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Social Work Case Study Essay

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Joel tends to orient himself toward students that are like himself in several aspects. First, he tends to orient himself toward other bright students in his class. The roughly ten students that Joel was observed spending his time with were reported to be some of the brightest in the class. After an activity where Joel was asked to draw himself and the students in his class that are “closest to” him, Joel drew several students that he said were smart. Secondly, Joel tends to orient himself to students that have shared similar experiences. One of the students Joel drew in the previous activity also had a father who was a Naval captain on a different boat. Joel said that, “He knows what it’s like.” Similarly, Joel was described by his mother as someone who frequently wants to be friends with any new student. This is likely due to the fact that Joel has experienced how difficult adjusting to a new school can be, and he can relate to how these other new students feel. They too would know what it’s like. Joel’s third-grade teachers at Golden Wood described him as “kind,” “sweet,” and “intelligent.” This tends to be the theme of how Joel is described by the adults in his life. …show more content…

Joel has experienced stress from multiple sources. The biggest source of stress for Joel was his father’s career and well-being. When Blake is deployed, Joel tends to be withdrawn and irritable. Because of the nature of Blake’s position, he cannot share any details with Joel or Kim about what he is doing at work. The uncertainty of Blake’s career seems to be the heaviest stressor in Joel’s situation. Blake and Kim’s marital problems also seem to cause Joel a considerable amount of stress. As Kim disclosed, she and Blake had been fighting more than usual around the time that the issues had started at Golden Wood. Joel is concerned about losing his father, and seeing his parents fighting more frequently may be causing additional stress about what the future may bring for his

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