Mack Case Study

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Mack Case Study:

You are a youth worker with high-risk teens. You lead a juvenile delinquency prevention support group that meets after school on Wednesdays and Fridays, every week. There are 12 male group members between the ages of 13-15, who are believed to be at risk for juvenile delinquency. All of them are experiencing academic problems at school. Some of the group members have had problems acting out at school and home; others are socially isolated and withdrawn.

The Current Situation

● On Friday, Josh approaches you after the support group meeting. He is very worried about Mack, one of the group members. He confides in you that he heard Mack telling several other group members that he was going to commit suicide this weekend.

● According to Josh, Mack said that he could get a bottle of pain killer pills from his mother’s medicine cabinet and take them with alcohol.

● Josh also stated that Mack asked the other group members, “How much alcohol do I need to drink, with the painkiller pills, to commit suicide?”

● Some of the group members were telling Mack about how much alcohol to drink with the painkiller pills, in order to commit suicide.

● Josh is worried. Mack sounds serious and has a plan to commit suicide.

Mack’s Story

● You speak with Mack about this situation after the group meeting.

● Mack admits that he did threaten to commit suicide but is not completely sure that he will follow through with his plan.

● He asks you to keep this a secret.

● He does not want to upset his parents. His parents are going through a divorce and are fighting every day. They are always fighting about credit card debt and his mom’s trips to the casino, where she is gambling.

● His older brother, age 17, ran away from home two weeks ago and is still missing.

● Mack states that he feels angry almost every day. He misses his brother.

Your Observations and Understanding of Mack

● According to the school social worker, Mack has been withdrawn and socially isolated at school. He is often seen eating lunch alone. His parents describe him as shy.

● Mack is usually quiet and somewhat withdrawn at group meetings.

● Lately, Mack seems more willing to talk and express himself in group meetings.

● This past Wednesday, he did share with the group that his brother ran away from home. He also stated that he was worried about his brother.

● Mack has no one to talk to about all the problems with his parents since his brother ran away from home.

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Questions:

1. How would you respond to Mack’s request to keep his Suicidal behavior a secret? Specifically state if you would, or would not, keep Mack’s request a secret. Answers must include a discussion of self-determination: You MUST use at least one citation from the NASW code of ethics “Ethical Standards 1.02 & 1.07” to support whether or not you would keep the secret.

2. Identify and describe at least 2 of Mack’s strengths and 1 strength of Mack’s situation.

3. How would you use the strengths you identified in question #2 to help Mack and/or his family solve their problem/s?

4. Use the Person-in-the-Environment (PIE) to analyze and understand the deeper issues in this client problem scenario. On a separate/blank piece of paper or page: DRAW an Eco Map (click here for a sample) to analyze this client problem scenario using the principles of Systems Theory and Ecological Systems Theory. Don’t forget to Provide a key that lets me know what each line represents about the relationship between the client and subsystem (Ex. strong, tenuous, or weak). Choose only systems that are mentioned or inferred in the scenario. Mack is the client for the ecomap.

Questions 5 & 6

Mack has been talking to his fellow group members about suicide and he even has a plan! You will need to approach Mack about his situation. Choose two of the following Active Listening Skills that you would use to talk with Mack about his current threats of suicide:

● Reflect

● Summarize

● Paraphrase

● Ask open-ended questions

● Empathic responses

Your goal is to gain a better understanding of how Mack feels and his situation and to instill hope in Mack. Describe how and why you will use these two skills and give an example of what you would actually say (or do) to Mack.

5. List an Active Listening Skill you would use. Explain why you believe this to be helpful,

provide an example of what you would actually say.

6. List an additional Active Listening Skill you would use. Explain why you believe this to be helpful, and provide an example of what you would actually say.

7. Summarize the strategies you learned from the case study: who, what, where why, etc.

8. Personal assessment: Begin your answer with the following beginning of a sentence: “After completing this assignment I realized” (feelings, thoughts, experiences)? did anything show up for you personally or what about this case study was challenging? What did you learn about yourself?