Respond to at least two colleagues who applied a theory of successful aging to Sara’s case that differs from the one you applied.
Respond to at least two colleagues who applied a theory of successful aging to Sara’s case that differs from the one you applied.
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Respond to at least two colleagues who applied a theory of successful aging to Sara’s case that differs from the one you applied. State whether you agree that your colleague’s strategy for applying the theory to Sara’s case is likely to be helpful. Provide support for your response and suggest one additional way your colleague might support Sara’s psychological well-being.
Be sure to support your responses with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.
According to Plummer (2014), Sara is a 72 year old widow who has a 48 year old daughter who has mental health issues. Sara has complaints of loneliness and she attends a senior day center for recreation and socialization. Sara has seen a psychologist for her condition who says that she is suffering from depression. Sara and her daughter Stephanie have issues due to her excessive hoarding habits. (Plummer, 2014) Key events that have influenced Sara’s relationships are the death of her husband, her excessive shopping which has lead to hoarding. The excessive hoarding is the driving factor in the rift in Stephanie and Sara’s relationship. Stephanie and Sara’s relationship is especially stressful because they live in a two bedroom apartment together that include Sara’s six cats. (Plummer, 2014) The events that have influenced Sara’s relationships are key because they are responsible for what she and Stephanie are experiencing physically and mentally. According to Kirst-Ashman (2019), psychological adjustments need to be made at all ages for life to be meaningful and fulfilling with no exceptions made in later adulthood. Sara’s problems are all correlated and are based on a cause versus effect.
As Sara’s social worker, I would apply a theory of successful aging to her case by making sure that the tasks of later adulthood have been mastered alongside an assessment that applies the theories of successful aging to where she is in her current life. Sara’s shopping habits are a result of the emotions associated with her living situation and her relationship with her daughter. Sara is not aware that she is utilizing “buying things” as a method of therapy. Theories of successful aging concentrate on three areas. I would apply the theory of successful aging to Sara’s case by implementing the activity theory to assist Sara by eliminating the need for retail therapy after Sara has gotten assistance removing the excessive things that she has been buying. Secondly, I would utilize the disengagement theory to assist Sara and Stephanie with redefining their roles and reassigning roles that work together to eliminate the issues they are having in the home. Lastly, I would attempt to identify whether social reconstruction syndrome is present in Sara’s life and work to establish Sara’s identity in the community as a positive one where she could volunteer or work. According to the NASW (n.d.), as social workers, we have a responsibility to respect the inherent dignity and worth of the client we are serving.
