| Course | MSW 512 Direct Practice II |
|---|---|
| Week | 4 |
| Paper type | Case assessment |
| Length | About 540 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 512 Week 4
Case Assessment of M. With Two Active Problems Feeding Each Other, Nightly Drinking and Depressive Symptoms, a Formulation With the Material Against It and a Decision for Individual Work Plus a Group Rather Than Couples Sessions
Student Name
Chamberlain University
MSW 512: Direct Practice II
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Case Assessment of M. With Two Active Problems Feeding Each Other, Nightly Drinking and Depressive Symptoms, a Formulation With the Material Against It and a Decision for Individual Work Plus a Group Rather Than Couples Sessions
Material Gathered
Sources: four sessions with M.; one phone call with M.'s spouse, with M.'s permission; the pretrial program's referral. Screening at session 4: AUDIT score 19, in the range the World Health Organization guidelines associate with harmful use and possible dependence (Babor et al., 2001). PHQ-9 score 14, moderate depressive symptoms (Kroenke et al., 2001). M. reports sleeping four to five hours, losing interest in fishing, feeling "useless since they took the license" and drinking most nights.
Two Problems, Linked
The depressive symptoms began before the arrest, according to the spouse, around the time M.'s father died 18 months ago, and they worsened after the license was suspended and M. lost income. Drinking rose after the father's death and again after the suspension. M. uses alcohol to sleep; alcohol worsens sleep quality and mood the next day; low mood makes the evening drink feel necessary.
Formulation
The situation is held together by a loop: grief and lost work feed low mood and poor sleep; drinking is M.'s remedy for both; drinking deepens both. The loss of the license removed M.'s main source of identity and structure, which keeps the loop running all day rather than only on weekends at home.
Material That Sits Awkwardly
M. drank heavily on home weekends for years before the father's death, by M.'s own account, which suggests drinking is not only a response to grief. And M. reports no low mood during long runs, when M. does not drink. Both facts complicate a simple story in which depression drives drinking.
Arrangement of the Work
Individual work continues, now adding attention to grief and sleep. M. will also join the agency's evening relapse prevention group, where other drivers and tradespeople talk about drinking, because M. responds better to peers than to professionals. Couples sessions are deferred: the spouse is angry about the arrest and money, and joint sessions now could become arguments about blame. I will revisit this at week 10.
The group also gives M. something individual sessions cannot: other drivers who have lost a license and got it back, which is evidence M. is more likely to believe than anything a worker says.
Risk
The PHQ-9 item on thoughts of death was scored 1, several days. I asked directly; M. said, "Sometimes I think they'd be better off with the insurance." This requires a safety plan before the next session, set out separately.
I will tell M. at the start of the next session that safety comes first, so the plan does not arrive as a surprise. The agency's protocol requires a supervisor review of any disclosure like this within one working day, which I completed on November 5.
References
Babor, T. F., Higgins-Biddle, J. C., Saunders, J. B., & Monteiro, M. G. (2001). AUDIT: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: Guidelines for use in primary care (2nd ed.). World Health Organization.
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001). The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606-613. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x
The Chamberlain MSW 512 Week 4 instructions
In week 4, the task is a case assessment that ends in two commitments. The first is a formulation: a stated view of what holds the situation together, with the material that supports it and the material that sits awkwardly against it. Complex cases carry more than one active problem, so show how they feed each other rather than listing them. The second is a decision about the arrangement of the work, individual, family or group, argued from the case. Group work is not required. Use standardized measures where they help. Restate the case only as far as the argument needs. This differs from foundation assessments in that it must argue, not only gather.
How the MSW 512 Week 4 example is put together
The material section lists four sessions, a spouse's call with consent and the referral, with an AUDIT score of 19, interpreted through Babor et al. (2001), and a PHQ-9 of 14, from Kroenke et al. (2001), plus short sleep, lost interest and feeling useless. A section links grief after the father's death and the suspension to rising drinking. The formulation describes a loop in which drinking treats low mood and poor sleep while deepening both. The awkward material notes years of weekend drinking before the death and no low mood on dry runs. The arrangement adds grief work and a relapse prevention group and defers couples sessions. A risk section records thoughts of death and calls for a safety plan.
Reading the MSW 512 Week 4 grading rubric
In a complex case assessment, the formulation decides most of the grade. A list of problems without a view of how they hold together earns little. Showing how the problems feed each other carries a large share. Faculty weigh the material set against the formulation heavily, since it shows the view was tested. The arrangement decision must be argued from the case, not chosen by default. Standardized measures should be named and interpreted correctly. Attention to risk is expected. Restating the case at length costs marks. Each cited study belongs in an APA list at the end. Faculty also look for risk to be noticed and acted on.
Common MSW 512 Week 4 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Case assessments commonly list each problem under its own heading and recommend treatment for each separately. Another frequent gap is a formulation with no evidence against it. Some papers also recommend family or group work without explaining why it suits this case now. Working from another client? Share the case notes plus any measures you have, and we would build a formulation, show how the problems feed each other, set out material that complicates it, argue an arrangement of the work and flag any risk. Only as much of the supplied case would be restated as the formulation needs, and group work would be recommended only where the case supports it.
Get a MSW-512 Week 4 example written to your instructions
Upload your section's instructions, the rubric and the case material you were given. A custom MSW-512 Week 4 case assessment is drafted to those requirements and reaches you within 24-48h. A first example is free of charge. Seeing a formulation carried through to an arrangement decision beats being told what one is.
More MSW 512 papers and MSW samples
- MSW 512 Week 1: Practice Approach Choice Post
- MSW 512 Week 2: Intervention Model Write-Up
- MSW 512 Week 3: Process Recording of an MI Session
- MSW 512 Week 5: Group Session Write-up
- MSW 512 Week 6: Crisis Intervention Plan
- MSW 512 Week 7: Treatment Plan
- MSW 512 Week 8: Practice Reflection
- MSW 511 Week 4: Cultural Case Analysis
- MSW 509 Week 4: Trauma Diagnostic Write-Up
- MSW 507 Week 4: Research Design Memo
- MSW 506 Week 4: SSI One Page Policy Brief
MSW 512 Week 4 questions, answered
How does this differ from the assessment written in the foundation practice course?
That one gathers and organizes what is known. This one commits. The advanced version proposes a mechanism, weighs the evidence against it, decides what gets addressed first when several problems are active, and recommends an arrangement for the work. Marks move from coverage of the material toward the quality of the reasoning built on top of it.
Does the assessment have to recommend group work?
No, and a recommendation made because the week happens to be about groups is visible. What earns the marks is a reason drawn from the assessment itself: something about isolation, about a problem that other people manage better than a worker can, or about a person who cannot yet tolerate a group. Either answer is defensible if the ground is stated.
How much of the supplied case should be restated?
Less than most drafts include. A grader has the vignette and does not need it back. Two or three compressed paragraphs establishing the situation is usually enough, and everything saved there goes into the formulation, which is where the assessment is actually marked. Restated detail with no analytical use attached is the commonest reason a strong case reads flat.
Where can I find a free MSW 512 Week 4 sample paper?
A complete MSW 512 Week 4 case assessment linking drinking and depressive symptoms in one formulation is on this page.
Why does the MSW 512 Week 4 sample defer couples sessions?
Because the spouse is angry about the arrest and money, and joint sessions now could turn into arguments about blame.