Jared is a 5 year old African American male in Kindergarten. He hits and curses at his classmates and teachers in kindergarten when he gets frustrated.

Running head: TREATMENT PLAN FOR JARED

11

TREATMENT PLAN FOR JARED

Treatment Plan for Jared

Patrice Scope

COUN/5254

Professor: Kevin Fiesthamel

10/27/2024e

Treatment Plan for Jared

Introduction

The client chosen for the project is Jared. He is a 5-year-old male from the African American ethnicity. The client attends kindergarten and is showing behavioral challenges. For instance, when he is frustrated, Jared becomes aggressive and starts cursing and hitting. His school principal and teachers describe him as a “very angry little boy”. He has reportedly thrown chairs when intensely frustrated. A tearful apology usually follows this. Jared’s behavioural patterns show that his emotional profile is complex, and he may not fully manage or comprehend it on his own. The purpose of this paper is to come up with a treatment plan that is based on biopsychosocial factors using tools such as an ecomap and a genogram to contextualize Jared’s behaviour and environment. The paper also looks at legal and ethical considerations to draft an individualized and thoughtful plan that will help solve Jared’s problems.

Biopsychosocial Information for Case Conceptualization

Biological Factors

Developmental stage analysis would help in understanding the behavioral issues of Jared. At five years, Jared is at a stage where foundations, social and emotional skills are just forming, as for any other five-year-old child. Physiologically, children who are at his age tend to have underdeveloped frontal lobes which are attributed to their impulsive actions and challenges in self-regulation. Though Jared’s profile does not reveal a significant physical health issue, it is important to understand his hereditary and genetic influences. His maternal grandfather was reported to have struggled with aggression and anger issues. The implication of this is that Jared is genetically predisposed to emotional dysregulation. In addition to this, Jared could be having minor developmental problems, such as difficulties in sustained attention and mild hyperactivity. These two factors have a negative effect on impluse control and frustration resilience (Avdibegović & Brkić, 2020). His outbursts when undegoing stressful moments are a sign of sensory sensitivity, which causes overstimulation and behavioural incidents.

Psychological Factors

The client’s aggressive behaviours mean that he has psychological challenges. Aggressive tendencies mean that the client has difficulty managing frustrations. This is an issue that many young children struggle with. This is especially so if they have not yet learned strategies for coping with frustrations (Sumargi et al., 2020). According to his teachers, Jared shows intense remorse immediately after his outbursts. What that means is that he does have a sense of right and wrong, but he simply isn’t in control to be able to govern his own behavior and consider alternatives.

In social settings, Jared experiences frustration and heightened anxiety. He is unable to express his feelings constructively. A psychosocial examination of Jared reveals certain stressors, such as the fear of failure or low self-esteem. These stressors are the triggers that make him react aggressively to defend himself. Things that have been going on his family have contributed to his emotional struggles. When at home, he feels that he must suppress his emotions. These bottled-up emotions make him unable to practice processing and managing them. This explains his explosions while at school. Subjecting Jared to regulation and coping techniques that are appropriate for his age would help him manage his emotions.

Social Factors

Social factors play a vital role in the behavioural development of children. As a black American male, Jared is likely to face implicit societal biases, especially in school environments where black males are given harsher punishments compared to their white peers. The implication of this is that Jared may feel misunderstood and alienated, and this contributes to his frustrations. Jared’s behaviour also appears to have been influenced by his family. His father is a strict disciplinarian compared to his grandmother, whose style is more permissive. This contrast creates confusion regarding behavioural expectations. At school, the teachers have brander Jared as “angry”. Such kind of branding reinforces negative behaviour because the victim starts to have a self-concept about themselves based on external perceptions (Arslan et al., 2021). This emphasizes the importance of a consistent and supportive approach to help Jared feel understood and safe both at home and school. Social training would also equip Jared with the necessary skills for interacting with peers, creating positive relationships, and understanding better and more appropriate ways of expressing frustration.

Genogram

A genogram diagrammatically depicts the relationships of generations in a family regarding family patterns and influences on behavior and mental health to provide background information on the client. The details therein are useful while seeking to understand a client’s background.

Jared’s Genogram Analysis

The created genogram for Jared spanned over three generations, providing a clear peek into the family’s dynamics. His maternal side of the genogram shows that his maternal grandfather experienced anger management issues. In contrast, his maternal grandmother was known to have been nurturing but passive when it came to family conflicts. Though his mother is supportive, she is rarely available since her job is demanding. These patterns may play a role in Jared’s behavior since he subconsciously reacts to the emotional environment that is established by the family mentioned above traits.

On his paternal side, Jared’s father is quite strict, forcing Jared to suppress his emotions due to fear. His paternal grandmother, who takes care of him once in a while, is more lenient and gives Jared the freedom that he needs. The problem with this discrepancy arising from the manner in which the two adults handle Jared is that he will grow up with inconsistencies regarding what constitutes acceptable behaviour. Jared receives mixed messages about how to behave from different family members; therefore, it’s hard for him to reconcile these various sets of behavioral expectations. Accordingly, by analyzing the genogram, it could be ascertained that Jared has received mixed messages about behavioral expectations and the regulation of emotions. These two factors contribute significantly to his aggression and frustration.

Ecomap

An ecomap is used to diaplay the different relationships and stressors that are in the social environment of a client. It uses lines of different colours to depict supportive, tenuous, or stressful relationships. This would help the practitioner determine the social dynamics behind the client’s issues. Jared’s ecomap indicates positive relationships with his grandmother (Blue Line) and cousin, while tenuous relationships with his sister (Yellow Line) result in sibling rivalry leading to small fights during meetings. His connection with teachers and fellow students can also be said to be mixed since his aggressive tendencies create varying degrees of understanding and patience.

Jared’s relationship with his father is classified under Negative Relationships (Red Line) because the strictness of his father makes him more frustrated. Jared feels that his punishments are punitive instead of constructive. When interacting with authority figures at school, Jared experiences some level of tension as a result of the disciplinary measures that are taken against him when he misbehaves. Furthermore, the client’s exposure to societal stereotypes makes him feel rejected and misjudged (Ip et al., 2024). Jared’s ecomap shows that he needs support and consistency in his relationships. He needs to overcome his sources of tension and learn how to express emotions.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Some of the things that Jared has been doing, including throwing chairs, fall under mandatory reporting requirements for schools so as to ensure safety. Such incidents should be documented in order to keep track of the behavioral patterns of the client and keep the school community safeguarded. Further, Jared’s behaviour calls for enrollment in an Individualized Educational program (IEP). This would ensure that he receives the requisite treatments while simultaneously receiving support for behavioural management and emotional support within an educational setting. Lastly, since Jared is a minor, any intervention accorded to him must have the consent of his parents. The only problem with this kind of approach is that the parents may not support the suggested treatments . This would call for mediation that aimed at a balance of Jared’s best interests and parental rights (Boomsma, 2021).

Ethical Issues

Jared’s privacy is important. Sensitive details, such as his treatment, family history, and behaviour, should be kept confidential and only be shared with authorized individuals who have a role to play in his care. This ensures that ethical guidelines have been adhered to. The second ethical issue that should be taken into consideration is cultural sensitivity. This is because Jared is an African-American male, and all interventions should respect his culture’s approach regarding behaviour and discipline (Arslan et al., 2021). Finally, though Jared is young, everything done unto him should be child-centred. His autonomy should be respected by ensuring that he is involved in age-appropriate decisions that will foster trust and make him feel empowered (Ip et al., 2024).

Annotated Bibliography

1. Arslan, İ. B., Lucassen, N., Van Lier, P. A., De Haan, A. D., & Prinzie, P. (2021). Early

childhood internalizing problems, externalizing problems and their co-occurrence and (mal) adaptive functioning in emerging adulthood: a 16-year follow-up study. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 56, 193-206.

This article examines the connection between internalizing and externalizing behaviours in early childhood and adult adaptive functioning. The respondents were followed up for a period of 16 years, after which it was established that individuals with the two types of behaviour had problems in social and occupational settings during adulthood. Since both predict maladaptive outcomes later in life, early interventions addressing the two are important; this points to the need to address behavioral issues in childhood if better developmental outcomes are to be expected in adulthood, as well as prevent psychiatric approaches for young people.

2. Avdibegović, E., & Brkić, M. (2020). Child neglect-causes and consequences. Psychiatria

Danubina, 32(suppl. 3), 337-342.

Avdibegović and Brkić looked into the causes and effects of behaviour, focusing on its

impact on mental and emotional development. They highlight socioeconomic deprivation, psychiatric problems in parents, and social support as major risk factors. The article also reports that neglected children are bound to suffer from cognitive and emotional underdevelopment, which makes them prone to behavioural problems. It calls for the need for early intervention programs focused on high-risk families and community support systems. This article provides evidence that strategies at the level of society designed to prevent neglect should be implemented to ensure the protection of children’s welfare and support their development in a stable and stimulating environment.

3. Boomsma, D. I. (2021). Genetic association study of childhood aggression across raters,

instruments, and age. Translational psychiatry, 11(1), 413.

Boomsma’s genetic association study investigates genetics and childhood aggression, as rated by multiple raters and measured with multiple tools over time. The results emphasize the importance of genetic influences in aggressive behaviour patterns, although environmental influences have a very significant role as well. This would mean that these studies underline the necessity to understand both biological and social contributors to childhood aggression-that suggest early, tailored interventions might mitigate negative outcomes. Boomsma’s contribution represents part of a bigger picture knowledge about how genetic predisposition affects behavior.

4. Ip, H. F., Van der Laan, C. M., Krapohl, E. M., Brikell, I., Sánchez-Mora, C., Nolte, I. M., …

& Siann, G. (2024). Accounting for aggression: Perspectives on aggression and violence. Taylor & Francis.

The article analyzes aggression, looking at biological, environmental, and social factors influencing behaviour. It explores genetic, social, and individual influences on aggression and violent tendencies, emphasizing integrative intervention strategies for prevention. Early intervention and tailored approaches are crucial.

5. Sumargi, A. M., Prasetyo, E., & Ardelia, B. W. (2020). Parenting styles and their impacts on

child problem behaviours. Jurnal Psikologi, 19(3), 269-285.

Sumargi and co-authors avered that, it is only through authoritative parents that children behave in a good manner, while lenient parenting creates problems. They stressed on the need for a balance of warmth and discipline in parenting and creation of healthy ways for the emotional and social development in children.

Conclusion

The case of Jared is a good example of how important biopsychosocial and comprehensive approaches are in dealing wi9th behavioral issues. Through looking into biological, psychological, and social factors, one can easily understand a client’s frustrations and aggression. The ecomap and genogram are good tools that provide crucial information into the family history of Jared as well as his social relationships, highlighting specific areas in which he needs support. These are the areas that guide his treatment plan. Considering legal and ethical issues the created plan will prioritize impulse control, emotional regulation, and peer interactions. As the treatment goes on, support from school and the involvement of his family will create a foundation for his long-term emotional and behavioural development.

References

Arslan, İ. B., Lucassen, N., Van Lier, P. A., De Haan, A. D., & Prinzie, P. (2021). Early

childhood internalizing problems, externalizing problems and their co-occurrence and (mal) adaptive functioning in emerging adulthood: a 16-year follow-up study. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 56, 193-206.

Avdibegović, E., & Brkić, M. (2020). Child neglect-causes and consequences. Psychiatria

Danubina, 32(suppl. 3), 337-342.

Boomsma, D. I. (2021). Genetic association study of childhood aggression across raters,

instruments, and age. Translational psychiatry, 11(1), 413.

Ip, H. F., Van der Laan, C. M., Krapohl, E. M., Brikell, I., Sánchez-Mora, C., Nolte, I. M., …

& Siann, G. (2024). Accounting for aggression: Perspectives on aggression and violence. Taylor & Francis.

Sumargi, A. M., Prasetyo, E., & Ardelia, B. W. (2020). Parenting styles and their impacts on

child problem behaviours. Jurnal Psikologi, 19(3), 269-285.

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