Child Abuse and Neglect

The ecological model is used to understand the person-in-environment perspective and is based on the idea that individuals are influenced by their environment in which they live and interact. On the micro level, this means that Brandons behavior, thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by his immediate environment, such as his family, friends, peers, and school. On the mezzo level, this means that Brandons behavior and environment are affected by larger systems such as his community, culture, and society. Lastly, on the macro level, this means that Brandons environment is affected by larger social structures such as government, economic, and political systems.

The social worker likely used the ecological model by first understanding Brandons individual context, such as his family, peers, school, and community. The social worker learned that Brandons behavior had become triggered during Covid lockdowns when his mothers boyfriend was staying with them. The social worker learned that Brandon slept with a loaded BB gun and felt insecure and threatened and still needed to process his feelings towards his father. The social worker saw that addressing these issues would necessarily involve giving Brandon the opportunity to assess his relationship with his mother and father, his peers, his school environment, and the community resources available to him. That is why the idea of a trauma narrative was used for an intervention, as a trauma narrative can help victims process...

Narrative therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on the stories that people tell about their lives and the role that these stories play in shaping their identity and behavior. One aspect of narrative therapy involves helping people to explore and make sense of difficult experiences, including trauma (Leichsenring et al., 2020). When a person has experienced trauma, it can be challenging to process and make sense of their feelings. They may feel overwhelmed by their emotions or may have difficulty expressing them. Narrative therapy can provide a safe and...…with cognitive behavioral therapy. The challenges the social worker identified could have had a significant impact on Brandon if they had not been addressed. These challenges included Brandon's impulsive behavior, his mother's worrying thoughts, and the trauma he had experienced. Without effective interventions, Brandon may have developed long-term psychological issues, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder leading to the kind of predatory behavior that his mother feared would manifest (Morash et al., 2020). On top of that, Brandon's mother may have been unable to provide the necessary support and guidance for Brandon to cope with his trauma. Without proper support, Brandon may have been at risk of developing self-destructive behaviors, such as substance use or criminal activity.

The challenges that the social worker thus identified and addressed, such as Brandons impulsive behavior, his mothers worrying thoughts, and their access to resources, would have led to a worsening state for the whole family and possibly for the community had the social worker not intervened to bring clarity and…