There are five scenarios in Chapter 1 of your text (LISTED BELOW), detailing roles and
functions of human service professionals. Choose one of the five scenarios and compare
the counseling and case management functions in the scenario.
• Determine what case management aspects were utilized in the case.
• Determine what issues were addressed from a counseling perspective.
• Analyze what aspects of case management or counseling you as a human
service professional might have utilized differently and justify why.
Support your post with 2 scholarly source of your choosing. The Scholarly, PeerReviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. table offers additional
guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific
source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor
has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for an assignment.
Your initial post needs to be at least 350 words.
Scenario 1
“Sara works for a hospice agency and spends one hour twice a week with Steven, who has been
diagnosed with terminal cancer of the liver. He has been told that he has approximately six months to
live. He has been estranged from his adult daughter for four years, and Sara is helping him develop a
plan for reunification. Sara helps Steve deal with his terminal diagnosis by encouraging him to talk
through his feelings about being sick and dying. Steve talks a lot about his fear of being in pain and his
overwhelming feelings of regret about many of the choices he has made in his life. Sara listens and also
helps Steve develop a plan for saying all the things he needs to say before he dies. During their last
meeting, Sara helped Steve write a list of things he would like to say to his daughter, his ex-wife, and
other family members. Sara is also helping Steve make important end-of-life decisions, including
planning his own funeral. Sara and Steve will continue to meet weekly until his death, and if possible, she
will be with him and his family when he passes away.
Scenario 2
Gary works for a public middle school and meets with six seventh graders every Monday to talk about
their feelings. Gary helps them learn better ways to explore feelings of anger and frustration. During
their meetings, they sometimes do fun things like play basketball. They also play board games where
they each take turns picking a “self-disclosure” card and answering a personal question. Gary uses the
game to enter into discussions about healthy ways of coping with feelings, particularly frustration and
anger. He also uses the game to get to know the students in a more personal manner, making it easier
for them to open up to him. Gary spends one session per month discussing the students’ progress in
their classes. The goal for the group is to help the students learn how to better control their anger and to
develop more prosocial behavior, such as empathy and respect for others.
Scenario 3
Cynthia works for her county’s district attorney’s office and has spent every day this past week in
criminal court with Kelly, a victim of felony home invasion, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated
battery. Cynthia provides Kelly with advocacy as well as counseling to help Kelly deal with the trauma of
having a man barge through her back door searching for money, and threatening Kelly and her baby.
Cynthia keeps Kelly apprised of all court proceedings and accompanies her to court, if Kelly chooses to
assert her right to attend the proceedings. She also accompanies Kelly during all police interviews and
helps her prepare for testifying. During these hearings, as well as during numerous telephone
conversations, Cynthia helps Kelly understand and deal with her feelings, including her recent experience
of repeatedly imagining the violent incident, her intense fear of being alone, and her guilt that she had
not locked her back door. Lately, Kelly admitted that she has been crying a lot more and has had feelings
of unrelenting sadness, so Cynthia has referred Kelly to a licensed professional counselor as well as to a
support group for survivors of violent crime for Kelly and her husband.
Scenario 4
Frank works for county social services, child welfare division, and is working with Lisa, who recently had
her three young children removed from her home for physical and emotional neglect. Frank has
arranged for Lisa to take parenting classes and receive individual counseling so that she can learn how to
better manage her frustrations with her children. He has also arranged for her to enter a drug
rehabilitation program to treat her addiction to alcohol and cocaine. Frank and Lisa meet once a week to
talk about her progress toward her case goals. He also monitors her weekly visitation with her children.
Frank is required to attend status updates in court once per month so that the judge assigned to the case
can remain apprised of Lisa’s progress in her parenting plan. Successful completion of this plan will
enable Lisa to regain custody of her children. Frank will continue to monitor her progress, as well as the
progress of the children who are in foster care placement until a decision can be made about the
custody of her children.
Scenario 5
Allison is currently lobbying several state legislators in support of a bill that would increase funding for
child abuse prevention and treatment. As a social policy advocate for a local grassroots organization,
Allison is responsible for writing position statements and contacting local lawmakers to educate them on
the importance of legislation aimed at reducing child abuse through prevention measures and other
outreach efforts. Allison also writes grants for federal and private funding of the organization’s various
child advocacy programs, and is consistently called upon to provide opinions about a range of child
abuse prevention measures.”
