Communicating with a service user’s family

HUMN6660Week2Handoutscenarious.pdf

Communicating With Family Members Scenarios Scenario 1: Ricardo is 68-year-old widower who has lived alone since his wife of 38 years passed away 6 years ago. Ricardo has two children: a son, Cristian, and a daughter, Melissa. Cristian lives close by and visits once or twice a week. Melissa lives farther away but is the primary contact. Melissa has noticed of late that Ricardo seems more irritable and less tidy in his personal care. He was recently diagnosed with early frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a disease that causes slow deterioration in cognitive and memory functioning. Over a period of time, this deterioration may mean he has full dementia, it will not be safe for him to live alone, and his confusion and disorientation will increase. Most people with FTD over the long run will eventually need 24-hour care. Melissa would like to be proactive and start looking for facilities now for transitioning Ricardo. However, there is some cost involved to find a nice place for Ricardo to live with the kind of care he will need now and in the future. Ricardo has some savings, and these could be used to help with the costs of care. Cristian is less eager; he says there is no urgency, and he doesn’t want to treat his father like a child, that he is doing fine for now, and would save more money by staying home with a visiting home care person coming in an hour a day to make meals and tidy up. Ricardo himself is reluctant to move out of his home and is nervous about how he will feel in a facility that provides 24-hour care. You must write an email that explains to Melissa and Cristian the choices they have before them and how to choose what is best for their father. Scenario 2: Sofia, age 15, lives with her Aunt Cassy, who is her legal guardian. Last year, Sofia had a fight at school that ended up with her being charged with assault and being placed in detention for 6 months. At this time, Sofia was diagnosed with major depression. Now, a few months after returning to school, she had an altercation with another girl. The next day, Sofia brought a knife to school and threatened this girl. Because of her past history, her Aunt Cassy says she wants Sofia to go to juvenile detention that has a program for her GED equivalency. Her sentence may be for up to 3 years. Cassy does not think her home is helping Sofia and that Sofia needs some “tough love” to understand the consequences of her actions. There is an alternative option that Sofia is eligible for if her guardian, Aunt Cassy, applies for it. You think it may be a better option for Sofia and Cassy. It is a community- based alternative to juvenile detention:

• This program allows Sofia to stay at home.

• It provides intensive initial services that taper over time to encourage Sofia’s skill- building, independence, and links to other ongoing services in the community.

• Treatment is coordinated at a state-licensed wellness center that provides onsite case management, mental health services, individual peer and family counseling services, and crisis intervention, as needed.

• There are ongoing visits to ensure services and progress toward Sofia’s individualized program goals.

Cassy says she is tired of giving Sofia second chances and is not sure why a community-based alternative would be a better option than detention. However, she has asked you to write her an email and explain to her why the community-based alternative might be better for Sofia so that she can consider both alternatives. Sofia has communicated to you that “she can handle juvie again,” but you can tell she is scared to be removed from her home again for such a long time.

Week2Assignment.docx

Week 2 Assignment: communicating With a Service User’s Family

With your expertise, experience, and education, there will be times when you will need to make professional recommendations to assist service users and their families to make a decision about a specific treatment, option, or course of action. Family members and service users can sometimes be at odds with how to best resolve issues and challenges, and each option can have tradeoffs or risks. Your ability to marshal facts, provide dispassionate information about different options, and navigate the family tensions and dynamics at play will help you communicate effectively with service users and their families. This is a key, senior case management skill you have been developing throughout your course of studies.

For this Assignment, you will demonstrate how to provide unbiased information respectfully and to communicate effectively with the family members of a service users facing difficult choices.

Resources

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

To Prepare:

· Review the Learning Resources and Course Announcements.

· Review the scenarios found in the Learning Resources, and pick one scenario of the two and craft an email to the relevant family member:

By Day 7

Write a brief, diplomatic, caring, and professional email communication to the family member(s) in one of the scenarios to make a recommendation for addressing their situation.

Provide evidence that supports your professional recommendation so that the family members have the information they need to make an optimal decision.

Remember, your goal is not to persuade the family to follow your recommendation. Rather, your goal is to empower the family of the service user to make the optimal decision that fits their needs.

HUMN6660Week2Handoutscenarious.pdf

Communicating With Family Members Scenarios Scenario 1: Ricardo is 68-year-old widower who has lived alone since his wife of 38 years passed away 6 years ago. Ricardo has two children: a son, Cristian, and a daughter, Melissa. Cristian lives close by and visits once or twice a week. Melissa lives farther away but is the primary contact. Melissa has noticed of late that Ricardo seems more irritable and less tidy in his personal care. He was recently diagnosed with early frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a disease that causes slow deterioration in cognitive and memory functioning. Over a period of time, this deterioration may mean he has full dementia, it will not be safe for him to live alone, and his confusion and disorientation will increase. Most people with FTD over the long run will eventually need 24-hour care. Melissa would like to be proactive and start looking for facilities now for transitioning Ricardo. However, there is some cost involved to find a nice place for Ricardo to live with the kind of care he will need now and in the future. Ricardo has some savings, and these could be used to help with the costs of care. Cristian is less eager; he says there is no urgency, and he doesn’t want to treat his father like a child, that he is doing fine for now, and would save more money by staying home with a visiting home care person coming in an hour a day to make meals and tidy up. Ricardo himself is reluctant to move out of his home and is nervous about how he will feel in a facility that provides 24-hour care. You must write an email that explains to Melissa and Cristian the choices they have before them and how to choose what is best for their father. Scenario 2: Sofia, age 15, lives with her Aunt Cassy, who is her legal guardian. Last year, Sofia had a fight at school that ended up with her being charged with assault and being placed in detention for 6 months. At this time, Sofia was diagnosed with major depression. Now, a few months after returning to school, she had an altercation with another girl. The next day, Sofia brought a knife to school and threatened this girl. Because of her past history, her Aunt Cassy says she wants Sofia to go to juvenile detention that has a program for her GED equivalency. Her sentence may be for up to 3 years. Cassy does not think her home is helping Sofia and that Sofia needs some “tough love” to understand the consequences of her actions. There is an alternative option that Sofia is eligible for if her guardian, Aunt Cassy, applies for it. You think it may be a better option for Sofia and Cassy. It is a community- based alternative to juvenile detention:

• This program allows Sofia to stay at home.

• It provides intensive initial services that taper over time to encourage Sofia’s skill- building, independence, and links to other ongoing services in the community.

• Treatment is coordinated at a state-licensed wellness center that provides onsite case management, mental health services, individual peer and family counseling services, and crisis intervention, as needed.

• There are ongoing visits to ensure services and progress toward Sofia’s individualized program goals.

Cassy says she is tired of giving Sofia second chances and is not sure why a community-based alternative would be a better option than detention. However, she has asked you to write her an email and explain to her why the community-based alternative might be better for Sofia so that she can consider both alternatives. Sofia has communicated to you that “she can handle juvie again,” but you can tell she is scared to be removed from her home again for such a long time.

Week2Assignment.docx

Week 2 Assignment: communicating With a Service User’s Family

With your expertise, experience, and education, there will be times when you will need to make professional recommendations to assist service users and their families to make a decision about a specific treatment, option, or course of action. Family members and service users can sometimes be at odds with how to best resolve issues and challenges, and each option can have tradeoffs or risks. Your ability to marshal facts, provide dispassionate information about different options, and navigate the family tensions and dynamics at play will help you communicate effectively with service users and their families. This is a key, senior case management skill you have been developing throughout your course of studies.

For this Assignment, you will demonstrate how to provide unbiased information respectfully and to communicate effectively with the family members of a service users facing difficult choices.

Resources

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.

WEEKLY RESOURCES

To Prepare:

· Review the Learning Resources and Course Announcements.

· Review the scenarios found in the Learning Resources, and pick one scenario of the two and craft an email to the relevant family member:

By Day 7

Write a brief, diplomatic, caring, and professional email communication to the family member(s) in one of the scenarios to make a recommendation for addressing their situation.

Provide evidence that supports your professional recommendation so that the family members have the information they need to make an optimal decision.

Remember, your goal is not to persuade the family to follow your recommendation. Rather, your goal is to empower the family of the service user to make the optimal decision that fits their needs.

HUMN6660Week2Handoutscenarious.pdf

Communicating With Family Members Scenarios Scenario 1: Ricardo is 68-year-old widower who has lived alone since his wife of 38 years passed away 6 years ago. Ricardo has two children: a son, Cristian, and a daughter, Melissa. Cristian lives close by and visits once or twice a week. Melissa lives farther away but is the primary contact. Melissa has noticed of late that Ricardo seems more irritable and less tidy in his personal care. He was recently diagnosed with early frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a disease that causes slow deterioration in cognitive and memory functioning. Over a period of time, this deterioration may mean he has full dementia, it will not be safe for him to live alone, and his confusion and disorientation will increase. Most people with FTD over the long run will eventually need 24-hour care. Melissa would like to be proactive and start looking for facilities now for transitioning Ricardo. However, there is some cost involved to find a nice place for Ricardo to live with the kind of care he will need now and in the future. Ricardo has some savings, and these could be used to help with the costs of care. Cristian is less eager; he says there is no urgency, and he doesn’t want to treat his father like a child, that he is doing fine for now, and would save more money by staying home with a visiting home care person coming in an hour a day to make meals and tidy up. Ricardo himself is reluctant to move out of his home and is nervous about how he will feel in a facility that provides 24-hour care. You must write an email that explains to Melissa and Cristian the choices they have before them and how to choose what is best for their father. Scenario 2: Sofia, age 15, lives with her Aunt Cassy, who is her legal guardian. Last year, Sofia had a fight at school that ended up with her being charged with assault and being placed in detention for 6 months. At this time, Sofia was diagnosed with major depression. Now, a few months after returning to school, she had an altercation with another girl. The next day, Sofia brought a knife to school and threatened this girl. Because of her past history, her Aunt Cassy says she wants Sofia to go to juvenile detention that has a program for her GED equivalency. Her sentence may be for up to 3 years. Cassy does not think her home is helping Sofia and that Sofia needs some “tough love” to understand the consequences of her actions. There is an alternative option that Sofia is eligible for if her guardian, Aunt Cassy, applies for it. You think it may be a better option for Sofia and Cassy. It is a community- based alternative to juvenile detention:

• This program allows Sofia to stay at home.

• It provides intensive initial services that taper over time to encourage Sofia’s skill- building, independence, and links to other ongoing services in the community.

• Treatment is coordinated at a state-licensed wellness center that provides onsite case management, mental health services, individual peer and family counseling services, and crisis intervention, as needed.

• There are ongoing visits to ensure services and progress toward Sofia’s individualized program goals.

Cassy says she is tired of giving Sofia second chances and is not sure why a community-based alternative would be a better option than detention. However, she has asked you to write her an email and explain to her why the community-based alternative might be better for Sofia so that she can consider both alternatives. Sofia has communicated to you that “she can handle juvie again,” but you can tell she is scared to be removed from her home again for such a long time.