Areas of strength in Paula’s Case.

In a book authored by Sarah-Beth Plummer titled Sessions: Case Histories, the case of Paula Cortez is discussed in detail. This section of the submission highlights the story of Paula Cortez and its strengths as explained in the class discussions. Paula Cortez is aged 43, and an immigrant from Colombia who faces a lot of challenges in her life. She is diagnosed with HIV, has bipolar problems and also is a divorcee who no longer stays with her son as she lost custody of him. In light of those circumstances, she is exposed to emotional stress and psychological disorders.

The issue of her being bipolar is later on diagnosed and treated by a psychiatrist who despite his profession does not have excellent communication skills with Paula. The communication barrier is noticeable since the profession does not bother telling Paula on the side effects of the drugs that she recommends. Paula visits other professionals who also fail to follow up on her and see to it that she is following the right dosage as per the instructions. A social worker, therefore, took over Paula’s case and started to help her in good faith. The social worker does a good job as she makes Paula open up about her pregnancy and her sexual relationship.

Despite the success, the social worker seems to overlook Paula’s problems as she haves her admitted to a psychiatric hospital. This step was justifiable as social workers had the power to recommend patients for psychiatric units. Paula failed to pass her suicidal test, and therefore that posed a danger to her and her unborn child. The psychiatrist and the social worker work in an aim to aggravate Paula’s problems, which are mental and physical health. This step illustrates that the two, psychiatrist and the social worker are ready to take Paula through empowerment and an effective healing process.

The psychiatrist has the necessary link between him and the social work and therefore establishes the connection between Paula and the social worker. The connection depicts that both the psychiatrist and the social worker have embarked on care and advocacy in empowering their client. Continuous supervision and advocacy help in determining the level of success that the client may have in her journey to empowerment. The continuous advocacy and care help Paula to embrace who she is and understand the importance of taking her medication correctly. Paula also embarks on effecting a good relationship between her and the father of her unborn child. There is an encouragement too from a healthy relationship, not sidelining those romantic to boost her social skills.

Two multidisciplinary team approach relative to Paula’s pregnancy.

The idea of a multidisciplinary team is largely applicable in healthcare sciences, especially in risk interventions. The concept of multidisciplinary teams revolves around bringing two disciplines on board to deal with one problem in a complementary manner. In the case of Paula’s pregnancy, the concept of multidisciplinary teams would have been an excellent idea as it would solve both the medical part and the psychological issues of Paula. A psychiatrist would have given her drugs and followed up to ensure that she uses them according to the instructions provided. The social worker on his part would ensure that Paula is doing great when it comes to psychological problems relating to the child and its father. That way, great results would have been achieved then the original results.

Models that the social worker appears to be using.

The social worker, in this case, appears to be using narrative therapy model to meet her goals. The narrative therapy uses the client’s story to externalize the problems that the client faces. The model assumes that the problem is a separate entity and is not part of the client’s personality or being. The social worker, instead of fighting the problem, goes ahead to find the skills and abilities of the client that have been previously neglected and fights the problem externally.

Potential for bias when choosing an assessment model.

It is most likely than not that a social worker may experience prejudice when choosing an assessment model for a patient. The bias can be brought about by the social worker’s attempt to establish a close relationship with the patient and ends up overlooking some of the problems of the client. The social worker may also be so quick to judge about the problems of the client and hence is based on the effective model of assessment.

Strategies I would use to avoid bias as Paula’s social worker.

I would first take a good time to study Paula’s problems and understand them and determine what she wants the most. It is at that juncture now that I can select a good model of assessment for Paula. I would also select an assessment model that is easy for her to cope with, provided that it does not work to her detriment.