By:Samantha Stiles

Characters

• America Vega (Main Character)

• Dr. Maureen Brennan (Psychiatrist)

• Reggie Harper (Mrs. Harper’s Brother)

• Mrs. Harper (Foster Mom)

• Brooklyn (Brother)

More Characters

• Fish (Roomate)

• Marshall (Bully)

• Susana (Mom)

• Liza (Friend)

Eco Map

SUMMARY

AMERICA IS A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD BI-RACIAL MALE.

MOTHER WAS ADDICTED TO CRACK AND LEFT HIM AS A YOUNG CHILD, AND SOON WAS PUT INTO FOSTER CARE.

HE LIVED WITH MRS. HARPER AND REGGIE.

BECAME LOST IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM AND PUT INTO THE YOUTH TREATMENT CENTER AFTER ATTEMPTING SUICIDE.

SUMMARY CONTINUED

DR. MAUREEN BRENNAN WAS HIS THERAPIST IN THE YOUTH TREATMENT CENTER.

HE WAS ANGRY, AND DEVELOPED MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIORS WHEN FUNCTIONING IN SOCIETY.

DR. BRENNAN SUPPORTS AND ENCOURAGES AMERICA TO CONFRONT HIS PAST AND SOON AGE OUT OF THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3-myivwc4I.

What is Foster Care?• “Supervised care for delinquent or neglected children

usually in an institution or substitute home” (Princeton).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGy34G0bQjw.

Person-In-Environment(PIE)

Person-In-Environment(PIE)

“The Person-in-Environment (PIE) is a system for assessing problems in social functioning, developed by Karl and Wandrei.”

Social Functioning

Lecroy & Jose B. Ashford

“The Person-in-Environment (PIE) is a system for assessing problems in social functioning, developed by Karl and Wandrei.”

Social Functioning

Lecroy & Jose B. Ashford

Four Factors of Client Problems

Four Factors of Client Problems

Factor I Social-role ProblemsExample: Abuse

Factor II Environmental ProblemsExample: Foster Care

Factor III Mental DisordersExample: Symptoms of PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety

Factor IV Physical DisordersExample: Did not display any in movie

Factor I Social-role ProblemsExample: Abuse

Factor II Environmental ProblemsExample: Foster Care

Factor III Mental DisordersExample: Symptoms of PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety

Factor IV Physical DisordersExample: Did not display any in movie

Assessing Clients by PIE System

Assessing Clients by PIE System

1. What are the problems in social functioning presented by the client?

2. What problems exist in the social institution in this community that are affecting the client?

3. Are any mental health problems or strengths present?

4. What are physical problems and strengths are noted?

5. What strengths and resources does the client possess to deal with their concerns, issues, or problems?

(Lecroy & Ashford)

1. What are the problems in social functioning presented by the client?

2. What problems exist in the social institution in this community that are affecting the client?

3. Are any mental health problems or strengths present?

4. What are physical problems and strengths are noted?

5. What strengths and resources does the client possess to deal with their concerns, issues, or problems?

(Lecroy & Ashford)

Applying the Multidimensional

FrameworkPsychological

Hypothesis

Social Hypothesis

Psychological Hypothesis

• Cognitive Development and Information Processing

• Psychological Hazards and Risks

• Social Cognition and Regulation

Cognitive Development and Information Processing

• Client’s attention span, memory, concentration, and capacity for abstract thought

• Client’s reality base

• Client’s learning abilities and performance

• Client’s language ability and vocabulary

Cognitive Development and Information Processing

• Client’s self-perception

• Client’s emotional responses

• Client’s self-statements

Psychological Hazards and Risks

• Client’s experience of past life events

• Client’s experience with recent life events

Social Cognition and Regulation

• Client’s social knowledge about others

• Client’s capacity for empathy

• Client’s capacity for impulse control

• Client’s capacity for emotional regulation

Social Cognition and Regulation

• Client’s social skills

• Client’s social problem solving skills

• Client’s maladaptive behavior patterns

• Client’s coping skills

Social Hypothesis

• Groups and Families

• Communities and Support Systems

Groups and Families

• Role systems and client interactions

• Family’s patterns of communications

• Family’s roles

Communities and Support Systems

• Communities of which the client is a member

• Support systems available to the client

• Institutional contributions to client’s problems

• Organizational contributions

• Multicultural gender and spiritual hypothesis

Coping

• Listened to Music

• Played Basketball

• Fighting

• Isolation

• Dissociation

CRITICAL QUESTIONS

• BASED ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, DO YOU SEE WHY AMERICA HAD DIFFICULTIES WITH…

TRUST?

CONTROL?

SELF-ESTEEM?

RELATIONSHIPS?

REFERENCES

• America. (2009, February 9). YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUONc6MeLwI

• Ashford, J. B., & LeCroy, C. W. (2013). Human behavior in the social environment: a multidimensional perspective (5th ed.). Australia: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.

• Self-Injury Awareness Video 2013. (2013, March 1). YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toOKvG9li3c

REFERENCES

• Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. (5th ed.). (2013). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.

• Dee, R. (Director). (2009). America [Motion picture]. America: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.