THE STORY OF JULIAN HERBS

Julian Herbs is a 50 year old African American male who is married and has two children. Mr. Herbs owns a body shop and worked hard to invest his money, owning a few rental houses and an apartment complex.

Despite, being financially secure, Mr. Herb is dissatisfied with his current life and so his pastor suggested that he seeks therapy. At his first session with you, he indicated that "nothing is really wrong, but nothing is really right either." While he described his marriage as satisfactory and believed he had strong relationships with his children he feels unfulfilled.

His daughter graduated from College two years ago and moved to Atlanta and his son, who plays football at a local college is graduating in a few months but has already found a job in Chicago. He sensed that he is just "going through the motions of life until I die."

While he had not embarked on an affair he admitted that he has been talking with his 25 year old female receptionist and was hoping that the relationship might develop further. He revealed that he had taken the young lady to lunch once but nothing more than that.

Mr. Herb described his parents as hardworking Christians who dedicated their lives to raising their children in the segregated south. He and his siblings were close when they were growing up. He graduated from high school as a honor student and received a college scholarship to play basketball. Rather than pursue his education he married his high school sweetheart at age 19 and by age 21 he was a father. "I guess I was in love" he said dismissively.

He worked hard to support his family and did not want to be one of those guys in the community who abandoned his children. He studied automotive mechanics at the local technical college for nine months and afterwards saved enough money to get his own shop. He often regrets not going to college to get a 4-year degree.

Julian's father had often talked about dreams he had for his retirement but died two years prior to retirement from a heart attack. His mother resides in the neighborhood and Julian and his wife spend their free time assisting her so she can maintain a fairly independent life.

From your readings and study:

1. Conduct an assessment of Mr. Herb. Is there a problem to be addressed here why or why not?

2. Looking at his developmental stage and using the person in environment perspective, describe his concerns.

3. Employ at least one theory that could further explain Mr. Herb's version of reality and finally,

4. Describe how you would handle this case with your client through suggestions and recommendations using your knowledge of human development.

Your paper should adhere to the APA format and should not be more than six pages. Papers should be numbered consecutively and should be free of errors and plagiarism.

Using these books:

Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Shifting the Paradigms in Essential Knowledge for Social Work Practice 6th Edition

Human Behavior and the Social Environment 10th Edition

Utilize:

3 elements for happy relationship

passion

intimacy

decision/commitment

Spiritual Health

Midlife crisis

(Men) Awareness of fertility (DEATH)

Is this all (question) Marx (Dark Knight of Soul)

Eric Ericsson Stage of Development Industry vs Stagnation for the theory