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Psychosocial Assessment

Sophia Mizla

Wayne State University

November 13th, 2022

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Identifying Information

Tara Jones, an African American, 16-year-old female has been in and out of many foster homes

since she has been 11-years-old. Before coming into care, Jones lived in what she called the,

“projects” with her mother, Sharon Jones, and her two brothers, Dan and Theo Jones. She

entered care because she opened up about sexual abuse, she experienced by her older brother

Dan Jones while living there. Her mother kicked her out because of this news and since then she

has lived in three different placements with Smith Center for Youth, being her last and present

placement. The Smith Center for Youth is a residential facility for adolescents. She will be

transferred to the Tanner House when the Smith Center for Youth closes in June due to

decreased funding and a recent emphasis on adoption and family reunification.

Referral

Alberdene County Court has mandated the client to the Smitch Center for Youth because she

recently ran away from her current foster home. Her current foster mother stated she is unable to

handle Jones behavior and outbursts. She would prefer to stay with her maternal Aunt, Sally

Johnson, but she is unable to take Jones on due to medical problems. As a result, she is staying at

the residential facility until the age of 18-years-old where she shares plans to participate in

independence classes to learn how to live on her own. She was placed with a roommate at this

facility.

Presenting Problem

The client is a 16-year-old high school student whose presenting problem is her unpredictable

behavior. She was referred for help because she ran away from her current foster home

placement. Since the age of 11-years-old, Jones has lived in a total of three foster homes where

she has run away from all only after a short period of arriving. Her most recent foster mother
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stated she was unable to handle her behavior and outbursts. Despite this, Jones does not believe

her behavior is an issue. Since running away, she has denied any consumption of alcohol or

drugs, as well as suicide ideation. Running away from placements has been a reoccurring pattern

for Jones and now, she is being denied future foster care placements. As a result, she is being

placed at the Smith Center for Youth under court recommendation until the age of 18-years-old.

Family Background

The client has two siblings, an older brother named Dan Jones and a younger brother named

Theo Jones. Her relationship with her father is nonexistent, she has not seen him since the age of

5-years-old and does not know his geographical location. Her relationship with her biological

mother, Sharon Jones is nonexistent. The mother has declined all contact with her. Sharon Jones

forced the client out of the house at the age of 11-years-old when she disclosed, she was being

sexually assaulted for three years by her older brother Dan. Her mother refused to believe the

allegations and therefore kicked her out, keeping the older brother Dan in the house. After

disclosing that information, Jones went to go live with her Aunt Sally Johnson. She described her

mother’s home as the, “projects” and worried about gang violence while she lived there.

Educational Background

Judy Boot, a former foster parent of the client expressed that Jones enjoyed reading and social

science, but had difficulty completing her homework. She participated in a weekly tutoring

program at a nearby community center to help her with reading and math. The client attended the

Alberdene School System during her freshman and sophomore years of high school. She was

having difficulty making it to school and was absent 30 times her freshman year. She was not

able to take her final exams freshman year and has to repeat her sophomore year. Her attendance

has improved since restarting her sophomore year. This is due to her being placed at the Smith
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Center for Youth. Jones teachers note she is respectful and kind towards them and her

classmates. Although the client participates in classroom discussions, her current GPA is at a

1.87 because she does not turn in her homework. She has no past or current jobs for employment.

Religious & Spiritual Involvement

The client identifies as a Baptist Christian, but there’s no record of current involvement in

religious practice. She did state she participated in praying and going to church when she felt

sadness.

Physical, Health & Medical History

The client received a physical by the Alberdene Health Center where it was found she is within

normal weight and height ranges for her age. Her blood pressure was also normal in relation to

her age. Jones did test positive for gonorrhea and was provided with antibiotics. She is not taking

hormonal birth control and declined it from the attending physician. There is no medical history

of Jones or her family on record besides this.

Psychological & Psychiatric Functioning History

The client has stated she would rather run away than face conflict. However, she does actively

write in a journal to express her feelings. Jones experienced sexual abuse by her older brother for

an extended period of time. She has expressed hurt and emotional pain from her mother not

believing her about the abuse and has concerns for her younger brother now that she is not there.

She ran away from her previous two foster homes for unknown reasons. It was noted she

experienced irritability and frequent nightmares at her last placement with Judy Boot. Not long

after, Jones started dating a 25-year-old named Tyler. She would come home intoxicated

frequently. She later ran away from Boot’s residence after Boot made it clear Jones could not see

her boyfriend anymore.

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Social, Community & Recreational Activities

The client expresses interest in art and writing. She reported she has made friends in both the

neighborhoods of her past foster placements, as well as the residential facility she now stays at.

She keeps in contact with them over social media.

Basic Life Necessities

The client is functioning well at the Smith Center for Youth. She has established goals before she

ages out of the center. She is hoping to participate in independence classes through the

department of human services when she is 18-years-oldnto sustain herself independently.

Legal Concerns

The client has shared with a therapist that her boyfriend Tyler has her follow a set of rules about

where she can go and with whom. She also noted Tyler has grabbed her waist and pushed her

down a flight of stairs in the past.

Clinical Summary, Impressions & Assessment

The client at hand is expressing unpredictable, negative behavior and outbursts. She has been

sexually abused by her older brother and forced out of her home by her mother. Since then, she

has run away from all foster care placements, causing her to remain in a residential facility called

the Smith Center for Youth. Considering her case has been open for five years, I would say there

is a fair level of severity in this. There was not much progress being made until the Smith Center

for Youth came into the picture making them a protective factor. They have the ability and

resources to help Jones create a life outside of the facility for when she leaves. However, a

potential risk factor I see is a lack of stable support around her outside of the facility. She does

not have many social circles, as well as her own family, who have disowned her. This has caused

her to feel lonely in her process of identity formation and independence. Jones portrays denial in
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her negative behavior and outbursts. Noticing this, I explained my own past in the foster care

system and how I managed to control and produce my own positive outcome. Since she is

declined further foster care placements, she is motivated to participate in independence classes at

her local department of human services when she ages out of the program at 18-years-old. Jones

seems calm, open, and ready to heal from her past traumatic experiences.

Case Formulation

Thinking about this case and how we can further change the problem at hand, I believe it is

doable. For Jones unpredictable, negative behavior, it’s apparent it stems from trauma and

possibly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the sexual assault she endured from her

older brother, as well as the neglect from her mother. As a result, putting her in a form of trauma-

based therapy, like Advanced Resolution Therapy (ART), or Eye Movement Desensitization and

Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) would be extremely beneficial. Moreover, the client needs to be

ready for this. If Jones if not ready to enter into trauma-based therapy, setting her up to get ready

and ease into it would be best. This could mean helping her find and define personal goals, and

values. More importantly, helping her outline how she is going to get there and giving her

resources to do so. If Jones does not heal from her trauma and PTSD, it will continue to follow

her in her daily life. At this point, I would predict she will continue to face adversity on her own

behalf and will remain lost in life. She will continue to run away when conflict arises and her

level of emotional maturity will only decline. If the client is in a better mental and emotional

state of well-being, I predict her relationships and the environments with herself, as well as the

ones around her would benefit greatly.

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Treatment Plan/Service Contract

Problem Statement: Tara Jones has sought help regarding her PTSD from her sexual assault

experience. She is neglecting self-care during this process and has thought about quitting the

treatment.

Goal #1: Jones will report self-care practice at least once weekly.

Objective #1: Jones will take at least one hour weekly after treatment to focus on herself.

Task #1: Jones will set aside time every Tuesday after treatment for herself.

Task #2: Jones will journal, meditate or paint every Tuesday after treatment.

Goal #2: Jones will remember to exercise for 30 minutes, 5 days a week.

Objective #1: Jones will set an alarm daily on her phone to remind her to exercise.

Task #1: Jones will use her fitness app on her phone to follow exercises.

Task #2: Jones will nourish her body with healthy foods and liquids.

Goal #3: Jones will continue her individual trauma therapy.

Objective #1: Jones will work on an independent treatment plan with therapist.

Task #1: Jones will set obtainable goals for herself each month to maintain

emotional progress in therapy.

Task #2: Jones will seek immediate help if she has feelings of wanting to

abruptly stop and avoid treatment.

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Tara Jones:

1. Jones will work on healing her PTSD through ART with an individual therapist.

2. Jones will seek out professional help and update caseworker once a week on how her

treatment plan is going.

3. She will practice maintaining emotional calmness by replacing self-destructive behaviors with

positive coping mechanisms.

4. She will make time for herself on a weekday that works best for her, specifically after

treatment and do this every week at least once.

5. Jones will set a daily reminder on her phone to exercise and stay healthily aware.

(Signature of Client) (Date)

(Signature of Social Worker) (Date)

For my evaluation of the treatment plan, I will meet with Jones once a week to ensure she is

staying on track. This interaction can be in person or over the phone if we cannot meet. If Jones

is remaining on track, I will encourage her and share wisdom to keep motivating her to make this
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plan no longer a habit, but a lifestyle. If she is getting off track, we will discuss why and what

tasks need to be adjusted in order to keep her on track.

Reflections:

After meeting Tara Jones and getting to know her on a personal level, I would say I have a lot of

empathy for her. In my own life, I have experienced some of the same situations and family

dynamics as her. Due to this, I could sense this mentor-like relationship with Jones and I from

the beginning. I genuinely wanted to help her like I had someone to help me when I was her age.

Since I have a significant amount of empathy and genuine care for Jones, it makes our

relationship more authentic, rather than me treating her like a case number. However, there are

boundaries in place like when, where, what and how much to communicate, as well as

definitions of our roles in this dynamic. This is so I can maintain self-care and awareness of the

issue at hand and so can Jones.