Case Study Of Maslow Hierarchy Of Human Needs

Maggie is an 11 year old Caucasian female who has been in the foster care system since birth. She was born to an opioid addicted mother, Mary, who after giving birth lost custody and was ordered by the court to participate in a drug counseling and treatment program in order to regain custody of Maggie. The mother had supervised visitation with Maggie, but ultimately refused to follow the courts order for drug treatment. When Maggie was nine months old, the courts determined that Mary was unrehabilitable due to her refusal to follow the courts orders and her parental rights were terminated. Maggie has been with seven foster families, the last foster placement led to a disrupted adoption based on her behavior. This means that the adoption process ended before the adoption was legally finalized (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2012). The adoptive parents successfully worked with the adoption agency and found another adoptive family for Maggie. The new Family, Charlie and Jayne Voight are an …show more content…
After basic survival needs, Maslow outlines safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization as other components of the hierarchy (McLeod, 2016). Each need must be fulfilled in order for an individual to move to the next step. Maggie has been lacking in the need of safety and belongingness. She has moved out of many loving and caring homes which leads her to feel isolated. She worries that the Voights will decide that they do not want her, and this adoption will disrupt in the same way as before, and this could be a leading cause of her behavioral and emotional issues. She may not understand that willingness and the determination that the Voight couple has. Counseling and treatment can help Maggie to see that there is a family who wants her and who loves her, and they are willing to do anything to meet her needs and have her be a part of their happy