MSW 505 Week 4 Family Biopsychosocial Assessment Example

Biopsychosocial Assessment of J., 15, and R.: Material Gathered and Attributed, an Ecomap Actually Used, Two Links Followed Between Domains, Strengths With Evidence and a Professional Impression of Anxiety-Driven School Avoidance

Student Name

Chamberlain University

MSW 505: Direct Practice I (Individuals and Families)

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

Biopsychosocial Assessment of J., 15, and R.: Material Gathered and Attributed, an Ecomap Actually Used, Two Links Followed Between Domains, Strengths With Evidence and a Professional Impression of Anxiety-Driven School Avoidance

Gathered Material, Attributed

Sources: two home visits (October 6 with R. and J.; October 13 with J. alone); school attendance record (school); phone call with the school counselor, with R.'s written permission (counselor).

Biological: stomach pain on weekday mornings, strongest before math and gone on weekends (J.). No medical evaluation yet (R.). Sleeps from about 01:00 to 07:00 on school nights (J.).

Psychological: "scared of the math class" because "everyone's faster" (J.). No reported low mood or self-harm (J.). Grief: J.'s other parent died two years ago; J. "doesn't talk about it" (R.).

Social: 22 absences since August, 15 on days with math first period (school). R. drives a delivery route from 06:00 and calls home at 07:30 (R.). Two close friends, both at a different school (J.). Counselor reports J. was a B student until last spring (counselor).

The Visual Actually Used

An ecomap drawn with J. on October 13 placed J. in the center, with strong lines to the two friends and to a grandparent in another state, a stressful line to the math class and a weak, broken line to the school as a whole. J. drew the line to R. as "strong but never home in the morning." The map showed what the narrative missed: J.'s supports are all outside school and outside the morning hours.

Two Links Followed

Link 1: morning stomach pain and the math class. Absences cluster on math-first days, and the pain disappears on weekends, which suggests the pain is tied to anticipatory anxiety about the class rather than illness alone. A medical check is still needed to rule out other causes.

Link 2: R.'s early route and the morning decision. With no adult at home between 06:00 and 08:00, the decision to stay home is J.'s alone at the moment the anxiety is highest.

Strengths With Evidence

J. was a B student until last spring (counselor). J. keeps two close friendships (J.). R. calls home every morning from work, showing steady involvement despite the schedule (R.). J. answered every question on the second visit after a long silence, showing willingness to engage.

Professional Impression

J.'s absences are best understood as anxiety-driven school avoidance, centered on one class and made easier by an unsupervised morning, in a young person who may also be carrying unspoken grief. School avoidance with physical symptoms is common and responds best when home and school act together early (Kearney & Graczyk, 2014). The impression points to a joint plan with the school, a medical check for the stomach pain and attention to grief at J.'s pace, consistent with the client's right to self-determination in the NASW Code of Ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 2021).

References

Kearney, C. A., & Graczyk, P. (2014). A response to intervention model to promote school attendance and decrease school absenteeism. Child & Youth Care Forum, 43(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-013-9222-1

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). NASW code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English