Alex Case Study

PLEASE USE HEADINGS AND/OR SUBHEADINGS

Alex Case Study

Alex is a 15-year-old biracial male whose father is from Puerto Rico and mother is African American. Over the course of his life, Alex has struggled with his identity and how to fit in with his peers. Alex has always attended private Christian schools and is now in 9th grade at a local Christian Academy. He was shocked and hurt when he did not get into the high school most of his peers did after completing 8th grade and it has been a difficult adjustment to integrate with a new set of peers. Early into his freshman year, he was introduced to marijuana by some of his school mates. Initially, he declined to smoke weed but as his discomfort in his new environment grew and he felt more isolated, he eventually began using it. In his previous school system, he was one of the few non-white students but because he had a few close friends, he was able to brush off feeling like he never really fit in. One weekend during the spring, he attended a party and the police were called and issued drug possession charges to all the minors in attendance. Once the school found out, they suspended Alex and his reinstatement was incumbent on registering for a drug and alcohol treatment program. Alex was also placed on county juvenile probation and required to complete regular drug screenings. Alex was feeling depressed because using marijuana helped him to feel like he fit in. The old issues of not being white or black enough faded away when he was getting high with friends. Now hes back to feeling in no mans land.

Meanwhile, the reaction at home has been tough for Alex. He has always felt disconnected in the relationship with his father, who seemed like he was working all the time and had little time for Alex and his childish concerns. His mom has always been a constant figure in his life, but has run the house with a firm hand and was someone Alex always tried to avoid getting in trouble with out of fear of how she might come down on him. Her reaction so far has been theres always a problem with you and now look at how youve disgraced our Christian family! Alexs younger brother, Pete (age 12) has always seemed to be the golden child who could do no wrong. Alex wondered why things were always so difficult for him and easy for his brother. He was feeling misunderstood and unsupported at every turn. His friends were ignoring him, his school seemed unsympathetic to his situation, his dad barked at him and went back into his work, his mom installed a lot of punishments and restrictions, and now the legal system was bearing down on him. He was starting to check out emotionally and began wondering if life was worth it.

Based on your reading of a particular FST model in our textbooks or being discussed in class, develop a 1-2-page (single-spaced) paper applying the specific theory to the familys case and outlining a brief treatment plan – practically applying the theory techniques of both family assessment and clinical intervention.

The paper should include five LABELED sections based on the specific FST theory:

1. Key Problems of the Family
2. Primary Goals in Therapy
3. Conditions for Change
4. Family Assessment
5. Treatment Plan (Early, Middle, & Late Phases)

Books:

Nichols, M.P. & Davis, S.D. (2021). Family therapy: Concepts and methods, 12th Edition. Hoboken, NJ: Pearson.

Gehart, D. R., & Tuttle, A. R. (2003). Theory-Based treatment planning for marriage and family therapists. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole

McGowin, E.H. (2025). Households of faith: Practicing family in the kingdom of God. Intervarsity Press.