The Perini Family

The Perini Family

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The Perini Family

Introduction: Agency Setting

The Family Service Center in Richmond inVirginia is likely to help Mr. Perini deal with the issues he presents at the facility. The agency offers a variety of social work services to families and individuals. The facility serves those suffering from family-related issues that they think they cannot handle alone. The group provides a variety of services to its clients. It is committed to offering quality treatment and care to people who require assistance with Community Based Rehabilitative Services, Addiction and Recovery Treatment, and outpatient treatment. Its attention is aimed at strengthening families by offering the highest quality of supportive and clinical services via family centered, training, educational, and therapeutic interventions. I serve as a counselor and therapist at the Family Service Center in Richmond where I help people having similar problem to Perini. I am also conversant with some clinical practices such as taking readings of fundamental signs such as blood pressure, pulse rate, blood sugar level, and pulse rate and deduce their meanings and how they impact on a client.

Family Basic Identifying Information

The family comprises of six members all residing in the U.S. The man of the house Antonio Perini or Tony is 41 and his wife, Selma (D’ Angelita) Perini, is 36 years old. Tony has two children from his first marriage, Mariana, age 16 and Paul, age 13, and one child with his current wife Selma, Benedetta aged 14 years old. The couple also leaves with Selma’s mother, Mrs. Guilietto, and she is 69 years old. Reading the case reveals that the family has two male members and four female members. Whereas Tony and his children are of American origin, Selma and her mother are Russian in origin. Tony and Selma are married, and even though the study does not give occupational information about Selma and her mother, it comes out that Tony works at a thriving automotive repair shop and earns adequate payment. Nonetheless, the study does not provide any information about the family member’s religion.

Primary Reasons for Presentation for Services

Mr. Perini who presents the issue at the intervening agency reports that he feels helpless and desperate of the happenings in his family. According to Perini, he thought that by remarrying, he would solve the issues in the family after the death of his first wife and Mariana intervened to cook and conduct other house chores. He came across Selma and her daughter at a local Italian eatery, and immediately bonded with her following Lorena’s (Tony’s first wife) death. The two marry after courting for a couple of weeks. Tony brought Selma hope with the hope of surprising his children and making them happy. Tony who appears confused and distraught says that things do not work as he expected because one particular child, Mariana, seems to be unhappy and uncomfortable with Selma and Mrs. Guilietto’s presence. Tony does not know what to do and is confident that seeking intervention to help to address the matter and possible restore happiness and unity in his family.

Past Medical Issues

A family considers the possibility of having dealt with past medical issues as being imperative because this helps to foster preparations for future incidences. Fortunately, no member of the Perini’s family has encountered past medical issue that is recorded in the case study. The absence of past medical issues at the family suggests that members take adequate measures to avoid exposures or practices that could subject them to ailments. Absence of past medical issues at the family could also imply that Mr. Perini and his wife embrace effective preventive measures to avoid possible contamination or infection that could result in illness. However, lack of past medical concerns does not imply that the family may not encounter any incidences in future, which requires everyone to be keen at all times and take quick intervention measures in case any concern emerges.

Current Medical Issues

Apart from Mrs. Guilietto who is currently undergoing treatment, the rest of the family members are healthy and do not take any medication. Mrs. Guilietto’s illness is one of the reasons she does not encounter any difficulty getting a visa to enter the U.S. She suffers from a degenerative kidney disease that emanated because of his prolonged engagement with treatment of Type II diabetes. Mrs. Guilietto’s kidney problem deteriorated following her husband’s death while they still lived in Italy. She had no one to take care of her back at home, which compelled Selma to bring her over to make it easy to offer ongoing and long term care. Mrs. Guilietto has attended dialysis sessions for four months, a practice that he commenced immediately after entering the U.S. She must attend the sessions three times every week at the Kidney Dialysis Center where each therapy lasts about four hours. Dialysis is important in this case because the intervention helps to keep the body balanced by eliminating extra water, salt, and wastes to protect the body developing buildup (Castle et al., 2021; Mochizuki et al., 2021). However, there are no other health-related issues at the family.

Substance Use Problems

Analyzing the case does not give any indication of substance use problems. Substance abuse in this instance refers to unregulated use of psychoactive drugs like pain medications, alcohol, or unlawful drugs (Neicun et al., 2020). Often, substance abuse results in emotional, social, and physical harm (Nachinaab, 2018). Fortunately, none of the family members is into substance use or abuse, which makes them safe from possible adversities associated with the lifestyle. Indulging in substance abuse often presents a wide range of complications, including short-term and long-term health effects (Sahu & Sahu, 2012). Affected people usually display behavioral and mental problems that could be difficult to handle, especially when one is addicted to a particular substance (Zaman et al., 2015). A suitable way to stay away from such effects is for all family members to avoid drugs and alcohol as much as possible. Older members of the family should guide the younger ones and by leading by example. Otherwise, being attracted to drugs could result in unbearable effects.

Past Personal History

Examining the personal history of the Perini suggests that every member has his or her personal features. The family, as already has three children who are all teenagers. Mr. Tony appears to be hardworking from the way he works hard to provide for all family members. Selma, on the other hand, seems to lose her patience very fast and is not kind with children. Her behavior becomes evident when she encourages Mariana to leave the house saying that she will help her pack to facilitate her leaving. Mariana, on the other hand, has a different behavior from the rest of the family. She appears to be uncooperative and secludes herself from the rest. She is also unresponsive to errands. However, Paul and Benedatta are kind and do not indulge in controversial deeds. Based on the ages, the three children must still be attending school. Luckily, the family, based on the information in the case study, has not experienced any form of abuse. The analysis indicates that only Tony engages in economic activities that generate revenues for the family. He plays the role of a typical man who is responsible for fending for his family and ensuring that every member gets their personal needs (Lamb & Lewis, 2014). Thankfully, no member in Perini’s family suffers from mental health issues. Nevertheless, the case does not give any information about the adult’s level of education, military history, and current social situation, but one can judge that the issue Tony presents at the agency generates some social concerns.

Initial Assessment of Family’s Emotional Functioning

Assessing the family emotional functioning provides more information about it. Physically, all members appear to be well-dressed. However, their general behavior indicates that all members display desirable mannerism apart from Mariana and Selma who show some sign of agitation. Mariana, for example, shows agitation towards Selma and Mrs. Guilietto. Furthermore, everybody appears to friendly and cooperative apart from Mariana who behaves strangely promoting her father to seek intervention at a family agency. Mariana’s depressed mood makes the rest to be frightened and depressed. Even though the study does not present any sign for suicidal or homicidal ideations, it is apparent Mariana’s response to Selma, Mrs. Guilietto, and her step sister is causes much worry to the other family members. Furthermore, every other member of the family appears to be conscious of their environment or situation and judges things well apart from Mariana whose behavior and reactions calls for intervention. The weird behaviors and practices that Mariana display indicate that she require help that would restore normal emotions and behaviors.

Identified Family Strengths

Reading the Perini’s family case study, it is possible to identify certain strengths in the Perini’s family. One of the evident strengths is that the family stays as a unit despite the fact that Tony remarried and his new wife has invited her mother to stay with them. The way the family lives as a unit is a strong indication that they feel like one group that deserves to stay close to share ideas, tasks, and other activities. In some instances, it is likely to witness a scenario where the man refuses to stay with the mother of his wife claiming that her presence would increase budget and would derail attempts to provide for the entire family. Another strength in the family is that it does not appear to be suffering, thanks to the well-paying job that Tony performs at his place of work. Having constant income means that the children may not encounter any constraints attending school, getting food, and other necessary requirements such as clothing and medication. Being unable to provide for the family of six could generate more controversies and displeasure.

Treatment Plan

It is imperative to conduct the right diagnosis on Mariana and find a suitable treatment plan for her case. It is possible that she suffers from a mood disorder, which is a form of mental illness that affect a person’s moods and behaviors (DeRubeis et al., 2016; Lu, 2015). The first goal of the treatment plan is to balance Mariana’s mood, and the second objective for treatment is to prevent future recurrence of the problem. The third goal for treatment is to gain skills on how to handle the condition until Mariana recovers. The possible interventions in this case, include taking antidepressants, undergoing interpersonal therapy, and making individual effort to regulate stress that often escalates mood-related problems (Cho et al., 2017). The prognosis or possible cause for Mariana’s mood disorder could be attributed to possible encounter of stress, trauma, or significant life changes, often resulting in depression. Mariana in this case may have developed the mood disorder after the death of her mother, which was compounded by her father marrying another wife.

Conclusion

The study is an analysis of the Perini’s family. Tony who is the head of the family is disturbed because he feels that her daughter from his first marriage lacks respect and shows inappropriate behavior towards his second wife Selma, her mother and step sister. The issue disturbs his so much that leads his to seek intervention at a facility that helps its clients deal with family issues. However, the family is free from any health problem other than Selma’s mother who undergoes treatment for kidney failure caused by diabetes. No member is into drug, which prevents everyone from possible adversities associated with drug use. The study shows that every member has their personalities and emotional feelings. Furthermore, the study identifies various family strengths and recommends a treatment plan to help Mariana get over her condition.

References

Castle, E., McBridge, E., Greenwood, J., Bramham, K., Chilcot, J., & Greenwood, S. (2021). Do exercise, physical activity, dietetic, or combined interventions improve body weight in new kidney transplant recipients? A narrative systematic review and meta-analysis. Kidney Dialysis, 1(2), 100-120; https://doi.org/10.3390/kidneydial1020014 

Cho, C., Ahn, Y., & Ha, T. (2017). Design and methods of the mood disorder cohort research consortium (MDCRC) study. Psychiatry Investigation, 14(1), 100-106. doi: 10.4306/pi.2017.14.1.100

DeRubeis, R., Strunk, D., & Lorenzo-Lucas, L. (2016). Mood disorders. Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304834960_Mood_disorders

Lamb, M., & Lewis, C. (2014). The role of the father: An introduction. Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232604349_The_Role_of_the_Father_An_Introduction

Lu, R. (2015). Mood disorders: From psychopath genesis to treatment. The Scientific World Journal, https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/289508 

Mochizuki, Y., Miyata, Y., Matsuda, T., Mukae, Y., Ohba, K., & Sakai, H. (2021). Dialysis access and preemptive kidney transplantation. Kidney Dialysis, 1(2), 79-87; https://doi.org/10.3390/kidneydial1020012 

Nachinaab, J. (2018). The causes and effects of substance abuse in communities:  A Case Study of Wli-Agorviefe in the Hohoe Ahado District of the Volta Region. SSRN Electronic Journal, doi:10.2139/ssrn.3146432

Neicun, J., Yang, J., Shih, H., Nadella, P., Kessel, R., Negri, A., Czabanowska, K., Brayne, C., & Roman-Urrestarazu, A. (2020). Correction: Lifetime prevalence of novel psychoactive substances use among adults in the USA: Sociodemographic, mental health and illicit drug use correlates. Evidence from a population-based survey 2007–2014. PLOS ONE, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251006 

Sahu, K., & Sahu, S. (2012). Substance abuse causes and consequences. Bangabasi Academic Journal, 9, 52-59. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/246544796_Substance_Abuse_Causes_and_Consequences

Zaman, M., Razzaq, S., Hassan, R., Qureshi, J., Ijaz, H., & Hanif, M. (2015). Drug abuse among the students. Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 1(1), 41-47. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273924102_Drug_abuse_among_the_students