SOCW: 6200
Connecting Knowledge and Research
SOCW: 6200 Human Behavior and the Social Environment I
Identify case/ presenting problems
The case study I will focus on is the case of Dalia. Dalia is a 14-year-old biracial female.
She is part African American, and part Irish American Dalia is the youngest of three siblings.
Her parents have been married for 25 years period daddy was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia
in early childhood(Brocksen,2013). Her health has been stable over the last two years period
according to her parents her behavior was good up until middle school. She enjoys activities
spending time with family and friends. Her behavior has become negative in school and at
home(Brocksen,2013). her school counselor recommended she attend counseling for the
behavior issues. The behavioral issues consist of arguing with adults, fighting with peers, not
concentrating in class, very Moody, verbally combative when confronted, truancy, and
sexualized behaviors towards peers. When she is at home she is verbally and physically
aggressive. She is also drinking with her peers and has no interest in curricular activities
anymore(Brocksen,2013).
My understanding is that Dalia’s issues did not present until middle school and as the
reader I believe the behaviors persisted because of the problems she was having with her mom
and dad. Another factor was that her sister and brother are no longer living in the home as they
have got older and moved out and her older sister has gone to college. She feels lonely which
leads to her aggressive behavior.
goals for client
, The two goals I chose for Dalia is learning to communicate with authority figures without
confrontation and learning new ways to cope instead of lashing out. The way I plan to treat these
goals are by using the assertiveness training and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Assertiveness training involves learning new techniques to be straightforward without
being offensive towards the other person(Zastrow et al, 2018). It gives you the ability to consider
not just your own rights with the rights of others. The purpose of assertive training according to
the writer from my understanding is to develop a new way of talking to someone without being
rude or disrespectful(Zastrow et al, 2018).. An example would be a friend asked to borrow your
new clothes as she has a date tonight. You happen to notice that she keeps losing all your clothes
whenever you let her borrow them and she never returns them. You would not want to say no
way you cannot keep up with my stuff. A better way would be to say no I prefer to wear my
clothes first before I let someone else wear them. And that example she was not rude she did not
become offensive. She simply stated how she felt about her clothes. For adolescents, this skill
can be valuable because they are learning how to react in new situations when under
pressure(Zastrow et al, 2018).. Another reason to use this training is when working with clients
because it enables you to take your rights and the clients rights into consideration. It also helps
you understand human behavior; this training helps you focus on their needs being met and who
needs are not being met(Zastrow et al, 2018)..
From the readers understanding of the training, it can also help you see who is pushing
the other person around inappropriately and who is being bullied. as a social worker and using
assertiveness training you can take on the role as an educator. You teach the client principles to
enhance their own personal effectiveness when speaking to someone. When thinking about
assertiveness in Dalia’s case it will teach her a new way to express her feelings instead of
becoming confrontational. We know Dalia is verbally and physically aggressive towards others.
Connecting Knowledge and Research
SOCW: 6200 Human Behavior and the Social Environment I
Identify case/ presenting problems
The case study I will focus on is the case of Dalia. Dalia is a 14-year-old biracial female.
She is part African American, and part Irish American Dalia is the youngest of three siblings.
Her parents have been married for 25 years period daddy was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia
in early childhood(Brocksen,2013). Her health has been stable over the last two years period
according to her parents her behavior was good up until middle school. She enjoys activities
spending time with family and friends. Her behavior has become negative in school and at
home(Brocksen,2013). her school counselor recommended she attend counseling for the
behavior issues. The behavioral issues consist of arguing with adults, fighting with peers, not
concentrating in class, very Moody, verbally combative when confronted, truancy, and
sexualized behaviors towards peers. When she is at home she is verbally and physically
aggressive. She is also drinking with her peers and has no interest in curricular activities
anymore(Brocksen,2013).
My understanding is that Dalia’s issues did not present until middle school and as the
reader I believe the behaviors persisted because of the problems she was having with her mom
and dad. Another factor was that her sister and brother are no longer living in the home as they
have got older and moved out and her older sister has gone to college. She feels lonely which
leads to her aggressive behavior.
goals for client
, The two goals I chose for Dalia is learning to communicate with authority figures without
confrontation and learning new ways to cope instead of lashing out. The way I plan to treat these
goals are by using the assertiveness training and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Assertiveness training involves learning new techniques to be straightforward without
being offensive towards the other person(Zastrow et al, 2018). It gives you the ability to consider
not just your own rights with the rights of others. The purpose of assertive training according to
the writer from my understanding is to develop a new way of talking to someone without being
rude or disrespectful(Zastrow et al, 2018).. An example would be a friend asked to borrow your
new clothes as she has a date tonight. You happen to notice that she keeps losing all your clothes
whenever you let her borrow them and she never returns them. You would not want to say no
way you cannot keep up with my stuff. A better way would be to say no I prefer to wear my
clothes first before I let someone else wear them. And that example she was not rude she did not
become offensive. She simply stated how she felt about her clothes. For adolescents, this skill
can be valuable because they are learning how to react in new situations when under
pressure(Zastrow et al, 2018).. Another reason to use this training is when working with clients
because it enables you to take your rights and the clients rights into consideration. It also helps
you understand human behavior; this training helps you focus on their needs being met and who
needs are not being met(Zastrow et al, 2018)..
From the readers understanding of the training, it can also help you see who is pushing
the other person around inappropriately and who is being bullied. as a social worker and using
assertiveness training you can take on the role as an educator. You teach the client principles to
enhance their own personal effectiveness when speaking to someone. When thinking about
assertiveness in Dalia’s case it will teach her a new way to express her feelings instead of
becoming confrontational. We know Dalia is verbally and physically aggressive towards others.
