Betty- Client Description
Betty is a single mother of a five year old girl. She has been physically, sexually, and mentally abused and as a result she does not feel safe. She is currently unemployed and on social assistance. Her daughter is the primary focus in her life, and her goal is to make a better life for them by holding down a steady job.
Betty suffers from allergies and we have considered this issue when choosing sculpting as an activity. She's not allergic to clay or wax products. She is allergic to peanuts. We also assumed that her arthritis is in her hands and that it is not severe.
Primary Deficits and Therapeutic Values of Sculpting
Depression
Betty has been diagnosed with recurrent major depression at a moderate level of severity. Some of the symptoms she has demonstrated include:
-psychomotor agitation |
-diminished interest in activities for herself |
-low self-worth and self-esteem |
Sculpting will be therapeutic for Betty's depression for many reasons. It will reduce her psychomotor agitation through purposeful activity, as she will be concentrating on the activity at hand instead of fidgeting. Working with clay will provide an outlet for the frustrations and anger Betty is feeling, allowing her to release her negative energy into the clay. By giving her an activity she looks forward to performing, her interest in doing activities for herself will increase. Positive feedback that she receives on her sculptures will also work to increase her self-esteem and self-worth. Because of the positive effect sculpture will have on her self-esteem, her interest in the activity will escalate as she chooses and completes each sculpture.
For Betty, grading this activity can increase her self-esteem and interest in activities for herself, and in this way decrease her depression. Betty will start with a smaller and simpler project to give her an immediate sense of accomplishment and to keep her psychomotor agitation at a minimum. As she becomes more comfortable with sculpting, the projects will become more complex and take a longer time to complete. In this way, Betty will find achievement, leading to increased self-esteem in the small advances she makes, and motivate her to complete projects. When she finishes a whole project it will increase her confidence and thereby decrease her depression by acknowledging the fact that she completed something difficult and for herself.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Betty has demonstrated impulsiveness and difficulty in vocational functioning.
Betty's tendencies towards hyperactivity can be channeled into sculpting, thereby distracting her from impulsive behavior. Encouraging her to focus on completing her sculpture will increase her ability to concentrate on one specific task. As Betty is unable to hold down a job, this focus on finishing tasks will help to give her the job skills required for completing tasks and activities in the workplace.
Grading the activity will also address Betty's attention-deficit disorder and help control her hyperactivity. Sculpting can address Betty's attention-deficit disorder by gradually increasing the length of the sessions she spends sculpting. She will learn to focus her attention for longer periods of time. As a result of her disorder, Betty has difficulty making decisions on her own in the sense that she constantly seeks reassurance from others. By encouraging her to make decisions on her own about what to make, Betty will learn to accept the consequences of her decisions and gain confidence in her ability to make them.
Arthritis
Betty suffers from an inflammation in her metacarpal-phalangeal joints and proximal and distal interphalangeal joints. This inflammation is coupled with aching and stiffness, and the media that Betty chooses for her sculpting will affect her ability to perform. For example, working with warm wax will soothe her joints and soft clay will be easier for her to manipulate and mold.
The days that Betty's joints are aching from arthritis we will have to adapt sculpting. Using the warm wax or increasing the softness of the clay will help her to complete the activity with greater ease.