Conceptualizing a Case

 
Mental Health Counselors of children and adolescents often need to communicate with appropriate individuals, such as supervisors, parents, or other counselors, about the basic facts and issues surrounding their clients. Creating a factual summary is the first step in the building a case conceptualization, diagnosis, and treatment plan.
Your assignment is to develop a case description, analysis, and treatment plan for a hypothetical case. You will first create a background sketch for your hypothetical case, following the example below. Next, you will present your analysis of the developmental, cultural, and legal aspects of the case. Then you will present your diagnosis and treatment plan for the case.

Your case description and treatment plan should be succinct in addressing each area. Counselors must prepare reports that summarize many details accurately but briefly.
Use the Conceptualizing a Case Template, linked in Resources, to develop your treatment plan.

This template will provide the correct format and structure of a brief background sketch, case analysis, and initial treatment plan.

The headings for this assignment are listed below and in the template that you will use to prepare this assignment.
Use a minimum of 5 references, including your textbook.
Your paper should be 5–6 pages in length, not including the title page or reference page. No abstract is necessary.

Case Conceptualization Components
Developmental Analysis
Briefly apply concepts—from Piaget’s theory, Selman, Erikson, and what is known about development of the brain and physical maturation—to your case (refer to Chapter 2 of Counseling Children for a review of developmental theories). Is your child or adolescent on track developmentally, or off track in some domains?
Cultural Analysis
Briefly highlight the cultural considerations that might be important for understanding and counseling your case (refer to Chapter 2 of Counseling Children for counseling considerations for children from diverse cultures).
Legal and Ethical Issues Plan
Briefly articulate a legal and ethical issues plan, presenting the steps you will take to establish an ethical counseling relationship with your child or adolescent client. Identify potential ethical or legal issues that could arise with this client, and briefly describe how you will handle each of these, referencing specific laws and ethical codes (you may use the issues you have identified for the second discussion of this unit, after considering peer and instructor feedback).
Treatment Plan Components
Create a treatment plan for your case, including a preliminary diagnosis (use the diagnostic process you practiced in the first Unit 2 discussion). Your treatment plan should succinctly address these sections, also outlined in the Counseling Children text (pages 103–104):

Problem Identification.
Problem Definition.
Goal Development.
Measurable Outcomes.
Creating Interventions.
Diagnosing.

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