SWRK5002 - Social Work Direct Practice Assignment

Assignment Task

Introduction: Nature and purpose

• Your introduction needs to orient the reader to the report
• Briefly outline your agency and role and how they guide the assessment
• Include the nature of the referral and a brief background to Mia or Chiyo’s situation (details will come in the ‘psychosocial assessment’)
• Discuss why you are undertaking a comprehensive social work assessment (its purpose) and why a psychosocial assessment is the chosen assessment framework

Psychosocial Assessment

Ensure you use Louise Harm’s (2015) psychosocial assessment framework (Inner world dimensions -psychological, spiritual and biological and outer world dimensions – relational, social, structural and cultural) to guide this part of your report. Refer to page 168 onward of your prescribed text ‘Working with people: Communication skills for reflective practice’. 

1. Initial formulation

• An initial formulation based on yourminute interview with Mia or Chiyo (assessment 1)
• Outline what you know about Mia or Chiyo across the psychosocial dimensions, based ONLY on your initial 10-minute interview.
• For example - Psychological: Mia spoke about her father's death and the personal impact, including difficulty focusing at school, crying frequently and not being able to sleep.
• This need to be brief and concise.

For example:

A brief interview was undertaken with Mia, with the following initial formulation based on the information shared. Mia explained she is 16 years old and lives at home with her mother, Pam and sister Dawn (12 years). Mia spent much of the interview describing the activities she undertakes when caring for her mum and sister. This included cooking the daily meals, assisting her mum with bathing, taking Dawn to school and helping with her homework. Mia stated ‘I love caring for my family, but sometimes I have no time for myself’. This was explored further, with Mia advising….etc

For example:

Chiyo was briefly interviewed on Friday, 25 July 2023, the day after her admission to the acute mental health ward. This initial formulation is based on the information shared at this meeting. Chiyo Takahashi is a 23-year-old international student from Nara, Japan. She has been in Australia for six months, staying with a host family (Shelly and Andrew) and their young daughter (Chloe). Chiyo advised she had enjoyed living with the host family and undertaking her studies up until recently when she felt extremely anxious due to her safety being threatened. Etc

2. Plan for further assessment

• Remember you have only spent 10 minutes with Mia or Chiyo, and therefore you will NOT have completed a comprehensive psychosocial assessment. This section outlines your plan for further assessment and will be the majority of your word count . 
• Within each psychosocial dimension (outlined by Harms, 2015), outline what you intend to explore and further understand as part of your ongoing assessment.
• Across the dimensions, ensure you include relevant individual client-related factors (for Mia or Chiyo) and how you will take them into account as part of your assessment. Ensure you consider human development (module 6). (e.g. Mia and Chiyo’s age and developmental level, culture);
• Across the dimensions, include how you will assess the risks and strengths – areas of stress and vulnerability or strength and resilience for Mia or Chiyo.
• Identify who you plan to interview as part of the assessment (including their relationship to Mia or Chiyo) and why. Ensure you discuss ethical and legal considerations.
• You can include a genogram or ecomap here if you choose.

3. Assessment priorities and focus areas

Bring together and summarise the priorities and areas of focus from your plan (you can use dot points). There is no new information in this section, instead a bringing together and summarising of earlier topics.

For example

Discuss with Mia the inclusion of her mother and sister in the assessment process. Ensure the reasons and inclusion process are transparent, collaborative and only undertaken with informed consent. Etc

For example

• Priorities for Chiyo’s care and recovery include:
• Exploring further with Chiyo any history of mental illness and substance use. 

This SWRK5002 - Arts and Humanities