Student Depression Case Study

Working at academic support services in York University, I once came across a family who was distressed about their child’s education. The student had experienced adversity during first year, which led to poor grades and as a result, unable to continue his studies, and jeopardized his student visa. The family vented their frustration, confusion and was overwhelmed by the situation. As I spoke to the student in private, he demonstrated signs of isolation, guilt, shame, and felt pressured to continue school. Through these interactions I recognized some potential symptoms of depression. First, I made an appointment with the family and the student to meet with my seniors. I assisted my supervisors with the assessment of his case, discussing potential interventions and liaised with the appropriate departments. During the appointments, I, along with my supervisors, utilized active listening, reframing, and goal settings skills to provide the student and their family tools to cope with the situation and put it into a different perspective. Guided by my supervisor, I continued to follow up with him to ensure his overall …show more content…
Combining my experiences, I would like to continue to expand my understanding of emotion regulation and mental processes in special populations, specifically multicultural and youth populations. This would allow for a better understanding of these clients such that interventions can be better tailored towards them. I would like also to better understand community health, and improve accessibility of mental health services for youth and multicultural populations. In order to do so, I would like to collaborate with community studies as a student in the program, pursue research internships and carry out a qualifying research paper. This would help lead me to a doctoral program where I can continue to focus on my research