Case Study: Ashley

Case Study: Ashley

Alcohol and drug experimentation among teens is a common event (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2011). The teenage years can be a difficult time for some youth (Kanel, 2007; AACAP, 2011). Teenagers use or abuse a variety of drugs that are both legal and illegal – legally available drugs include alcohol, prescribed medications, inhalants, over the counter cough, cold, sleep medicines, and diet medications (AACAP, 2011).

Ashley, an intelligent, attractive, straight A student who scores at the highest on every achievement test she has taken, constantly worries about gaining weight although her weight is normal. To help Ashley stay awake while studying for final exams,, her mother offered her some diet pills. The diet pills worked – Ashley had lots of energy the next day even though she only slept an hour the night before. Her final grades for each exam were A or A+. Ashley discovered where the pills were stored and began taking them regularly. She was rarely hungry and had lots of energy. Nonetheless, Ashley soon found it difficult to go to sleep and was apprehensive because her heart felt like it skipped beats or raced sometimes. Ashley tried to stop taking the pills, but she became depressed and could not manage to get out of bed.

To accurately make a determination of Ashley’s situation or problem, the caseworker :must conduct a thorough assessment to discover any life problems, the level and frequency of use and characteristics of the client” (Fisher & Harrison, 2009; p. 100). Meant to be comprehensive (Summers, 2012); assessments provide direction for evaluation and treatment (Juhnke, 1995).

The caseworker should do a psychosocial history on Ashley. No matter what the presenting problem, the “psychosocial history is critical to the individual’s assessment” (Fisher & Harrison, 2009; p. 100). A psychosocial history, according to Hawkins et al (1985), as cited by Fisher and Harrison (2009), focuses on family, social,...