Reflective Essay Figure 1.1: Elizabeth’s Family Genogram

It is about a young woman named Elizabeth. She is the daughter of Mary who lives in a very well-
known rough area in Lewisham. All the houses in the road are council homes and many of them are
known to the department. You are at the moment working with another family that lives in that same
road that is under a Child Protection Plan for neglect. You have a very good relationship with the
mother of this other family and she has told you stories about the road and how she would never let
her daughter have relationships with this family.
You are also aware that in the long-term team where you have been working for the last two years
there are some families that have a relationship with Elizabeth’s family. They have been known to the
department for years.
Mary and Elizabeth live with Mary’s long-term boyfriend, Ben, that is Elizabeth’s father. Mary has
other two adult children that live nearby and that pop into the property almost every day. They have
their own partners and children and one of them is known to social services and it is an open case
for neglect. The allocated social is concerned about this family because there have been historical
allegations in the family about sexual abuse to the children.
Elizabeth has been referred to by her school. She has never been a very good attender and they have referred her to social services a few times however the case has always been closed because Mary was seen as a very ill woman with sclerosis, dyslexia, depression and alcohol consumption needed help. She is also illiterate and she has always stated she can’t read the school letters telling her Elizabeth has not been in school and she has never attended parent-teacher conferences because of her mobility issues.
Elizabeth has been seeing the school nurse sporadically because she is diagnosed with anorexia. In her last session, Elizabeth has told her she is pregnant. The school nurse has made the school aware and they are contacting social services for a child protection referral.
Guidelines
Please draw a genogram with the information you have at the moment.
Please identify your assumptions and identify some of the questions you might have for Mary and
Elizabeth on your first visit. Identify what is a priority for you in this case.
Identify how Bronfenbrenner’s can be used in this case to help us understand the situation.
Also, identify development theories that could help us understand the situation.
Identify your social GRACES and the families as well and see how they could affect your perception of the case
Read the case and write in a piece of paper your initial thoughts. How do you react naturally? Try to keep it as honest as possible. This part of the assessment will help you understand your assumptions
and maybe will help you reflect on your social GRACES.
Write the genogram. Do not forget to include the relationship lines and the key if you include any symbol that is not on your support sheet.
Identify if there are any patterns you could see in people’s behavior.
Try to remember Barry Mason about where your assumptions take you for this family and try to perceive it from a perspective of Safe Uncertainty.
Imagine the different ecological systems for the child. If you don’t have the information you can assume some of the levels but don’t forget to mention them all. Please do not explain the different systems, apply the theory, don’t explain it.
Finally, identify which developmental theories you can identify that could help you understand any
of the behaviors or explain any of the situations the family is facing
Remember to include a structure in your assessment, keep the conclusion focused on what you have learned and summarise all the pathways you have taken.
Remember to include literature in your assignment, peer-reviewed, and books is the safest.
Remember to write a reference list at the end of the document.
Watch out for grammar, syntax, and composition.