Assignment
Overview
Understanding and working with human development across the lifespan is essential for counselors. Learning how biological, ps ychological, social, and cultural factors contribute to the lifespan developmental process is key to helping counselors conceptualize client cases. Grasping the human developmental process with all the contributing factors requires a strong insight into developmental theories. Applying foundational knowledge of developmental theories is the guide to conceptualizing clients from multiple perspectives.
In this assessment, you will be tasked with creating a Data Assessment Plan (DAP) Case Note by applying a developmental theor y to one of the two client scenarios listed below. The developmental theory you choose will give you a specific l ens for understanding the client and presenting issue(s). This assessment will assist in strengthening your understanding of human development across the lifespan and developmental theories and shape your professional identityas a counselor and how you work with clients.
Client Scenario Options:
Case 1: Mary
Mary is a 21-year-old African American female, self-referred for inpatient treatment due to drug and alcohol use. She is from and still lives in New York City. She is currently unemployed and homeless and has charges pending due to a number of "bounced" checks written over the past several months. Mary has had several part-time jobs that she has been fired from or she abruptly quit. While in high school, she had aspirations of being an architect. Mary's mother was a heavy drug user while pregnant with her. When Mary was born, she was addicted to crack and spent several month s in the hospital. Mary reports that both of her parents were drug addicts and she experienced physical, sexual, and emotional abu se throughout childhood at their hands. Her father died of liver disease at the age of 37.
Mary also reports that at the age of 14, she was kicked out of her family's home because her father suspected that she was gay. Although they live in the same town, she has not had any contact with her mother for 7 years. Mary describes her relationship with her older sister as "fair." Mary is not presently involved in a steady relationship, but she does have a network of friends in the local gay community whom she has been staying with off and on. Mary has serious trust issues and does not have anyone she can open up to in her support network. At the time that she left home, Mary survived by becoming involved in sexual relationships with older men, many of whom were also abusive. She has had numerous sexual partners (both male and female) over the past 7 years, has traded sex for drugs and money, has had sex under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and has been made to have sex against her will. Mary struggles with her identity and sexual orientation and considers herself as bisexual, not gay.
Mary first used alcohol at age 14, when she had her first sexual encounter with a man. She began using other drugs, including inhalants and marijuana, by age 16 and amphetamines and cocaine by age 19. At 21, four months prior to entering treatment, she began using crack.
Case 2: Sal
Sal Franco is a 74-year-old man, living alone in an apartment complex for older adults. Sal has been referred to counseling for feelings of "loneliness" and difficulty coping with health issues. Sal and his wife, Maria, owned and operated a small, local grocery for 44 years (they emigrated from Italy when they were newlyweds at age 19). They sold the business to their son Dominic when Sal turned 70. The plan was to enjoy travel and retired life together.
However, shortly after retiring, Maria was diagnosed with an aggressive leukemia, and she died within 4 months. Mr. Franco has been living alone for over 3 years. Because Sal and Maria spent most of their time working and being involved with family activities, there are few close friends in his life. Dominic's family has Sal to dinner every Sunday, but he has little time during the week be cause of competing demands. Sal's other children include a daughter living in another state who calls daily (but seldom visits because of the cost), a daughter overseas in milita ry service, and a son with Down's syndrome who lives in a group home about an hour away.
Sal grew up in a close-knit family with the males being patriarchs and expressing little emotion. Alcohol was normallyconsumed with all meals, and Sal started drinking at the age of 10. Sal indicates that he was a "hard drinker" during his 20s and 30s, when he developed stomach problems and high blood pressure. At that point, he limited his use of alcohol to his Friday night poker club and to Sunday dinn er with the family. Since Maria's death, Sal has regularly consumed 3 to 4 drinks a day but lately has been drinking more than usual. He says it alleviates some of the pain, stress, and loneliness. It also helps him sleep, along with the over-the-counter medications that he takes for arthritis pain and as sleep aids. He came to the clinic because his hypertension and gastritis have become extremely labile and intractable. When you ask Mr. Franco how he is doing, he says, "O h, I guess I'm okay for an old widower. I don't think it really matters how I feel or what I do anymore at my age."
The final project is the creation of a Data Assessment Plan (DAP) Case Note. The final project represents an authentic demonstration of competency because it will allow you to shape your professional identity as a counselor. The project is divided into three final project journals, which will be submitted at earlier points within the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. The final project journals will be submitted in Weeks Four, Six, and Seven. The final project will be submitted in Week Nine.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
• Apply developmental theory across the lifespan in a professional counseling setting for informing client case conceptualization
• Analyze physical, cognitive, systemic, and environmental development across the lifespan for their effect on human developmen t
• Employ ethical and culturally sensitive counseling strategies relating to human development to promote wellness
• Analyze the effect of career development experiences and work environments as they relate to human development
• Apply a systems approach to conceptualizing clients for informing developmentally relevant counseling strategies
Prompt
Your DAP Case Note should explain foundational information about your chosen developmental theory, including information about its founder. You will then apply the theory to the case scenario client to begin conceptualizing the case from a counseling perspective. You should conclude your paper with a summation of your findings and make an overall determination of the client's mental wellness.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Data
A. Establish context for your case note by briefly describing the client based on the information that you are presented within his or her case scenario.
B. Describe the basic elements of the theory that you are applying to the client's case. Does the theory include developmental stages or other unique characteristics?
C. Explain foundational information about the theory, including information about its founder.
D. Explain why this is an appropriate theory to apply to the client. Include supporting evidence from across the client's lifespan.
II. Assessment
A. Through the lens of the developmental theory, explain the physical and cognitive components of the client's case across the lifespan.
B. Through the lens of the developmental theory, explain the systemic and environmental components of the client'scase across the lifespan.
C. Using the developmental theory as a guide, explain the client's career development across the lifespan.
D. Using the developmental theory as a guide, explain the client's work environment across the lifespan.
E. Describe how the client's career and work history across his or her lifespan relates to his or her current state.
F. Explain, through the lens of the developmental theory, any cultural components of the case that play a role in the development of the client.
G. Explain, through the lens of the developmental theory, any ethical components of the case that play a role in the development of the client.
III. Plan
A. To create context for your Plan section, summarize your assessment of your client's case by describing the outcome of the application of the developmental theory.
B. Describe any specific ethical and cultural considerations you will make when working with this client, based on your assessment of his or her case.
C. Based on your description of the client's current state, in regard to his or her career and work history, describe any specific considerations you will make when working with the client.
D. Explain the client in terms of his or her overall wellness and mental health status. Use your assessment to inform your explanation.
E. Based on the client's overall wellness and mental health status, describe what needs to be addressed to get the person to a state of mental wellness.
Project Journal: Data
Project Journals
You will submit a draft of the Data section of your Data Assessment Plan (DAP) Case Note.
Final Project Journal: Assessment
You will submit a draft of the Assessment section of your Data Assessment Plan (DAP) Case Note.
Project Journal: Plan
You will submit a draft of the Plan section of your Data Assessment Plan (DAP) Case Note.
Submission: Data Assessment Plan (DAP) Case Note
In Week Nine, you will submit your Data Assessment Plan (DAP) Case Note. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final project. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.