Reading Case Note Assignment.
Synopsis:
Demographic information
Client Name: Claireece ‘Precious’ Jones
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Race/Ethinicity: African American
Summary of presenting symptoms
In the film, Precious exhibits numerous symptoms of psychological, emotional, and behavioral issues. Precious also went through severe trauma and abuse. The abuse that Precious went through was sexual abuse and physical abuse, and also included physical neglect. The emotional and psychological symptoms Precious showed were the thought of consistently having low selfesteem, sadness, and a lack of joy in her life. The behavioral symptoms Precious exhibited were learning difficulties as she struggled academically and had a lack of educational support.
Biopsychosocial assessment:
During the film, it was disclosed by Precious's mother, Mary Jones, that Precious was abused by her father beginning at the age of three. Both her mother and father abused her while she was a teenager. There was no evidence that Precious had a childhood due to the amount of trauma she endured. In the film, Precious didn’t have any gender identity issues and was comfortable with her gender. Being that Precious was abused by her father, Precious never had a boyfriend, and her sexual orientation included liking the opposite sex. Precious was 16 years old in middle school, and she struggled with the basic course classes, such as math and reading. However, it was obvious that Precious had academic delays and was functioning on an elementary school level. There were no cultural factors that Precious was observed to practice. There was also no prior mental health diagnosis or experiences disclosed in the movie. As disclosed in the film, Precious was repeatedly raped by her father, resulting in her being pregnant and having two children by her father. Precious was then diagnosed with HIV as she contracted it from her father. The strengths that could be observed by Precious are her faith and willingness to keep moving forward. Precious faith was one of her strongest strengths as she always wanted a better life for herself and her children, and believed that she could make a way despite the things she went through. There were hard times for Precious, and during those times, she wanted to give up, but she remained positive.
DSM-5 Diagnosis:
Based on the given behaviors from Precious, the best fit diagnosis for Precious would be Intellectual developmental disorder. According to the DSM-5, “an individual who has an intellectual disability has deficits in their intellectual functions such as problem solving, planning, and academic learning.”(American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Precious struggled with her basic courses while in school, due to her not being able to meet her expected grade level. Precious was then offered to attend an alternative school to help obtain her GED. Precious met the diagnostic criteria because there are deficits in her intellectual functioning. In the film, Precious's teacher mentioned that she reads at a second-grade level, and I observed Precious to have trouble understanding and processing information. Thus, another diagnosis I would explore for Precious would be Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Precious shows symptoms of PTSD by having flashbacks, nightmares, and difficulty trusting other people because of the severity of abuse she endured. Therefore, diagnoses I would rule out would be Autism and ADHD, as she doesn’t exhibit any symptoms or behaviors of those diagnoses.
Treatment:
As a social worker, working with Precious, I would first offer Trauma trauma-focused cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help her process the trauma she endured and for her to learn coping strategies. Evidence-based mental health treatments that are trauma-focused have a higher chance of helping trauma survivors and easing their symptoms (Becker-Blease, 2017). To include, it was mentioned in the film that Precious wanted to engage in incest survivor meetings. Precious engagement in incest survivor meetings will provide her with a safe space to express her emotions and to be surrounded by people who have the same experiences. Also, it will strengthen her self-worth, as it will give her more reassurance about the true meaning of love and rebuild her identity. Precious attending those meetings could also lead to long-term benefits, as it will give her a better positive outlook and allow her to continue to thrive.