Paula Cortez Identifying Data: Paula Cortez is a 43-year-old Catholic Hispanic female residing in New York City, NY. Paula was born in Colombia. When she was 17 years old, Paula left Colombia and moved to New York where she met David, who later became her husband. Paula and David have one son, Miguel, 20 years old. They divorced after 5 years of marriage. Paula has a five-year-old daughter, Maria, from a different relationship. Presenting Problem: Paula has multiple medical issues, and there is concern about whether she will be able to continue to care for her youngest child, Maria. Paula has been overwhelmed, especially since she again stopped taking her medication. Paula is also concerned about the wellness of Maria. Family Dynamics: Paula comes from a moderately well-to-do family. Paula reports suffering physical and emotional abuse at the hands of both her parents, eventually fleeing to New York to get away from the abuse. Paula comes from an authoritarian family where her role was to be “seen and not heard.” Paula states that she did not feel valued by any of her family members and reports never receiving the attention she needed. As a teenager, she realized she felt “not good enough” in her family system, which led to her leaving for New York and looking for “someone to love me.” Her parents still reside in Colombia with Paula’s two siblings. Paula met David when she sought to purchase drugs. They married when Paula was 18 years old. The couple divorced after 5 years of marriage. Paula raised Miguel, mostly by herself, until he was 8 years old, at which time she was forced to relinquish custody due to her medical condition. Paula maintains a relationship with her son, Miguel, and her ex-husband, David. Miguel takes part in caring for his half-sister, Maria. Paula does believe her job as a mother is to take care of Maria but is finding that more and more challenging with her physical illnesses. Employment History: Paula worked for a clothing designer, but she realized that her true passion was painting. She has a collection of more than 100 drawings and paintings, many of which track the course of her personal and emotional journey. Paula held a fulltime job for a number of years before her health prevented her from working. She is now unemployed and receives Supplemental Security Disability Insurance (SSD) and Medicaid. Miguel does his best to help his mom but only works part time at a local supermarket delivering groceries. Paula currently uses federal and state services. Paula successfully applied for WIC, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Given Paula’s low income, health, and Medicaid status, Paula is able to receive in-home childcare assistance through New York’s public assistance program As you have read, theory guides the conceptualization of the client’s problem and how social workers assess and intervene relative to the problem. However, theory can also shape the self-reflective questions social workers ask themselves. Clients often come to social workers under stress or distress. This then affects how the social worker responds and thus the client-social worker relationship. As a result, Foley, Nash, and Munford (2009) employed attachment theory as a “lens in which to view the reflective process itself and to gain greater understanding and empathy for what each social worker within each unique social work-client relationship can access of that relationship for reflection” (pp. 44).This week, you will apply attachment theory to the case study you chose in Week 2. In other words, your theoretical orientation—or lens—is attachment theory as you analyze the case study.To prepare:
Review the same case study you selected from last week’s Assignment. (Remember, you will be using this same case study throughout the entire course). Use the “Dissecting a Theory and Its Application to a Case Study” worksheet to help you dissect the theory. You do not need to submit this handout. It is a tool for you to use to dissect the theory, and then you can employ the information in the table to complete your assignment.
Review attachment theory and the following article listed in the Learning Resources: Foley, M., Nash, M., & Munford, R. (2009). Bringing practice into theory: Reflective practice and attachment theory. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work Review, 21(1/2), p39–47. Retrieved http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol21iss1-2id318
Submit 2-page case write-up that addresses the following:
Summarize the assumptions of attachment theory in 2 to 3 sentences.
Identify the problem in your chosen case study to be worked on from an attachment theory perspective.
Explain how attachment theory defines and explains the cause of the problem in one to two sentences.
Develop two assessment questions that are guided by attachment theory that you would ask the client to understand how the stress or distress is affecting the client.
Discuss two interventions to address the problem. Remember, the theory should be driving the interventions. In other words, you would not identify systematic desensitization since this is not an intervention guided by attachment theory.
Formulate one self-reflective question that is influenced by attachment theory that you can ask yourself to gain greater empathy for what the client is experiencing.
Explain which outcomes you could measure to evaluate client progress based theory.
Be sure to:
Identify and correctly reference the case study you have chosen.
Use literature to support your claims.
Use APA formatting and style.
Remember to double-space your paper.