Case Study: Language Barrier

Section One: Background Information

Chaldean Community Foundation was formed with the aim of empowering the community by addressing the various social and cognitive issues affecting the society. People in the society present with various behavioural, cognitive, mental and social issues that can be addressed through proper rehabilitation systems. Addressing the issues helps in creating a healthy community where people are self-reliant since they have the full capacity to engage in their daily activities. The Foundation advances the needs of the Chaldean American community and the surrounding communities through education, charitable giving and advocacy. One of the services provided by the foundation includes enrolling the non-english speakers into the English class to help them advance their mastery of their language and enhance their ability to integrate fully in the American community. For instance, about 510 students were enrolled in the English as a second language class. Addition, there are various courses including computer trainings. As a social worker in the foundation, my key roles including educating the non-English speakers in the English-as-second language class and participating in other empowerment activities such as counselling people with disabilities among others. The activities undertaken by various agencies in the foundation are integrated to ensure that a common goal of empowering the community is achieved. In the course of duty delivery, I interact with people with different needs that require customized care and needs. Therefore, understanding the wider scope of the social, cognitive and behavioural needs is essential for effective service delivery as a social worker.

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One of the most cases addressed was about a Refugee who came to United States in 2010 and faced the difficulties with his language barrier and wanted to obtain citizenship as well. I worked with other social workers in the agency to address the client's nee accordingly. However, much information about the client were gathered during the assessment and the findings were essential in the development of help plan. The client was called Julie and was aged 27 years. She was Iranian immigrant in the United States. Her level of education was average considering that the highest level of education attain was high school. In addition, he was from a poor family background living in the suburbs in the community. The client was referred to the facility by Henry Ford WB Hospital; this after he had been admitted in the hospital with pneumonia and had fully recovered. The hospital offered a patient-centred and so through the interaction with the health professionals, it was evident that the client needs the services.

Section Two

The client's main concern was her inability to communicate English; she could hardly interact in the community or even seek employment because of the communication difficulties. In addition, the client needed to obtain the American citizenship. From the experience and assessment, the client could hardly speak two English words despite having been in the United States for more than seven years. He admitted that he desired to know the language to do away with the language barrier which was a major challenge she faced. The client reported having been traumatized by the state and she felt bad about. In addition, the twenty seven years old woman presented with other psychological needs which deteriorated her health. She experienced mood swings which were as a result of the stressful experience and life caused by the language barrier issue. The client had tried coping up with the condition; though, it worsened the more she was stressed by her state. She was depressed for a long period and this evident even at the point when she came to the agency; the client was low and was not happy. In addition, she had lost hope in the community imagining that there was no point of help in her life.

Language barrier limited the client's ability to learn from the environment and this would a major concern in the learning process considering that she would find difficulties understanding what is taught in class. She also reported of being frustrated because she expected to make more new friends but this was impossible due to her inability to speak and understand English language. She admitted of having the problem and was ready to receive help and overcome the challenge. The physical wellbeing is influenced by the mental or emotional wellbeing and that is why it is important to address the human being system as wholly during the medical interventions. As a result, the treatment was necessary and useful to the client. The client also understood that failure to address her condition in time would affect her physical health negatively. It was a great relief to her when she was referred and enrolled to the programs offered by the Chaldean Community Foundation. She had initially enrolled for the English classes but could not sustain because she was a slow learner and did not make much progress. In addition, she was discouraged by the fact that the teacher got tired and could not provide much attention to her as needed because her performance were far much below the other students enrolled in the class. Therefore, teachers and others who interacted with Julie believed that she had a problem that needed to be addressed. The full illustration of her experience was detailed in the referral letter from the hospital; based on this information, it was easy to explore further the client's history and experiences so that an appropriate treatment design is developed for her. She lived with her parents and other siblings who also knew and understood her status. The parents were supportive and were willing to help her come out of the situation.

I noticed that the clients was unwell and presented with the problem from the initial view. In as much as she was oriented, she appeared tired and non-energetic because of the frustrations she had experienced. In addition, when I first interacted with her she could not speak English and she had been accompanied by a family help who facilitated the communication process.

Section Three: Historic Development and Bio-Psycho-Socio-Cultural-Spiritual Information

The client had presented with depression for some time in the past; though, after consulting medical help the condition reduced. He reported having experienced mood swing moments characterized by both mania and hypermania. For the analysis, this could suggest bipolar condition. The client's progress was good and the symptoms associated with both the depression and bipolar condition. The client did not present with any developmental issues such as walking, talking, toilet training and others. The client's posture was appropriate as well. On the other hand, the main concern was on the mastery of the second language and this could suggest difficulties in the cognitive development. Also, the client reported that he experience slow learning since her childhood; therefore, the presenting challenge had been in existence since childhood. The delays in learning and mastery of content are associated to the cognitive development problems.

Interaction With Social Contexts and System

According to the person in environment perspective, it is important to analyse an individual's behaviour in light of the environmental context. The client comes from a low social class; such classes are usually characterized by low level of education and increased social deviances due to stress resulting from poor sanitation, lack of adequate housing and financial constraint. Therefore, the patient's presentation is appropriate to his surrounding environment. For example, the fact that the client came from a poor family could have contributed to the lack of high level of education attainment. On the other hand, if the client could be from a rich, it could have been easy for her to attend specialized schools with special training. People with cognitive behaviours require special training and therapeutic interventions which ought to be provided in time. The poor families find it challenges to cater for the financial obligations needed in the treatment alongside providing the daily basic commodities requirement. Socio-economic-cultural-political factors affect the quality of life people live in a given community setting. For example, cultural beliefs such as gender discrimination and stereotypes against women could negative influence the development and progress of women in the society. Considering that the client was a woman and came from poor social class where gender stereotypes are rampant, it was difficult for him to overcome the learning difficulties. In addition, racial and ethnic inequalities are major concerns in most of the American societies. The forms of discriminations have been institutionalized and in most cases they occur unconsciously. It was difficult for the client to get job and survive in the society without mastering English language. Language barrier existed because of the ethnic and cultural diversity and variations.

Spirituality is important for the client. Holistic counselling is an emerging trend and framework in the current psychological practices that is embedded in the fact that human body is composed of a group of interconnected systems. The interconnection encompasses the mind, the emotions and physical aspects of human beings. From the assessment, the client was a committed member of the church; she attended the church services weekly and could also attend the mid-week services. Spirituality is important considering that the client presented with mental and psychological problems which can be fully addressed through spirituality.

Julie is friendly both to the family; however, she has limited friends because of the language barrier. Generally, she appears friendly considering that she recovered and improved from the depressive and bipolar symptoms. There is no record of traumatic event in the client's historical information. Both parents are alive and they have four other siblings. The parents provide love and affection to their children and they have been supportive to Julie throughout. There were no detected vulnerability from the assessment of the client's environment and condition. However, there were strengths and weakness discovered during the process. The clients main strength is that she accepted her condition and problems and was ready and willing to undertake the treatment being optimistic that her state would improve in future. On the other hand, the main weakness presented by the client is inability to control moods and emotions. Sometimes she reacts to things more extremely and this makes her susceptible to mental disorders and stress.