Social Work Case Study: Substance Abuse

Jessica Smith is a 32 year old Caucasian white female with black hair and hazel brown eyes, Client is 5’8 inches tall and weighs about 160lbs. Ms. Smith is employed as an administrative assistant at a local human service program. She currently resides in Norfolk, Virginia with her daughter. She lives with her 11-year old daughter, Crystal in an apartment near her job. Jessica married her child’s father when she was 20 years old, but divorced him when he became physically and sexually abusive towards her. Jessica had a lot of gynecological problems during her 20s resulting in a hysterectomy at age 27. This type of problems happen when an individual is either physically or sexually abused. When asked client if she was sexually abused, but she

Ms. Smith inform the counselor that the majority of her stress comes from her boss in which she describes as “very stressful” and since she started the job, the boss has been on her case since then and it makes her depressed. She reports having a difficult time standing up for herself with her boss at work since she is constant stressor. She also reports consuming more alcohol and using crack daily. Client stated to staff that she needs to get her life together and support her daughter before her ex-husband take full custody of her daughter, Crystal. The client referred herself for substance abuse counseling and treatment session at an outpatient chemical dependency clinic. Client currently is not under any probation or have any outstanding

Smith informed staff the reason of herself referral for service is due to her rape incident when she hooked up with a guy she met at the bar where she was going to buy crack. Another reason Client is seeking for service is due to her daughter safety and protecting her daughter from the child’s father. Client report that she began drinking several times a week around the age of 13. She stated she started drinking heavily, when she felt depressed and that is an everyday situation. Jessica drinking became progressively worse over the years and she did not notice it was a problem until after she began using crack. Client informs staff that she does not have a history of drug usage in the past aside from alcohol consumption. Client states that there is no history of substance abuse in his family except her father use of alcohol. Client started using crack around age 28 because she was feeling more depressed and did not have a way to control her depression about from this