Social history provides information about how an individual experiences problems, past problem-solving behaviors, developmental stages, and impersonal relationships. Some of the information gathered in a social history may be a repeat of the information received in an initial intake interview, however, sometimes the interview can lack all the information needed to provide appropriate services for the client.
A social history can provide many advantages by filling in gaps in the client’s present issues and consequently helps complete the full picture of the client’s life. By better understanding the details that surround a client’s lifestyle, the case manager can work to develop a deeper and more effective relationship.
After a thorough interview and assessment of the client’s needs, the case manager can make the appropriate plans and integrate services indicated for the client to ensure the best possible assistance. This assistance may include referrals to outside agencies to meet all of the client’s needs.
A social history has disadvantages as well. Excessive questioning by the case manager can lead to a dependent role and culturally bound questions can create barriers to the development of the case manager and client relationship. Despite its limitations, the social history can play a vital role in the case manager’s process and the development of the client’s case file.
This is a real and fake profile I wrote for my Bachelor's program. Names have been changed and the story has been elaborated.
Name: Dixie White
Address: 123 6th Street Melbourne, FL 32904
Date of Birth: March 11th, 1992
Age: 21-year-old female
Marital Status: Single
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Race: Caucasian
Presenting Problem
Dixie feels that her life is of good quality and feels happy and satisfied, but upon examination of her wellness check, she indicated that she has a desire to develop deeper and better-quality relationships with her friends and family. She feels that she has multiple irrelevant people in her life that interrupt her ability to build strong relationships with the people who are the most important. She feels that if she is able to place irrelevant people on the outer fringes of her personal life, then they will take up less of her time and in turn, leave more time to work on the relationships that are significant to her.
Referral Source and Reason
Dixie was referred by Dr. Rose.
Developmental/Medical History
She states that she developed normally as a child and has no remarkable history. She was sent to a hospital emergency room once because of a car accident but was discharged due to no injury. She states she does not have any medical issues and considers herself healthy but she suffers from being anemic and takes daily iron and vitamin supplements as well as birth control.
Mental Health History
Dixie is currently taking four Zanax pills daily for the treatment of acute anxiety disorder. She feels that she does not have any mental health issues. She does not feel that her anxiety is an unusual diagnosis and does not feel that she needs counseling. She feels that much of her anxiety is due to the demands of college life and does not consider that any of her past or present family issues may be a contributing factor.
Personal and Family History
Dixie realizes that she was raised in a dysfunctional home environment now. Her father is an alcoholic and many of her schoolmates also had alcoholic fathers and therefore she did not think that this was a dysfunctional family lifestyle. Since she has gone to college she has learned about alcoholic family dynamics and realizes to some degree the impact that this may have on her life. She feels that she will be able to overcome her past lifestyle by going to college and getting an education so that she can stay out of her childhood home, become financially independent, and help others.
Trauma History
She has been in the hospital before because of her father. He was drunk, deserted the vehicle because of his fear of a DWI and left her in the car alone. Three hours went by before medical help arrived and transported her to an area hospital. She was discharged due to lack of injury.
She has been in an abusive relationship. She recognized the cycle of violence and made a conscious decision to end that relationship.
Education
She graduated from high school and she has an Associate’s degree in Human Services to help people with alcoholic problems. She has no desire to seek a Master’s degree at this time.
Work History
She used to work as a bartender during summer breaks from school and college. She currently works at Taco Bell and serves as a community service director in her college.
Present Family Relationships and Economic Situation
Dixie has a boyfriend named Ian and he is 21 years of age. She feels that they have a strong, supportive, and reliable relationship. She feels that Evan is like her family at the present time. She states she does not have strong connections with her family at home for a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons are they are geographically far away and they are non-existent because they are neglectful and disengaged with her.
She is not absolutely financially independent from her family because she does go home on occasion and still maintains a room at home. She has borrowed money to come to school to better herself. She is hoping that upon graduation she will be able to get a good paying job. She is not receiving any financial assistance from home and she is currently working at several different jobs. She has several different positions because the jobs are low paying and she needs some additional funds to complement the money that she has borrowed.
Personality/Habits
She is in a sorority and currently serves as their president. She likes to travel and go on cruises. She is able to knit but would like to increase her skill level. She takes pleasure in singing. She earned her black belt in karate when she was 10 years of age.
Impressions/Recommendations
Dixie is an upbeat and outgoing personality. I suggest making a list of all of her family members and friends. She could then categorize the pros and cons of each person on the list. After she establishes her list, then we could discuss her goals of eliminating unwanted/unhealthy relationships. I would discuss with her the qualities of friends she wishes to have in her life. Some ideas to establish deeper relationships is to improve the quality and frequency of communication, be more empathetic, reduce defensiveness, increase openness, learn how to resolve conflict while increasing mutual trust and respect, recognize destructive behaviors/habits and fix them, develop a higher emotional intelligence, turn problems and mistakes into learning and growth opportunities, talk about your relationship frequently and develop shared goals and strategies for creating more value together, develop a higher sense of self-awareness and convert your reactions into responses focused on improving the relationship. I would suggest she seek out a local Al-Anon family group to help her connect with people who have similar issues and provide her a way to feel better about her issues and start the healing process. Seeking out a counselor specializing in anxiety would help her learn to better manage her anxiety and learn more effective coping skills. A counselor could also prescribe and help her learn proper medication management.
