Reference no: EM133316462

CASE STUDY: Daniel is being helped to transition in to your therapeutic residential care unit. Placement referral information from DHHS indicates that Daniel is eight-year-old, with severe depression and behavioral issues (such as not completing school work, ignoring teachers and truancy), and it also indicates that previous practitioners had trouble "getting Daniel to open up". School has indicated that they have fears he will eventually drop out of school altogether.

On his first visit to the house to help him transition in, Daniel tells you that "he doesn't want to talk but has come because he must stay here". He adds he "doesn't mind talking to someone who's not old".

After some time there, he comes back to you and starts to tell you why he had been seeing the school counsellor. He describes symptoms of depression and anxiety, including self-harm, severe insomnia and weight loss. He says he does not have many friends because everyone at school is "too cool". He tells you he finds it hard to concentrate at school and is "pissed off with everybody all the time". He says he hates his sister, who is two years older than him, and adds that she is spoilt and doesn't care about anyone but herself. You explore his current mood and talk further about his concerns.

At the first care team meeting you attend you learn that Daniel's doctor has put him on anti-depressant medication before. You have heard Daniel mention that he doesn't think it has had any effect yet. You understand the time it can take for anti-depressants to take effect. Jessica (DHHS Child Protection Practitioner) tells you that Daniel might feel more comfortable talking to you than her, and that she feels his mental health symptoms, friendship issues, attention difficulties and learning problems at school are the result of harm caused by complex trauma experiences in his childhood, but he has not told her about anything in much detail.

During as shift not long after, Daniel starts to tell you that he doesn't want to talk to Jessica about "all the crap at home and what's been happening" because she's a girl. He says his doctor reminds him of his father, so he doesn't say anything to him, either. You advise Daniel that other younger doctors are available, and suggest he talks to Jessica about switching doctors. Daniel agrees he can do this.

Daniel then starts to talk about his family. He tells you his father, Stan, is a jerk who only cares about himself. Daniel further discloses that his father is obsessed with football and seems to hate him because Daniel hates football. He tells you that Stan is "psycho" and is always pushing his mother around, yelling at her or ignoring her when she talks, and acting like she's not in the room. He has done this for as long as Daniel can remember. He tells you everyone outside of home loves his father because he's "a footy legend".

You ask Daniel about his mum, and he tells you she is lovely and kind but is "weak" around Daniel's dad. He tells you she yells at him and only pushes back at his father when he attacks Daniel. Daniel's mother has been missing and investigation on his mother's disappearance is underway.

Question 1- What cultural group Daniel belongs to and what are 2 of the child-rearing practices or values of this cultural group.

Question 2- what additional information you could seek to determine more about practices related to Daniel's child-rearing? from where and how would you gather this information

Question 3- Using attachment theory, why Daniel is primarily seeking attachment rather than safety.