Introduction
The client assessed in this paper is a twenty-four year old Malay Muslim lady who has been working with the social worker for a year. Divorced in 2011, the client was awarded joint custody over her son and daughter aged ten and nine respectively. However, the client’s ex-husband recently decided to contest for full custody, and the couple are in the midst of a custody battle. During the meeting, the client expressed need for financial assistance to help cover the legal costs. However, the discussion that followed revealed the more pervasive problem that was the client’s difficulty in coping with the situation. The presenting problems identified include the client’s lack of financial stability and her inability to cope with the …show more content…
A tentative course of action was already proposed during the session in which the worker suggested the idea of visiting a psychologist. This is believed to be integral for a few reasons. As noted in the assessment section, there is a need for continuous observation of the client in order to detect any possible signs of depression. This can be more pressing should the custodial case be lost, as it is hypothesized by the client that she might breakdown and lose hope. There is therefore a need for the client’s psychological health to be monitored. As a social worker, it will also be helpful to work towards modifying the cognitions and negative beliefs held which were discussed in the assessment section. Negative beliefs can be detrimental to the process of action as it affects the motivation and determination of the client should they see their present situation as out of their control (Hepworth et al., 2010). The social worker can play the role of the counsellor and engage the client in cognitive restructuring. The intended aim of the counselling is to modify the client’s negative beliefs about her weakness, thereby eliciting change in her level of self-efficacy (Hepworth et al., 2010). By allowing her to see that her beliefs are the cause of her feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness rather than actual failures due to her inadequacy, it is hoped that this would allow her to see that the situation is not as bleak as it appears to be. One manner of doing so can be through journaling. The client had mentioned during the interview that staying at home without anything to do would often cause her to think excessively. Penning down these thoughts can allow her and the social worker to work through these moments and identify some of the negative and irrational beliefs that are causing her to feel weak and helpless. The worker can then help the client to identify patterns of