Case Study Analysis Of Asim Using Critical Ecological System Theory And Mid-Level Solution-Focused Theory

SWM5102 Critical social work

Introduction: Case study scenario of Asim

This case study is concerned with Asim who lives in Flemington along with his parents and three older brothers. His parents decided to move to this place from North Parks as his parents believed that if her children are growing up in North Park was turning out to be impervious for the older boys (older brothers of Asim) who were continuously stopped by the police and prove their identification. The police continuously questioned Rashad the older brother suspecting him of the murder of Lieb, a Sudanese man who was brutally murdered in 2007 in North Park. Rashad was subjected to sporadic name-calling and this made his parents distressed. However, moving to Flemington did not turn out as imagined by Faraj and Rosalia. The police about their whereabouts by the police often question the boys who love spending time in the park whenever they are found in the public space. The boys are asked to provide the ID card by the police. Asim is fearful of the police and does not want too much of interaction with the police. The police to know about the community of Sudanese Muslims and about their activities interrogate him. This is also the reason that led Asim to drop out of the basketball team as the police were running it. In the present situation, Asim was found on CCTV camera stealing headphones from the shop and was presented in front of the magistrate. The magistrate decided that Asim requires counselling and therefore, I would step in as a social worker and discuss about the strategies and interventions that are required to counsel Asim. In my first meeting with Asim I found him to be quite gregarious, however it is the police whom he fears and does not like talking to them. In the first sitting, Asim is brought by his mother. In the second sitting, his father brings Asim and he looks quite reticent. On further investigation it was found that his mother has taken his teenage sister to Magdi who has become pregnant. It was the act of his friend Suleyman. Asim felt betrayed as he has trusted Suleyman but Suleyman betrayed him in this manner. His mother blames Asim for befriending Suleyman and leading to this condition of his sister. Asim has felt betrayed as he trusted his friend. Asim was aware of the growing intimacy between Magdi and Suleyman but he never expected that the situation would go out of hand like this. He has been embroiled in greater trouble as he has confronted Suleyman and punched him on the stomach and the face. The police for this act charged Asim with assault and his family has become even more upset with him. Another issue that emerged in the family is the conflict between his parents. His father has blamed his mother for leading his children to become deviant. At the same time, he has grown repulsive towards his father because of his attitude of continuously yelling at his mother. On the other hand, Omar has embroiled himself into trouble by stealing oploid medicine from an older woman’s flat. There has been a tendency to acess oploid medicine from older women

Discussion

After the analysis of the case of Asim it can be stated that there needs to be the integration of critical ecological theory framework and the mid-level theory of solution approach. According to the tenets of the critical ecological theory there is interdependence between the social environment and the physical environment has influence on the personality of the individual (Coady & Lehmann, 2016). Another feature of the ecological theory is that it links the private troubles of an individual with the broader public issue plaguing the society. The notion of the ecological theory is for the in-person environment and has found large acceptance in the discourse of social work (Tompsett, Henderson, Mathew Byrne, Gaskell Mew & Tompsett, 2017). The highlight of the theory is that it is able to seek connections among the every human problem with that of the society and the life problems in the life of an individual. Environment is believed to be a crucial role in the construction of a person (Payne, 2015).This theory helps the social worker to resolve the ordeals and challenges in the lives of their clients through a broader perspective of relating the environmental factors. It acts as organizational tool and enables the social worker to understand the many perspectives in the lives of an individual (Lee & Hudson, 2017). Application of the ecological framework to the case of Asim enables to understand that there certain influential factors that have provoked Asim to turn into deviance.

Firstly, it is the physical environment of Flemington where the police engage in labelling of the Muslim youth due to their stereotypical and prejudiced thinking. The perpetual labelling and the discrimination faced at the hands of the authority has made Asim engage in self-fulfilling prophecy (Coady & Lehmann, 2016). He resorted to stealing believing that he is someone who is deviant and therefore, it would be smart to live upto the image as being portrayed by the dominant authoritarian figures. The next environmental factor that has led to the present condition of Asim is his friend’s betrayal. This has wrecked the trust of Asim and made him feel quite down. He did not expect this kind of behavior from his friend and vented out the anger though physical attack. Another environmental factor that have affected Asim is the domestic violence that recurs in the family between his parents (Padgett, 2016). Asim is closer to his mother and it lacerated his feelings when he found his father to be disrespectful towards his mother by yelling at her. Another factor that could be observed is that his brother Omer is a drug addict and has been involved with his friends in several encounters where he was found to be stealing oploid medicine from older woman in the city (Geldard, Geldard & Foo, 2017). Therefore, in Asim’s case it can be observed that he has grown up in an environment of neighbourhood violence, labelling and discrimination towards the immigrant Muslims in the western society, drug addiction among the older siblings, domestic abuse between the parents and betrayal from friend. This kind of an environment has robbed him of a peaceful childhood and led him to become violent and become deviant.

Assessment of the case of Asim through the ecological theory (key theoretical concepts)

Mid-level theory Coady and Lehmann and justification of the selection of this theory (key theoretical concepts)

There are basically three kinds of mid-level theory, these are solution-focused theory, narrative theory and Bene Brown’s theory. On examination of the case of Asim, it can be stated that the solution-focused approach is the most appropriate. Some of the principles of solution-focused theory are that it is future focused. According to this theory, people come up with theory own solutions in the way they wish to bring change in their life. The client generates their own idea regarding the reformation they wish to seek for them (Geldard, Geldard & Foo, 2015). This kind of approach is premised on the notion that the service provider needs to be respectful towards the views of the client and therefore, mutual respect defines the crux of this relationship. Asim is an involuntary client who was brought to my by his mother for the first meeting and by his father for the second meeting. The first step would be to explain Asim about my position as a counsellor and that mutual consent would define this relationship of the service-provider and the client. The principle of the solution approach is to understand the unique needs of the client and therefore, formulate a strategy that would be compatible for his well-being. Since Asim is closer to his mother, it is important to collaborate with his mother in transforming Asim. The next step would be to request his father to not engage in domestic abuse as it leaves a deeper impact on Asim and the coping mechanism that is present to him is deviant activity. The second intervention would be sensitize Asim about the negative impact of violence and therefore, not submit to his passion (Garbarino, 2017). Since drug addiction is a pertinent issue in the family, it is important to educate his brother, Omer regarding the negative impact of drug abuse. Both the parents should be responsible for the upbringing of the child and it should not be the sole responsibility of Asim’s mother. This needs to be explained to Asim’s father so that both his parents become more alert towards their children. The solution-approach allows the opportunity to develop long-term goals for the welfare of the client. I would conduct workshop with the police in that area and sensitize them about the repercussion of their behaviour on the Muslim children in resorting to self-fulfilling prophecy and becoming repeat offenders. In Asim’s case there was no clear data about the source of his strength and recreation, in that case the idea would be to find out about the sources that motivates him life and then use them for the purpose of therapy (Austin, Anthony, Knee & Mathias, 2016). For example, if he interested in art or music, that could be used for nurturing him and providing him with a cathartic experience. I need to make a timeline comprising of the number of meetings I would have with Aim in collaboration with his family members including his brothers with the aim to initiate a long-lasting change.

Mid-level theory Coady and Lehmann and justification of the selection of this theory (key theoretical concepts)

Working interpersonally with the clients using the micro-skills (Engaging with the client for collaborating towards specific goals)

Some of the micro-skills associated with the solution-focussed approach are self-determination, freedom and instilling a sense of responsibility among the client. In case of Asim the idea is to make him realize about his capabilities and opportunities and inspire him to seek change (Karpetis, 2017). According to Kim (2008), solution based approach have been found to effective for clients of all age groups ranging from the adolescents with depression and drug abuse to couples with relationship difficulties. Mutual learning is one of the micro-skills in the focused approach. This I would deploy by understanding the problems of the immigrants in the country and in turn sharing my experiences to bring about a change in the life of Asim (Garbarino, 2017). I would use a positive body language to communicate to Asim that he should not lose hope about the web of problems in his life and instead remain hopeful about experiencing change. I would try to understand that how previously Asim have coped with crisis and recovered from that situation. I need to keep in mind the ethnic background, minority religious status and the dysfunctional family condition. I would also remain sensitive towards the recent issue of teenage pregnancy in the family and the gender imbalance that exists the family. I also need to understand the strength of Asim that would catalyze his therapeutic process in a much more smoother manner.

Conclusion

Therefore, based on the above case study it can be understood that the environmental factors that has plagued the life of Asim are a dysfunctional family, drug addiction of his brother, family conflict due to the teenage pregnancy of his sister and labelling of the Muslims as criminals by the local police. The critical ecological theory is useful in understanding and providing solution to Aim’s situation. The mid-level theory of solution focused approach is most appropriate considering Asim’s situation. The micro-skills that will be using are patiently listening to his problem, being a keen observer, being respectful to his ethnic background and mutually learning from the incident.

References

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Garbarino, J. (2017). Children and Families in the Social Environment: Modern Applications of Social Work. Routledge.

Geldard, K., Geldard, D., & Foo, R. Y. (2015). Counselling Adolescents: The Proactive Approach for Young People. Sage.

Geldard, K., Geldard, D., & Foo, R. Y. (2017). Counselling children: A practical introduction. Sage.

Geldard, D., Geldard, K., & Foo, R. Y. (2017). Basic personal counselling: A training manual for counsellors. Cengage AU.

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Lee, J. A., & Hudson, R. E. (2017). Empowerment Approach to Social Work Treatment. Social work treatment: Interlocking theoretical approaches, 142.

Padgett, D. K. (2016). Qualitative methods in social work research (Vol. 36). Sage Publications.

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Tompsett, H., Henderson, K., Mathew Byrne, J., Gaskell Mew, E., & Tompsett, C. (2017). Self-efficacy and outcomes: Validating a measure comparing social work students’ perceived and assessed ability in core pre-placement skills. British Journal of Social Work, 47(8), 2384-2405.