LD Case Study Essay

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LD is a thirteen year-old Haitian -American seventh grader who is enrolled in the General Education program at Middle School 500. She lives in a large household that is comprised of her paternal grandmother, her father, younger brother, aunt, the aunt’s boyfriend, along with her two cousins, ages 2 and 4. LD was referred to counseling by her Guidance Counselor due to conflicts in the home with her grandmother. The source of LD’s problem stems from her grandmother’s strong ties to Haitian culture and traditions. Although LD was initially referred for family problems, the dynamics of LD’s situation changed when her grandmother died suddenly before the holidays. As a result, the focus of LD’s sessions was changed from family problems to grief counseling. LD’s grandmother, the matriarch of the family had a strong presence. She set the family structure and created her family system according to the Haitian traditional customs. In the process of working with LD, I had to research Haitian culture and traditions to better understand her dilemma with grandma. According to Collins (2006), the family unit is a close, tightly knit nuclear and includes extended family. It is not unusual for three generations and extended family members live together under one roof in small quarters. The decision making appears to be influenced by men, however; behind the scenes women are highly influential, and in most cases an elder is the spokesperson as depicted in LD’s family. Women are the family’s “backbone”, and as stated by Collins, 2006, fathers are distant figures that discipline children, and are expected to be financial providers. LD’s father fits the profile. At an early age, children are expected to be respectful, caring, obedient, self- sufficient and competent. Collins (2006), also states that the expectations for elders are that they are highly revered. Children should care and provide for them. Elders are the family advisers, consultants and historians. These expectations were problematic in LD’s relationship with her grandmother. She felt that at her age, she should not be at her grandmother’s disposal taking care of her basic needs, and completing household chores when an older female is present in the household. LD is open and receptive to discussing her family and her grieving process. Although LD is experiencing issues in her family, it has not impacted her academically. She has been on the honor roll since October, 2015. LD appears to be functioning within normal limits. Her grandmother’s sudden death has some emotional impact as it relates to death and dying, but it hasn’t impacted her daily life on a level that affects her school performance. LD has been able to continue with her extracurricular activities. During this work phase (Middle) with LD, the use of empathic skills, sharing workers’ feelings and exploring taboo subjects are highlighted. According to Taft (1933) in Shulman (2016), there is no factor of personality which is so expressive of individuality as emotion. The impact of LD’s grandmother’s death has allowed her to explore other emotions that …show more content…
LD’s grandmother had a strong presence in her family. The matriarch set the family structure and created her family system according to the Haitian traditional customs and beliefs. In the process of working with LD, I had to research Haitian culture and traditions to understand better her dilemma’s with grandma. In my research, I gained knowledge that enabled me to process what LD was communicating to me and used that knowledge to assist her.
Shulman (2016), states that as the middle phase session proceeds the worker uses several groups of skills called skill factors. Skill factors are defined as a set of closely related worker skills that may include empathic skills, sharing feelings, challenging the illusion of work, supporting the client in taboo areas, and sessional ending and transition skills. I believe that I have included and demonstrated these skills with LD in session. Empathic skills were utilized in reaching for her feelings, in the client/worker relationship, trust and caring were established and the client was able to perceive empathy. It is imperative for the worker to differentiate empathy from sympathy. According to Kirst-Ashman (2015), empathy is crucial for the helping process to be effective. It involves not only being in tuned with the clients’ feelings, but also conveying to the client that you understand how they

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