This paper is an opportunity to explore one of your own personal, developmental issues that may have warranted psychological intervention (ages 4 – present). The following steps will guide you through the process of developing a basic intake report and will also include a developmental assessment and the construction of preliminary hypotheses regarding potential psychological interventions.
Introduction:
A. Please select an age or time period in your personal development where you were experiencing challenging circumstances (i.e. age 8, parents’ divorce, age 5, birth of sibling, age 14, onset of puberty, self- esteem issues, age 27, adjusting to marriage, age 40, death of a parent, etc.). Provide an introduction to your paper and briefly describe the presenting problem.
B. Briefly describe the presenting symptoms/issues or reasons for referral. (What would others see, hear or observe about you that would be symptoms of the issue you were facing? What might you observe about yourself? What would you be thinking, feeling and doing?) Please feel free to talk with a loved one or significant other who can help you “re-construct” this time with you.
C. Objective Data: (Respond to each of the following prompts. Bullet points are fine.)
Client’s age-21
gender,-male
race,- black
presentation and affect
motor behavior
mental status exam: orientation to time, place, person, and situation
status of homicidal, suicidal or violent ideation
relationship status (immediate family and extended family)
a. any recent significant losses
educational status (grade level, academic standing and history)
peer relationships
employment status
legal history,
alcohol and other drug use (if in recovery longest clean time)
support systems (family, extended family, peers, clubs/organizations)
history of presenting problem, (how long has the client had the problem)
motivation,
unique strengths and resources
previous counseling or in-patient psychiatric care,
expectations of counseling (what might happen in counseling to help with the problem?)
Conceptualization:
Psychologist’s assessment – Using your psychologist’s mind, what do you think is happening to create the problem?
Contexts in which the problem is exhibited. What role do you/did you play in significant systems (e.g. class clown, invisible woman, peace maker, etc.)? How do the systems (family, work, classroom, etc.) influence the maintenance or elimination of the problem?
D. Narrative Section:
a. In two to three paragraphs, please describe how at least one developmental theory assists you with understanding this situation. (How does X’s psychosocial development (Erikson) play a role in how X perceives these circumstances?)
b. In two to three paragraphs, please describe what type of therapeutic intervention may have helped you. In other words, what did you need (i.e. new coping skills) in order to improve your emotional, psychological, cognitive and/or social, functioning?
Considerations for the Developmental Issue Assignment: I recognize that this paper is challenging because you are asked to use professional judgment and insight to explore a personally taxing period in your own development. I encourage you to take the risk and embrace this opportunity to learn about yourself and about the complex nature and developmental dynamics of student and client issues. If you have difficulty isolating a particular problem to write about, please contact me to brainstorm ideas. You are not expected to write about a personal issue that you are not prepared to explore in this assignment.
