Hernandez Family Assessment
Assessment is as essential to family therapy as it is to individual therapy. Although families often present with one person identified as the “problem,” the assessment process will help you better understand family roles and determine whether the identified problem client is in fact the root of the family’s issues. As you examine the Hernandez Family: Sessions 1-6 videos in this week’s Learning Resources, consider how you might assess and treat the client family.
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Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Assess client families presenting for psychotherapy
To prepare:
- Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide on family assessment.
- View the Hernandez Family: Sessions 1-6 videos, and consider how you might assess the family in the case study.
Note: For guidance on writing a comprehensive client assessment, refer to pages 137–142 of Wheeler (2014) in this week’s Learning Resources.
The Assignment
Address in a comprehensive client assessment of the Hernandez family the following:
- Demographic information
- Presenting problem
- History or present illness
- Past psychiatric history
- Medical history
- Substance use history
- Developmental history
- Family psychiatric history
- Psychosocial history
- History of abuse and/or trauma
- Review of systems
- Physical assessment
- Mental status exam
- Differential diagnosis
- Case formulation
- Treatment plan
Note: Any item you are unable to address from the video should be marked “needs to be added to” as you would in an actual comprehensive client assessment
By Day 7 Assignment 1: Hernandez Family Assessment
Submit your Assignment.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click the Week 2 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click the Week 2 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
- Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
- Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
| Excellent (90-100) | Good (80-89) | Fair (70-79) | Poor (0-69) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality of Work Submitted:
The extent of which work meets the assignned criteria and work reflects graduate level critical and analytic thinking. |
27 (27%) – 30 (30%)
Assignment exceeds expectations. All topics are addressed with a minimum of 75% containing exceptional breadth and depth about each of the assignment topics.
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24 (24%) – 26 (26%)
Assignment meets expectations. All topics are addressed with a minimum of 50% containing good breadth and depth about each of the assignment topics.
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21 (21%) – 23 (23%)
Assignment meets most of the expectations. One required topic is either not addressed or inadequately addressed.
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0 (0%) – 20 (20%)
Assignment superficially meets some of the expectations. Two or more required topics are either not addressed or inadequately addressed.
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| Quality of Work Submitted: The purpose of the paper is clear. |
5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
A clear and comprehensive purpose statement is provided which delineates all required criteria.
|
4 (4%) – 4 (4%)
Purpose of the assignment is stated, yet is brief and not descriptive.
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3.5 (3.5%) – 3.5 (3.5%)
Purpose of the assignment is vague or off topic.
|
0 (0%) – 3 (3%)
No purpose statement was provided.
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| Assimilation and Synthesis of Ideas: The extent to which the work reflects the student’s ability to:
Understand and interpret the assignment’s key concepts. |
9 (9%) – 10 (10%)
Demonstrates the ability to critically appraise and intellectually explore key concepts.
|
8 (8%) – 8 (8%)
Demonstrates a clear understanding of key concepts.
|
7 (7%) – 7 (7%)
Shows some degree of understanding of key concepts.
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0 (0%) – 6 (6%)
Shows a lack of understanding of key concepts, deviates from topics.
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| Assimilation and Synthesis of Ideas: The extent to which the work reflects the student’s ability to:
Apply and integrate material in course resources (i.e. video, required readings, and textbook) and credible outside resources. |
18 (18%) – 20 (20%)
Demonstrates and applies exceptional support of major points and integrates 2 or more credible outside sources, in addition to 2-3 course resources to support point of view.
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16 (16%) – 17 (17%)
Integrates specific information from 1 credible outside resource and 2-3 course resources to support major points and point of view.
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14 (14%) – 15 (15%)
Minimally includes and integrates specific information from 2-3 resources to support major points and point of view.
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0 (0%) – 13 (13%)
Includes and integrates specific information from 0 to 1 resoruce to support major points and point of view.
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| Assimilation and Synthesis of Ideas: The extent to which the work reflects the student’s ability to:
Synthesize (combines various components or different ideas into a new whole) material in course resources (i.e. video, required readings, textbook) and outside, credible resources by comparing different points of view and highlighting similarities, differences, and connections. |
18 (18%) – 20 (20%)
Synthesizes and justifies (defends, explains, validates, confirms) information gleaned from sources to support major points presented. Applies meaning to the field of advanced nursing practice.
|
16 (16%) – 17 (17%)
Summarizes information gleaned from sources to support major points, but does not synthesize.
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14 (14%) – 15 (15%)
Identifies but does not interpret or apply concepts, and/or strategies correctly; ideas unclear and/or underdeveloped.
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0 (0%) – 13 (13%)
Rarely or does not interpret, apply, and synthesize concepts, and/or strategies.
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| Written Expression and Formatting Paragraph and Sentence Structure: Paragraphs make clear points that support well developed ideas, flow logically, and demonstrate continuity of ideas. Sentences are clearly structured and carefully focused–neither long and rambling nor short and lacking substance. |
8 (8%) – 8 (8%)
Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for structure, flow, continuity and clarity
|
7 (7%) – 7 (7%)
Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for structure, flow, continuity and clarity 80% of the time.
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6 (6%) – 6 (6%)
Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for structure, flow, continuity and clarity 60%- 79% of the time.
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0 (0%) – 5 (5%)
Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for structure, flow, continuity and clarity < 60% of the time.
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| Written Expression and Formatting English writing standards: Correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation |
7 (7%) – 7 (7%)
Uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation with no errors.
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6 (6%) – 6 (6%)
Contains a few (1-2) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
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5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Contains several (3-4) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
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0 (0%) – 4 (4%)
Contains many (≥ 5) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors that interfere with the reader’s understanding.
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Assignment 1: Hernandez Family AssessmentHernandez Family Episode 1
Program Transcript
JUAN HERNANDEZ: But we didn’t do anything wrong. That woman, that social
worker, who came to our house, I told her, me and Elena, we decide what’s best
for our boys, not her. Telling us we punish to hard. She doesn’t know anything
about us.
ELENA HERNANDEZ: We give our sons a good life. We love them very much.
It’s not fair what she said about Juan and me. We’re good parents.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Mrs. Hernandez, I understand how difficult this is for you–
JUAN HERNANDEZ: I don’t think you do. Everything that we do, we do for them,
everything. We work hard. We take care of them. And when they don’t follow the
rules, they get punished, strictly. The old fashioned way.
ELENA HERNANDEZ: Shh. Quiet. I told you.
JUAN HERNANDEZ: Sometimes I’m not strict enough with them. Look, I punish
my sons the way I see fit. That’s the only way they are going to learn. That’s how
we learned from our parents, right? Nobody took parenting classes. That’s
ridiculous.
FEMALE SPEAKER: I understand you’re angry. And you’re raising your children
the way you were brought up to do. But ACS has required that you do this.
JUAN HERNANDEZ: What if I don’t want to be required?
ELENA HERNANDEZ: I have a question.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Of course.
ELENA HERNANDEZ: If we go through with this, the things we talk about with
you, will it be private?
JUAN HERNANDEZ: But we have not agreed to do this.
ELENA HERNANDEZ: I don’t want to be here either. But I don’t want to loose our
children. Would it be private, what we talk about?
FEMALE SPEAKER: The information we share is between us. The only
exception to that is if one of you says you’re going to hurt yourself or hurt
someone else. In that case, I have to report it to the ACS worker. But everything
else is strictly confidential.
Hernandez Family Episode 1
So how do you think we can work together to make this a positive experience for
both of you?
JUAN HERNANDEZ: Parenting classes, really? What about the bills? I’m not
going to be able to work overtime.
ELENA HERNANDEZ: If we do what we’re supposed to do, would it be OK with
our family? Assignment 1: Hernandez Family Assessment
FEMALE SPEAKER: There are no guarantees. But here’s what I can say. We’ll
all work together to create a plan based on what the ACS worker has required
and recommended. Then it will be up to her what the outcome will be.
So shall we make a plan?
Hernandez Family Episode 1
Additional Content Attribution
MUSIC:
Music by Clean Cuts
Original Art and Photography Provided By:
Brian Kline and Nico Danks
Hernandez Family Episode 2
Hernandez Family Episode 2
Program Transcript
FEMALE SPEAKER: It’s good to see all our parents again tonight. And I want to
say thank you for being here these last few weeks. Today, we’re going to talk
about child development, specifically the behavior of our children, and what are
some realistic expectations we can have about how they behave, depending on
how old they are.
Part of understanding human behavior is looking at where someone is in their
life, as well at the impact of their environment, whether it’s school, home life,
family, or friends.
MALE SPEAKER: What’s there to understand? I mean, come on. They’re kids.
They shouldn’t be seen or heard, right?
FEMALE SPEAKER: We all want our children to behave. But throughout
childhood, there are certain behaviors that come with certain ages that can be
very challenging to deal with.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Tell me about it.
FEMALE SPEAKER: So let’s talk about some of your expectations about your
children’s behavior.
MALE SPEAKER: Well, my son is nine. That age, I expect him to do his chores
and listen to me. When I was nine, you better believe I was listening to my old
man, or else, you know?
MALE SPEAKER: You’ve got that right. And I don’t understand why my son
doesn’t listen to me when I tell them to do something. I mean, what if I didn’t
listen and come to this class? We might lose our kids. How do I deal with this
better? I mean, get him to listen and behave?
FEMALE SPEAKER: Well, Juan Junior is eight, and at that age, their attention
can be really hard to not only gain, but–
Hernandez Family Episode 2
Additional Content Attribution
MUSIC:
Music by Clean Cuts
Original Art and Photography Provided By:
Brian Kline and Nico Danks
