The Richards family includes Amanda, age 9; Leonard, age 14; Linda, age 46; and Fred, age 50. Linda’s father, Edward, age 72, has been living with the Richards family since his wife, Marie, died two years ago. Edward and Marie were married for 50 years and had three children: Linda, age 46; Joan, age 44; and Peter, age 40.
Fred’s dad, John, age 84, currently lives in an assisted living facility near the Richards’ family home. Fred’s mother, Elizabeth, age 80, has Alzheimer’s disease and lives in a nursing home. Fred has a sister, Rita, age 59, who has always lived alone. Amanda is Linda’s niece; Joan, Linda’s sister, was her mother.
Joan and her husband, Frank, were murdered when Amanda was 3 years old. They were apparently involved with a street gang in a different city. The murders were thought to be related to drug dealing. Amanda has been living with the Richards family since the death of her parents.
Leonard is Fred and Linda’s son. Fred and Linda have been married for 15 years. Fred has two other children from a previous marriage: Jim, age 24, and Jill, age 20. Both have been living with their mother, Susan, age 45, who is now remarried to John, age 48. Their family lives in a different state than the Richards family does.
Presenting Problems Amanda was referred to your agency by her school social worker. The social worker reports that in the last 3 months, Amanda has been having behavioral problems. She often has temper tantrums in the classroom and with her peers. She is often absent from school. Whenever she gets angry, she threatens to run away or to tell her aunt how badly her teachers treat her. Leonard is being referred to your agency by his DFC caseworker. The presenting problem is that Leonard, reportedly, was sexually abused by his stepbrother, Jim, several years ago when Jim was visiting the Richards family. Fred was referred to your agency by his attorney. Approximately two weeks ago, Fred was arrested while operating his vehicle under the influence of alcohol. This is the third time that Fred has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Linda is not currently employed outside of the home. She was recently laid off from her position as an administrative assistant due to major cutbacks in the company that she formerly worked for. The Richards family has moved several times in the past five years due to various financial difficulties. Linda does not report having any problems.
Utilizing the above case, students will be assigned to ONE of the following family members (Leonard). Students are asked to respond to the following questions:
1. What are your hypotheses about the client situation?
2. What does the research say about this kind of client problem, diagnosis or situation?
3. What theoretical framework are you using to organize your knowledge?
4. Given the research and the theoretical framework, discuss your case formulation.
