her boyfriend, Tyler, a 25-year-old man. This was a concern to her previous therapist, Ms. Ludwig, who documented that Tara has begun to withdraw from her friends. She believed this was a result of controlling behaviors exhibited by Tyler. Tara reported that Tyler had once grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her down a flight of stairs. Tara is in relatively good health according to her last medical exam. She is within normal limits for height, weight, and blood pressure. She declines usage of alcohol or drugs. However, her previous foster mother reported that Tara came home intoxicated on a few occasions. Tara is sexually active and reports that she does not use condoms. Her medical exam revealed that Tara had contracted gonorrhea and was subsequently treated with an antibiotic regime. She declined birth control when offered by her
Tara engages in unsafe sex and has already been treated for gonorrhea. If she continues to engage in unprotected sexual activity, the likelihood of her contracting another STD or becoming pregnant is high. Also, Tara has poor conflict resolution skills, which have presented challenges with her foster families and other residents at her facility. While Tara has presented a willingness to participate in therapy, she remains guarded about the abuse she suffered. Therefore, she will likely continue to manifest dysfunctional behavior patterns until she works through her thoughts and feelings regarding the