Working with individuals and families

Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
November 10, 2020
Social Work Question
1 A.
Based on the case at hand it seems that the family’s problem stems from a variety of needs that each of them must be able to address, namely these are; (1) Economic needs, (2) need to improve the hostile relationship, (3) social belonging and cultural integration, (4) need for personal assurance, and (5) need to reestablish self-esteem.
Based on the story, the first need that a social worker must be able to address is the economic need of the family. As stated earlier, Mr Yeo lives with his extended family and that the pandemic has caused a toll on his capacity to earn money. He relies on the meager salary of a Grab driver, which is not enough to support his own family. Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it could be seen that this problem with regards to his capacity to support his family is a prime necessity.
Second, another aspect that needs to be addressed is the hostile relationship between each of the family members. Although many reasons caused the antagonistic relationship between them, it is clear that the chronic scuffle between Yeo’s wife and mother is the reason why he tends to become more reclusive from them. This is in line with the Cognitive theory, which states that it is the perception of the individuals of what is happening, which influences their behavior. In other words, Mr Yeo’s reclusive behavior is due to his perception that reclusion is the best defensive mechanism that he can use to escape reality.
The third issue that needs to be addressed is also essential for the healing of the relationship between one another. Notably, this is the need for social and cultural integration between the family members. It was stated in the case that Madam Yeo feels left alone because she cannot speak English, which is the primary language that the family members use. This is in line with the multi-cultural theory, which states that because Madam Yeo speaks a different language, her perception of the circumstances that are happening is different from her other family members.
The fourth issue that needs to be resolved is the need for personal assurance. It was shown that Madam Yeo thinks that the couple’s act of leaving Mr Yeo’s father in a nursing home is not right and fears that the same will happen to her. As discussed earlier, the cognitive theory posits that individuals behave based on how they process and perceive external information that is available upon them. Thus, when Madam Yeo saw how the couple left her husband in a nursing home, this created a sense of fear upo...