Case Presentation

Troy Kirk

Background
Information
26 year old African
American Male
History of moderate
MR, schizoaffective
disorder, impulse
control, & bipolar.
Stems from a large
family/ all with
similar diagnosis.

Problem Statement &

Services
The client lacks the
ability to care for
himself due to his
diagnoses & history
of suicidal ideation.
The client is in need
of guardianship.
A safe place to live
& management of
meds.

Person County DSS

is the responsible
payee for the
client.
Attends a day
program three
times a week.

Strengths & Limitations

The client remains positive and
has a team of individuals that
are concerned with his wellbeing.

He lacks the ability to say NO.

He wants others to accept him
& think of him as normal.
(people pleaser)

Goals &
Interventi
ons
The goals set for the
client include
attending peer
support groups to
help manage/discuss
issues that may
cause harm to him or
others.
The intervention lies
in the hands of our
commitment (DSS) to
obtain guardianship,
placement, & protect
him from abuse,
neglect, &
exploitation.

The timeframe for the

filed petition is expected
by the end of March.

Person County DSS was

awarded guardianship &
the client is adjusting well
in his new Family Care
Home.

Biases
How could family members not
provide a safe & loving place for the
client?
The client has a strong family
support and they love him, however
they want him to be happy and live
in a better environment.

Value Differences
The treatment of his mother.
The client should show his mother
more LOVE.
He is angry with her.

Life Experiences
The client was diagnosed at birth with
moderate MR and is a product of incest.
He has a hard time understanding that
his grandfather and father are the same.
He expresses that he wants to be
normal like his home boys

(contributing factors to his

behavior)

Staff Recommendations
The client has staff members from
other organizations that have worked
with him for years, along with DSS
everyone agrees that placement
outside of the family would be best.
Suggestions of behavioral evaluations,
meds and counseling are needed for
the client.

Research
Patients meeting criteria for schizoaffective
disorder typically present with a complex
and confusing combination of affective and
psychotic symptoms.
It is prudent to begin by aggressively
treating the mood component, because
psychotic mood disorders generally
respond more favorably to treatment than
does schizophrenia.

Changes
I feel the agency and everyone
involved in this case handled the
issues in a timely manner.
The clients well-being was the main
priority.