While helping an individual to address their issue, a number of steps
must be taken. The chief stages that I follow involve preparation, the
arrival of the client, exploring the issue, intervention strategies and
completing the client services. Recently, an elderly woman moved to
the neighbouring flat. As she was new to the locality, she was not
comfortable staying alone, and she would frequently tell me to visit
her. I would visit her often and help her to get familiar with the place.
However, I felt that she was feeling paranoid while staying alone as
she had no one to interact with most of the time. Even though I was
trying to spend as much time as possible with her, her tension and
worries did not reduce. So, I decided that I would stay with her for an
entire week and help her get accustomed to the new place and the
new environment. Even though the decision was somewhat
challenging for me as I had to manage my personal responsibilities
along with taking care of her, it really worked. As I was there with her
most of the time, she was more at ease and was able to communicate
with me and share her worries more freely. I made sure to take her to
the community park where she could engage with other people, I also
introduced her to my friends who were living nearby. Soon, I realized
that she had started gaining confidence in staying and adapting to the
new place.
After I had stayed with her for one week, I asked the old lady whether
she wanted me to stay at her place for a longer period of time to give
her company. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she told me to
resume my normal life and not worry about her. After moving back to
my place, I interacted with her like before and observed that she was
a much more confident person. She thanked me dearly, saying that I
helped her to live independently in a new place at such an old age. I
felt extremely pleased when I realized that my small gesture had
helped her in a big way and she was able to live without feeling
scared or paranoid. By exploring the problem in an in-depth manner, I
was able to implement a suitable intervention that helped in
addressing the issue she was encountering after moving to the new
accommodation.
