Hypothetical Working Agreement Paper

Hypothetical working agreement paper

Freydia, a 27-year-old mother, has lost two of her children, ages seven and nine. She is a drug addict, using crack-cocaine for the past four years. Child protective services have taken her children and placed them in her mother's care. Freydia has entered a drug program and states, "I want my children back." To achieve this goal, Freydia must work hard and be serious about sobriety.

As the clinician, I will execute a working agreement composed of four parts. First, we will begin with an assessment. Based upon the assessment, we will set reachable goals that will lead to her ultimate goal, which is to get her children back. Together we will develop an agreed upon contract that implements our action plan while evaluating her progress throughout this process (Murphy & Dillon, 2003).

The purpose of an assessment is to gather and analyze information about the client, the story, and contextual or larger system influences that may be affecting the client (Murphy & Dillon, 2003). This information includes basic information such as: name, address, and telephone number. Other pertinent information is needed such as: gender, age, family, health, culture, and emotional state. This information provides identity and need, and helps in implementing a plan of action.

As stated earlier and through the assessment processs, I have learned that Freydia is a 27- year-old single mother with two children, ages seven and nine. She is an African American from the Bronx. Her mother, whom also was a single parent to three children worked, leaving Freydia to watch her sister and brother. Her neighborhood was a rough neighborhood to grow up in, but Freydia did not allow herself to get caught up in that world. Instead, she studied hard and was given a full scholarship at a local university where she lived. After attending college for two years, Freydia met Ray, the love of her life. Shortly after, she became pregnant with their first child. Freydia wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and decided to put her schooling on the side for a couple of years. Ray was in the military earning a decent income to provide for the three of them. Six months after the birth of her first child they were married. A year in a half later she gave birth to her second child. Their marriage was perfect, she could not have been happier. Her children had both parents who loved each other and wanted to be the best parents they possibly could be, something she never had. Six months after the birth of her second child, Ray was sent to Afghanistan. She prayed for his safe return, however; six months later she received word that Ray was killed in combat. She was devastated and went into a deep depression. Nothing seems to help, not even that she had children to take care of. She literally gave up on life until one-day she was introduced to cocaine by someone whom she had not seen in years. What started off as occasional use just to help her get through the tough days quickly became a daily habit. Within a year her life spiraled downward, and she lived to smoke cocaine. She used every penny she had on drugs and when there was none left, she would sell whatever she could. When nothing was left for her to sell, she went out andt shoplift. This behavior went on for quite some time until she got caught stealing and received a sentence of three years probation. In addition to her arrest, her children were taken by Child Protective Services and placed in her mother's care. Although her relationship with her mother was on shaky grounds because of her drug use, it was not always this way. They were very close prior to her losing her husband and turning to drugs. It has been four years since her husband's death and Freydia knew she needed to get help, so she decided to seek drug treatment, determined to change and get her children back.

Through observation and gathered information from the client, one can conclude that Freydia became depressed after losing her husband. She could not cope with his death so she turned to drugs thinking it would ease her pain. One can also conclude that Freydia is responsible and smart. She took on the responsibility of watching her siblings while her mother worked and although she was bought up in a rough neighborhood, she never let that get in the way of her education. I believe Freydia can get her children back,