PSY FPX 6015 Assessment 3

Adolescent Case Intervention Analysis: Case Study of Jasmine

Jasmine is a 17-year-old Chinese American who moved from China to the United States two years ago. She resides in Oregon and attends public school and is the youngest of the family, the new student in class, and learning to speak English. Not only is she the only minority in class, but she also gets bullied regularly by peers. Thus, she’s failing academically but building good social relationships with the other kids. Her classroom teacher tends to bully Jasmine, though when alone with the other kids, he is kind to her.

Jasmine must be sent to the resource room for assistance due to frustration and feeling lost in her classroom. Jasmine is depressed and normally does not reveal this emotion. She is afraid her parents will not understand. Jasmine is also experiencing suicidal thoughts of wishing that she did not exist. She believes that she is the only Chinese-American among all her peers. This is hard since she must observe her parents’ religious practices. The children around her gawk at her and taunt her on social media.

Development

Psychological and sociological professionals use an effective lens of lifespan development whereby the development and growth of an individual can be studied well. The child at conception should be a citizen who is obedient and loyal and makes society better through their quality of work and study (Broderick & Belwitt, 2020). The Lifespan Development Theory provides an opportunity that monitors and evaluates the patterns of development, learning, socialization, and development and any way in which the patterns could be improved.

There are a variety of aspects of the lifespan development of a human that are mysterious or unstudied. One of the most controversial aspects of human development in adolescence is that it undergoes profound physiological and emotional changes. Success at managing life as a young adult will be attainable if there is effective purposeful self-regulation. Adolescents fail when they cannot accommodate any of the changing conditions of their social performance.

Psychological Theories Related to Case

Erik Erikson’s 8 Stages of Development

The majority of the theories can be applied to Jasmine’s case study, but some are essential. The first is Jasmine’s age; it strictly aligns with how she feels currently and Erik Erikson’s 8 Stages of Development—it is not uncommon for teenagers of her age to be going through identity and role confusion. The second theory that can be applied to this case study is the cultural-historical psychology approach (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues & Educational Publishing Foundation, 2000).

The 8 Stages Theory of Psychological Development classifies individuals based on age to determine the development stage of the individual. The “adolescent” stage that Jasmine is a part of is 12 to 18 years old (J.J. Thompson, 2021). The central conflict at the adolescent stage is Identity vs. Role Confusion (J.J. Thompson, 2021). Jasmine needs to form a sense of identity in either vocation, sex roles, politics, or religion. The key event in her development is peer relationships, and Jasmine’s peer relationships are negative (Pond, 2017).

Cultural Psychology

The second theoretical framework is cultural psychology, which was created in the 1920s by Lev Vygotsky and later expanded on by his followers (Wagoner et al., 2014). It dealt with those elements of culture that are passed down from generation to generation. Cultural psychology deals with the way local culture influences psychological processes (Wagoner et al., 2014). Culture influences individuals, and individuals influence their culture. In this case, Jasmine feels that she is different due to the cultural beliefs held by the people around her. The biases cause her to feel different or not belong. The theory of culture also accounts for her depressive symptoms (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues & Educational Publishing Foundation, 2000).

Presenting Challenges

The early adolescent stages possess different attributes, which are distinctive from the remaining adolescent lifespan growth. In early adolescence, one will test out values and beliefs. In early adolescence, the central conflict between abandonment and affliction is that an adolescent growing into this period of life will worry about being liked and avoid being disliked. This conflict also arises when social and identity disorganization is present. Adolescents long to be freed from the “internalized parent,” or customs, morals, and values conveyed by parents. In the meantime, the adolescent might not receive practice in regulation and motivation that will allow them to accomplish goals due to an inadequate fit between their psychosocial needs and resources provided through the school environment (Broderick & Belwitt, 2020).

Primary Issues

Jasmine has undergone many issues that she has been facing since the time she has been living here, and among those major issues, one is her new environment and lack of autonomous self-regulation. Numerous components construct self-regulation and are complex in the sense that the individual will have enough ability to set up and achieve their intentions (Broderick & Belwitt, 2020). There is a necessity for self-regulation that is evident in that only teenagers with high levels of independent self-regulation will develop. Having successful relationships that involve many levels of social and cultural contexts in which there is development. One of the problems of weak self-regulation is further compounded when peer attachments are absent, especially when peer relationships are the archetypal setting for the adolescents” identity development (Broderick & Belwitt, 2020).

Finally, the ethnicity heavily affects Jasmine’s identity and development at this point. In this multicultural society Jasmine experiences the conflicts between the innate wish for autonomy and the cultural setting where she lives. Following Ngai et al. (2018), Chinese Americans will be conforming to the attitude of their parent at each step of life, which could exclude her from joining in and reciprocally interning with her peers. Now she is undergoing a diffusion stage controlled by her low autonomy, identity, and self-esteem levels. Lack of effective peer relationships will also impede her development of independent self-regulation. All these have created a setting for Jasmine, which begins to lead to depression for her (Broderick & Belwitt, 2020).

Learning Evaluation and Intervention

Donovan et al. (2013) examined whether personal identity, confusion, and ethnic identity mediate or moderate the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms. The researchers examined eight ethnic-generational groups. Donovan et al. (2013) used a sample of 9665 students. The researchers used a survey. Perceived discrimination and ethnic identity levels varied in all the groups. Donovan et al. (2013) found that ethnic identity and identity confusion did not moderate the perceived discrimination. Identity confusion, however, partially mediated immigrant and non-immigrant Hispanic and white European Americans (Donovan et al., 2013).

Demir et al. (2010) attempted to investigate the sense of identity-depression association among a sample of adolescents. There were 31 depressed adolescent participants and 31 control participants. Participants were evaluated on the Sense of Identity Assessment Form and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Follow-up was carried out on depressed participants after treatment with antidepressants for eight weeks. Greater senses of identity above baseline were observed in the adolescents with depression compared to the control group. Demir et al. (2010) concluded that significant positive correlations between sense of identity, depression, and anxiety existed. The identity scale assessment change scores could predict the remitters and non-remitters correctly. These are significant findings, as they indicate an association between identity-confused teenagers and depression (Demir et al., 2010).

PSY FPX 6015 Assessment 3 Adolescent Case Intervention Analysis 

Zisk et al. (2019) utilized a study to determine the significance of parent-teen communication in depressed and suicidal adolescents. A total of 253 adolescents were screened for study eligibility, and a total sample of 129 depressed or suicidal adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 were randomly assigned to family-enhanced nondirective support therapy or attachment-based family therapy. Parents and adolescents were videotaped before the treatment during a 10-minute conflict discussion. The sample was divided into half with attachment-based family therapy (ABFT) and the other half with family-enhanced non-directive support therapy (FE-NST). ABFT is a 16-week treatment that promotes conflict between the adolescent and his/her parent that might be causing mayhem in the adolescent. ABFT contains 5 tasks in which the parent and the individual are treated jointly, followed by individual sessions. FE-NST is an individual treatment based on a supportive relationship treatment manual; it is an individual therapy treatment.

During this treatment, a therapist empathizes, reflectively listens, and makes statements that may introduce a new insight to the adolescent. Adolescents with non-cooperative parent communication when they were involved in a 10-minute conflict discussion or who have difficulty maintaining cooperative communications with their parents showed larger reductions in depression symptoms and are likely to benefit from these treatments. Adolescents from traditionally underserved families also showed greater reductions within these interventions. Zisk et al.’s (2019) findings are the benefit of family-supportive therapy, which can be specifically beneficial to underserved families (Zisk et al., 2019).

PSY FPX 6015 Assessment 3 Adolescent Case Intervention Analysis 

Yang et al. (2020) compared dialectical behavior group therapy (DBT) with supportive group therapy skills to reduce suicidal risks and depressive symptoms. Yang et al. (2020) employed 97 suicidal participants who were randomized into a DBT group skills training or a supportive group therapy. 244 students were interviewed; among those 244, 189 were diagnosed with severe depression. 97 students agreed to take part in the study. DBT comprised treatment modules: phone coaching, acceptance-oriented skills, mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

These findings tell us the right alternative solutions to Jasmine’s case study. According to Zisk et al. (2019), family therapy will decrease symptoms of depression in a person who is battling with members of their family by a wide extent. In a more specific manner, Jasmine is to maintain her family religious tradition, and this is what makes her stand out from other individuals. If only she could talk with her parents over these issues, her conflict of identity could dissipate. This would be the best option for this teenager, though Yang et al. (2020) is an alternative if the parents cannot be engaged. 

These results indicate the correct alternative solutions to the case study of Jasmine. Based on Zisk et al. (2019), family therapy will lower symptoms of depression in an individual who is fighting with family members by a significant margin. In more specific terms, Jasmine is to abide by her family’s religious practices, and this makes her different from other people. If only she could speak to her parents regarding these concerns, her conflict of identity could vanish. This would be the ideal solution for this teenager, though Yang et al. (2020) is a second option if the parents are not willing to get involved.

Jasmine’s Case Study in Relation to Psychedelic Therapy

As was noted in the earlier paper, it is difficult to link psychedelic therapy to young people or teenagers based on age. This case study implies that Jasmine is depressed. I did the case study to have Jasmine at the age of 17 years old; that would be all right for psychedelic therapy. Since psychedelic therapy is a new field, there isn’t any age limit, but on the younger side it would be difficult to say where it would be alright not to use psychedelic therapy. For this instance, I will assume Jasmine to be of age, as she is a young adult.

The most common theme across the psilocybin for depression literature is that after psilocybin administration, many patients reduce depressive symptoms. Davis et al. (2021), whose objective was to determine the effect of psilocybin on major depressive disorder, concluded this. Other studies that had the same outcome were Carhart-Harris et al. (2017) and Carhart-Harris et al. (2021) after treatment of patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression with psilocybin and a comparative analysis of escitalopram and psilocybin. Davis et al. (2021) and Carhart-Harris et al. (2021) also determined that there was an immediate, long-lasting antidepressant effect of psilocybin.

PSY FPX 6015 Assessment 3 Adolescent Case Intervention Analysis 

Another approach is the theme of connectedness across psychedelic studies. For example, Forstmann et al. (2020) hypothesized that social connectedness and experience of transformation mediate psilocybin and other psychedelic-induced positive mood-boosting in a naturalistic setting. The research was significant, as it indicates psilocybin and other psychedelic-induced experiences in a naturalistic situation are associated with experiences of individual transformation, social augmentation of feelings of connectedness, and enhanced positive mood.

Use of psilocybin as a therapy for Jasmine’s depression and low social connectedness would fall under my field of expertise. Psilocybin is a potent intervention to use in combination with therapy for solid and long-lasting outcomes for a patient.

Conclusion

Theories that have been proposed for lifespan development describe and interpret the quality of human psychological and social functioning. Jasmine faced many issues and might still be facing the lack of intentional self-regulation. Self-regulation needs to be acquired early in adolescence if one is to flourish. There are social and cultural environments that one can pass through only through the application of self-regulation as one navigates through. The interventions set out in this paper will be able to empower Jasmine to facilitate integration into the new cultural environment into which she is now situated, which can help boost her self-esteem while decreasing depression.

PSY FPX 6015 Assessment 3 Adolescent Case Intervention Analysis 

Donovan, R. A., Huynh, Q., Park, I. J. K., Kim, S. Y., Lee, R. M., & Robertson, E. (2013). Relationships among identity, perceived discrimination, and depressive symptoms in eight ethnic-generational groups. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(4), 397-414. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.21936

Thompson, M. J. J. (2021). Piaget’s stages of cognitive development and Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 55–59. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003083139-10

Ngai, S. S., Xie, L., Ng, Y., & Ngai, H. (2018). The effects of parenting behavior on prosocial behavior of Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Children and Youth Services Review, 87, 154-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.030

Pond, J. (2017). Treading water: Considering adolescent characters in moratorium. Children’s Literature in Education, 49(2), 87-100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-017-9312-z

Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues & Educational Publishing Foundation. (2000). Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology.

Wagoner, B., Chaudhary, N., & Hviid, P. (2014). Cultural psychology and its future: Complementarity in a new key. Information Age Publishing.

Yang X., Liu D., Wang Y., Chen Y., Chen W., Yang C., Zhang P., Ding S., Zhang X. (2020). Effectiveness of Zhong-Yong thinking-based dialectical behavior therapy group skills training compared to supportive group therapy for reducing suicidal risk in Chinese young adults: A randomized controlled trial with a 6-month follow-up. Brain Behav., 10(6), e01621. doi: 10.1002/brb3.1621.

Zisk A., Abbott C. H., Bounoua N., Diamond G. S., Kobak R. (2019). Parent-teen communication predicts treatment benefit for depressed and suicidal adolescents. J Consult Clin Psychol, 87(12), 1137-1148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.030