Child/Adolescent
Child/Adolescent Comprehensive Assessment
Comprehensive assessment offers a format to assess the functional, substance use and mental health needs of children and adolescent (Srinath, Jacob, P., Sharma, & Gautam, 2019). It is a standardized approach to conducting needs assessment of children and adolescents and identifying the best way to satisfy those needs. The paper uses the case of Joan Barrow, a 12-year black girl with self-harming behavior to do adolescent comprehensive assessment.
Data Field
Child’s Name: Joan Barrow
Record Number: G20218866
Program Name: Medicaid
Date of Admission: 20/1/2021
Date of Birth: 16/1/2009
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Black
Biological Parents/Responsible Party Information
Mother’s Name: Maryanne Barrow
Marital Status: Divorced
DOB: 4/8/1989
The client was accompanied by her mother. The active participation of the client and parents is key in comprehensive assessment (Gilligan, & Manby, 2007). Cooper, Hooper, and Thompson (2005) highlight the importance of interviewing adolescent in the absence of the parent.
Chief Complaint/Reason for Referral
The client exhibits self-harming behaviors and her mother feels overwhelmed to guide Joan. Joan locks herself in her room and overdoses whenever they disagree and quarrel with the month. Joan struggles with self-harming behavior and low mood. She is unable to maintain social relationship with peers and her mother. Joan had self-harmed her legs and arms and overdosed.
It is evident that there are many issues surrounding this family dynamics.
Lack of social support and coping mechanism has led Joan into feeling misunderstood and low. Her mother and sister spend more time at work than with Joan. The current economic stress has forced the family to feel more anxious about finances and this has resulted in Joan’s mother and sister to be less emotionally available for Joan.
The conflict between Joan, her mother and sister often causes her low mood, including the risk for self-harm. Whenever they have an argument, the mother angrily reminds Joan that she is no different from her father. Joan perceives this comment as negative and thus feels self-harm is the only way of letting out her anger. Difficulties in family and social relationships and attachment do contribute to mental issues
Medical/Psychiatric History
The client has no history of surgery, childhood trauma. The grandmother was treated of depression and the father had mental health problems. There has a family history of depression. Joan’s father, who had left before Joan’s birth, had mental health problems. The separation left Joan’s mother felt overwhelmed and feelings of loneliness. Her grandmother suffered depression. Joan has no known allergy to food, medication or environment. This environment has contributed to Joan’s risky behavior (Cook, Peterson & Sheldon, 2009)
Household Information
Joan lives at home with mother and elder sister. She sleeps in her own room. The house is often noisy family members are present.
School Information
Joan is in the 7th grade. She performs well academically but feels that she does not get enough support from the family. Joan struggles however to form and maintain relationships with peers.
Developmental History
Joan did not walk until two years and six months. She was unable to separate from the parent to attend preschool. Joan’s mother does not have any developmental delay that might prevent her from guiding and moulding her daughter.
Treatment History
The client has been hospitalized twice this month for overdose and self-harm.
Substance Use History
Joan has been severally hospitalized for overdose of prescription drugs.
Mother treated for alcohol abuse. Cooper et al. (2005) highlight the need to assess the risk associated with substance abuse.
Family/Social Information
Joan and her family are Christians, and attend a local Baptist church every Sunday.
The family goes to bed at 9.00 PM and wakes 7.00 AM. -Normal bedtime, number of hours usually slept. The family eats well-balanced diet but also fast foods. Joan is withdrawn and never participates in any physical or social activity. She often locks herself up on her room and goes online, especially social media networking sites.
Current Treatment Focus
To address the client’s self-harming behaviors. The client is seeking psychiatric services to address self-harm behavior and relationship with family and peers.
Child Assessment
The client self-harms herself, feels hopeless, argues with the parents, have suicidal thoughts and low self-esteem. Joan has self-harmed her legs and arms with intent of committing suicide. Whenever she is having an argument with the mother, Joan locks herself in room and inflicts harm and injuries on her body.
References
Cook, M., Peterson, J. & Sheldon, C. (2009). Adolescent depression: an update and guide to clinical decision making. Psychiatry, 6(9), 17-31
Gilligan, P., & Manby, M. (2007). The Common Assessment Framework: does the reality match the rhetoric? Child and Family Social Work, 13, 177-187. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2007.00530.x
Cooper, M., Hooper, C., & Thompson, M. (2005). Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Theory and Practice. London: Edward Arnold
Srinath, S., Jacob, P., Sharma, E., & Gautam, A. (2019). Clinical Practice Guidelines for Assessment of Children and Adolescents. Indian journal of psychiatry, 61(Suppl 2), 158–175.
