CRITICAL REVIEW

Appendix A: Scenarios for assessment task 2 and 3

Select one scenario from the options below to complete both assessment task two and three

SCENARIO 1: Theme: Grief / Depression

Background:

Sam is 14 and lives at home with his father and two older siblings. When he was 12 his mother died suddenly from cancer. Sam had a very close relationship with his mum. His father works long hours to provide for the family and Sam does not see him often. He has two older siblings, his brother aged 16 and his sister aged 17, who run the household. Within the household, there is limited discussion surrounding emotions and they do not discuss their mother. Sam’s father expects that everyone pulls their weight around the house and is happy.

Sam is currently in year 9 at school. Previously Sam was a very conscientious student who received high grades, however, since the passing of his mother his grades have deteriorated. Sam has few friends and does not engage in any extracurricular activities like he once did. His school teachers have noticed he has become increasingly oppositional and argumentative toward his peers and teachers. Moreover, Sam has begun “wagging” school.

Past medical/ psychiatric history:

Developmentally, Sam met all of his milestones to date without issue. Aside from his mother’s passing from cancer, there are no known medical issues within the family. Sam does not have a history of any medical conditions/ infectious diseases. There is no known family history of any mental illness and Sam has not previously engaged with mental health services before.

Current presentation:

Sam reports that, even though everyone thinks he is happy, sometimes he goes home, shuts the door to his bedroom and cries on his bed for hours. He does not really know why he gets so sad, but often he feels very, very lonely.