PSYC FPX 4900 Assessment 1 A Cultural Crisis with a Lack of Professional Competency

Case Study: Chen

PSYC FPX 4900 Assessment 1 – Chen, a nine-year-old Chinese girl adopted by the Clarks, an American couple, has had multiple challenges in her evolution. Chen’s experiences in an orphanage due to a cleft palate, as well as surgery at the age of six, are likely to have influenced her emotional and social development. Despite the Clarks’ support and attention to her needs, Chen struggles with confidence and peer relationships, as indicated by her hesitation to submit a reading assignment in front of her class. These difficulties culminated in an emotional outburst, prompting her instructor to recommend her to Chelsea, the school counselor, for more assistance.

Related Assessment:

Chen’s behavior could be related to multiple types of problems, including her stay at the orphanage, the adoption procedure, self-esteem issues caused by her cleft palate, and the cultural transfer from China to the United States. China’s old one-child policy has resulted in higher levels of neglect and abuse of Chinese girls than in other nations (Zhu et al., 2023). Furthermore, Americans’ opinions of Chinese culture are nuanced. According to a Pew Research study (PSYC FPX 4900 Assessment 1), around one in every five Americans is concerned about human rights, the economy, and China’s political institutions (Li, 2021).

Understanding these attitudes is critical for Chen’s teacher and school counselor to meet her needs adequately. This assessment will explore the involved cultural factors, provide theoretical explanations and relevant research, analyze professional conduct, and provide culturally sensitive guidelines for working with Chen.

Cultural Issues

According to Dr. Pamela Hays’ “ADDRESSING” model, Chen’s early life was likely influenced by a number of critical factors (PSYC FPX 4900 Assessment 1), including her socioeconomic situation before to her adoption at the age of six. The model also shows how Chen’s experience could be classified based on disability (both her cleft palate and perhaps acquired handicap from neglect or abuse), ethnicity, and cultural background.

Internationally adopted children frequently endure major growth and developmental delays, especially those who face difficulties in early life (Hyon  & Chrysalis, 2022). While physical recovery tends to go more quickly after adoption, psychological development frequently offers significant obstacles. Even in a supportive adoptive setting, psychological recovery for internationally adopted children could lag, indicating the continuation of their previous experiences and current challenges.

Chen is expected to face significant psychological issues as a result of her pre-adoption experiences as well as possible traumatic medical treatments following her adoption by the Clarks. Her story suggests that her delayed adoption was due to her cleft palate and accompanying medical demands, which most likely influenced her treatment and self-esteem throughout her early years in the orphanage.

Spending the first eight years of her existence in such an atmosphere may have caused long-term emotional scars, particularly in terms of self-esteem. Language problems might further hamper her integration, as she lived in a non-English-speaking nation before her adoption. Chen could also struggle with self-esteem issues due to the obvious scar from her cleft palate surgery, making social interactions and self-expression more challenging for her. 

Theoretical Explanations 

Chelsea, the school counselor, can provide Chen with valuable professional help during these critical years, which can significantly improve her psychological development. Chelsea will seek to discover the root causes (PSYC FPX 4900 Assessment 1) of Chen’s emotional outbursts in the classroom, focusing on the circumstances that contributed to her hesitation and anguish. Chelsea may better understand Chen’s emotional and cognitive phases by applying Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory and Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory.

Chelsea will use these frameworks to customize therapies to Chen’s developmental deficits, which are most likely the result of her early orphanage experiences and the trauma connected with her cleft palate surgery. Understanding these psychological components will assist Chelsea in developing a supportive strategy that promotes Chen’s emotional growth and self-confidence.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory describes eight phases of development: infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle life, and late adulthood (Orenstein & Lewis, 2022). Trust is established in infancy through caregivers’ responsiveness and sensitivity in inte