Strength-Based Approach

It has been suggested that a worker’s intervention begins from the moment a referral has been made to their service (Walker and Beckett 2003 p.22). In this case study it could be said that the intervention started from the time I received the family’s referral and spent time with Sally and the children listening to their concerns and needs.
The purpose of any intervention is clearly to achieve an effect, to produce a change, to achieve an outcome (Horner 2009).
My initial assessment after spending time with Sally and empowering her to reflect on what supports she thinks would be helpful I used a strength based approach to emphasise the positive elements of her current situation such as how well she coped so far and how she has demonstrated

I reduced the risk by enhancing the family’s life through building up their environmental supports, providing them with relevant resources (Kelly and Gates 2010) and developing Sally’s existing strengths. This was done in collaboration with Sally by her attending the Weaning and Healthy Eating Group to gain peer support and advice and guidance on childcare and nutrition. As well as taking part in Stay and Play session with the aim to improve attachments, relationships and Sally’s responsiveness to Richard and Fiona. Taken together this approach built up the families social supports through groups, provided Sally with peer support and helped to improve her attachment with the

In this situation, it was not always possible for the relevant information to be kept confidential. In Sally’s case I had to inform her that I would be sharing her current social situation with the other professionals involved, which included her current keyworker and Health Visitor and my manager at the Centre.
In this case study I applied the crisis intervention model which deals with situations present such a challenge that those affected such as Sally are unable to draw on their usual coping mechanisms with the result that a crisis reaction occurs (Caplan 1964). This model is especially relevant in the mental health field, where workers are involved in assessing the service user’s perception of a crisis, help them build up coping strategies and explore or identify available support networks (Skinner 2013).
Looking at Roberts (2005) seven stages in the process of crisis intervention I had to establish if Sally continues to have suicidal ideations, asked about her suicidal thoughts and feelings, evaluated Sally’s psychological intent, asked about her suicidal history and took into consideration any risk factors such as social isolation, loss or