Mock Client Interview & Analysis Dialogue between the social work counselor & Amal:

Social Work Counsellor: Good morning, Amal. How are you today?

Amal: (Gets up); says, 'I don't wanna be here. I'm normal, everyone else isn't'

Social Work Counsellor: Oh? Now why do you say that?

Amal: (Walks to the window & looks out); 'Because they're all against me. I don't fit in. I don't belong.

Social Work Counsellor: Please tell me more Amal. You can tell me anything.

Amal: The other kids are slow. They don't think, and only obey the teacher. I like to be active there isn't enough time for gym or recess like my old school. I'm bored there.

Social Work Counsellor: Have you told you teacher about your feelings, Amal?

Amal: No not like how I told you. The teacher doesn't ask me anything. I don't think the teacher likes me. The other kids also don't like me. I'm different, no one understands.

Social Work Counsellor: Were you happier in your old school? Were you loud in class at your old school?

Amal: Sometimes, but it was different. The other kids would be also and then we would get quiet. That doesn't happen at this school. The kids are boring here. They aren't fun or social during class. I'm just different.

Social Work Counsellor: During our discussion, I've noticed that you have been active in walking around and looking for other distractions. Do you find it hard to sit down in class and listen to the teacher? Do you think you can do that if you really tried?

Amal: That's boring. I guess I could but I don't wanna change. I like to think about other things if I am just sitting there with the teacher talking. I daydream and so I like to talk to others until I've had enough. That's how it was in my old school.

Social Work Counsellor: You are such a bright and interesting young man, Amal. Wouldn't you like to become an important figure in society or go on to have a career? An education will make that happen. I know it is tough to focus when you are used to playing around until settling down. The class is used to doing what it is that you are not used to. I can help you adjust if you want to.

Amal: I guess I can try. I mean we can't move back just because of me. I'm not used to being quiet. How can I stop my mind from wandering?

Social Work Counsellor: It is always best to keep an eye contact with the teacher and keep listening to what the teacher is saying and also watch what the teacher is writing and teaching on the board so that you understand what she is saying when you are looking at the teacher speak. The focus on the teacher and on the task will prevent your daydreaming and this will also help you to gain more attention from your teacher and from your classmates.

Amal: So by looking at the teacher all the time and listening to everything said I will be OK? I never thought of it that way, I guess I never really paid attention to anything because my mind always wandered. I guess I am loud in class because I wanted attention because I didn't fit and no one would pay attention to me. I thought that being loud would make me popular with the other kids because they are quiet. But that didn't happen.

Social Work Counsellor: It is often very difficult in being the new kid in school. You are not the only one to have gone through this process. Many go through the process of adjustment, often for the better. It is important to remember that your parents do try to provide better opportunities for you and sometimes that means having to relocate to a new area. If this were not true, your mother would not be here with us today.

Amal: I guess you're right. I didn't think you would understand but I guess in a way, you do. I know it isn't going to be as easy as it sounds with you but I am going to keep looking at my teacher and thinking about what the lesson is and what is on the board.

Social Work Counsellor: That's good Amal. It sounds like you have paid good attention here and are very interested in becoming a part of your new class and becoming friends with your classmates.

Amal: I don't want to disappoint my parents who have moved here. I was looking for attention and not I think I know how to get along with the other...

I also think that they may ignore me at first but then they will like me.
Social Work Counsellor: I am sure they will like you too, Amal. I am glad things worked out so well during this session here this morning. I also think what's important is that you try and speak to your classmates when it is at the right time, such as when you see other students talking, that would be a good time to maybe nudge the classmate next to you and talk about something you are interested in.

Amal: You mean like sports? I like ice hockey. I think that's a fun game. They kids play that here in Canada, right?

Social Work Counsellor: Yes Amal, they do play ice hockey here in Canada. The lakes are often deeply frozen during the winter months, which bring ice hockey players to play. Ice Hockey is also Professional Ice Hockey in Canada as there are a handful of professional teams. If you enjoy ice hockey, it is a good idea to ask your classmates if they also enjoy playing ice hockey and to find out whether they would be interested in playing with you when the conditions are right to play on the ice at a local frozen lake. Make sure an adult is present and a first aid kit is available.

Amol: OK that is a smart idea and I will do that. I like ice hockey and playing here sounds like a great time!

Social Work Counsellor: Oh yes, the scenery is beautiful with green trees and snowcapped mountains in the background, crisp Canadian air and only the sound of wilderness. Thank you for coming today, I will keep in contact with regard to your progress. Take Care!

Amol: Thank you Counsellor. Bye!

a.) The base problem as portrayed via the dialogue is that of a lack of positive attention and structure from the home. The psycho-social modality of attention between Amal and his caretakers have become the classroom environmental variables. The mother of Amal, Dalia, does exhibit concern for her son yet does not seem to be able to assist him. The inability of Dalia and the father figure of Amal, if one is present, to enable Amal to cope with the new transition does mean the burden of coping method does fall upon the auspice of state resources. This is essentially the reason Amal is acting rambunctiously in the classroom and has a disruptive attitude.

The additional base problem does include the following:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Amal's behavior is indicative of a generalized anxiety disorder to where the introduction of a child into a new environment will cause a social anxiety that inherently produces one of two possible responses. The first response is to be introverted and isolated. The second response is to be loud and conspicuous. The response is a function of the underlying cognitive sociopathic condition of the subject.

Amol also seems to have an attention deficit hyperactive disorder that is triggered when the general anxiety disorder response is evoked by environmental stimuli. There is a correlation between the anxiety he expresses from the acts of boisterousness in the classroom and the fact of these behaviors not occurring within any other environment. The mother has not raised concern with regard to her son's behavior in general as the nature of Amal's misbehavior is a function of psychological understanding of how he perceives his environment and of how his environment perceives him.

b.) Amal's behavior during the interview and counseling session conveyed a sense of independence and an intelligence that was more spatially inclined rather than focused and logical. The structured classroom environment to which he has been submitted has seemed to give rise to his thinking that all in this new environment are against him and are against his well-being. The beginning of the interview relayed a sense of despondency to which further cajoling would render a response. As Amal's personality opened up, one can see that his intelligence has been usurped by a sense of inferiority with regard to his new environment.

Amal's behavior after the first part of the interview, which is marked by when he starts to open up about why he feels the way he does, then becomes a function of trying to become more compliant to the expectations that the teacher has for him. Amal seems to be thinking of his parents, perhaps not at the beginning of the session, but…