Case Presentation

1. Counseling interns name: Toby Doyle

2. Client/Students Jim, 12 years old, 7th grader, male, sexual orientation is unknown,
White/Caucasian, , Low Socioeconomic status, first generation, lives with mom, dad, and
brother.
3. Date session occurred: 4/20/15; I have consistently seen this student throughout the year and
this session lasted a little over a half an hour.
4. Use S.O.A.P. notes to capture the presenting issue:
* Subjective: Jim has been struggling in his academics and struggling in his home life
throughout the year. He is failing four of his classes and his home life is somewhat unstable.
His older brother committed suicide a few years ago and his other older brother is a drug user.
His mom has been very persistent in trying to get Jim more support and help, and we have
provided interventions with little to no success. He is receiving outside counseling and he has a
safety plan in place at the school because he is a potential high risk student. Jim in his own
words feels let down by his dads inability to follow through with commitments. His mom is
supportive but is very overwhelmed herself and earlier this year tried to take her own life. She is
going to counseling and participating in group work as well, but she has stated that she is
completely overwhelmed and is fearful that Jim is going down the same path as his brother who
dropped out of high school before eventually committing suicide a few years ago. Jim is falling
behind in school and seems unmotivated to put forth the effort to do his school work. He is
influenced by his other brothers decision to go to AIM high school, and has stated that he wants
to go there also because he thinks it would be a better fit. This seems to be having an effect on
his motivation to do well at Centennial Middle School.
* The objective: The client takes care of himself and places an emphasis on his appearance. I
think peoples perception of him is important. He has had an attendance problem all year, having
57 days where he was absent in at least one class. Jim seems low on motivation and has a hard
time articulating what he is trying to say from time to time. He seems to be unorganized, and he
often shows up to school late and unprepared.
* The assessment: Jim is diagnosed ADHD and is on a 504 plan. My perspective is that Jims
struggles manifest from a multitude of factors which include his living situation, his relationship
with his dad, the trauma that he has suffered in his life from losing his brother, and his inability
to keep up with his school work and get good grades. His mom is concerned that he is falling
behind and she is starting to relate this experience to what happened to her other son. This has
made her hyper vigilant towards putting supports in place to help Jim, but the follow through on
her end is inadequate and her expectations of the schools influence are unrealistic. This is a
situation that needs a holistic solution starting with the family and the home life and then helped
along and supported by the school, but as of yet, this paradigm has not been the reality. I think
Jim is unmotivated due in a large part his inabilities to do well in academics and the lack of
structure and support he has at home when it comes to school efficacy.
* The plan: I have continued to check in with him and his mom throughout the year. A 504 has
been put into place as well as a safety plan to ensure Jim that anytime he is feeling unsafe, there

are options that he can have to help reduce these feelings. We have had multiple meetings with
the mom, and we have lowered teacher expectations and made teachers privy to Jims history in
order to help induce empathy and understanding by his teachers. We have provided in school
tutoring when available and have worked on his organization and study skills to help him be
more successful in school. I am at a loss right now for how to properly and effectively help this
student.
List three things that you did well in the session with the client. List three things that you can
improve on in your session with the client.
Things I did well in the session:
1.
Challenged the student
2.
Was persistent with asking him how I could help him
3.
Have spent the year developing a positive relationship with him
Things I can work on:
1.
I think I could do a better job slowing him down
2.
Maybe do more exploring in to why he wants to leave the school
3.
Come up with more ways to support him
4.
Explore his home life more and find out what has been going on at home lately